Do you believe in the tooth fairy? How about the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus? If you’re an adult, you probably don’t believe in these mythological characters. Most adults don’t. I can tell you of a wonderful place, however, where you can play games and the people who run the games will always make sure you win. If you like gambling and winning money, here is some good news.
Years ago I decided to become a gambler, well perhaps decided is too strong a word. I grew up around the race track and everyone around me was a gambler so it was just as natural as learning how to ride a bike or drive a car. I soon found, however, that the race track is a tough place to make a living with such a high vig.
I looked into casinos and card playing and became a black jack card counter. I read some good books on the subject, spent hours practicing and set out to beat the casinos at their own game. I soon found out that it was one of the most boring jobs a young man could have. When it is your livelihood and you have to sit at the table for hours, grinding out a profit, it is tedious.
That wasn’t the worst part, though. The worst of it was the people who came into the casino and were instantly transformed into gullible children. Has this ever happened to you? I would be sitting at a blackjack table working hard to keep the count, avoid the suspicion of the pit boss and someone would sit down beside me clutching a little card that the casino had given to them.
You’ve probably seen the cards I am talking about. They have the basic card counting strategy on them. Basic strategy is losing strategy. That is why card counters, shuffle trackers, and other pros don’t use basic strategy. They use an advanced strategy that suits the particular situation. I really don’t mind those people using basic strategy or any other kind of strategy. What did irk me however, was the fact that they would often become exasperated with me and start telling me how to play my cards.
They seemed to think that blackjack is a team effort and we were all playing together to beat the house. Sometimes they were particularly loud and would draw attention to me, becoming insulting or abusive. Naturally, since I don’t want to get shut down by the casino, I couldn’t tell them that I was a pro and using an advanced strategy. Sometimes they would get so loud it would draw the attention of the pit boss who might wonder why I wasn’t using basic strategy.
I would try to ask them in a nice way to mind their own business but sometimes it became too much to bear and I would sarcastically ask them where they got the card. They would tell me that the casino was passing them out and they were free.
“Isn’t that nice,” I would say. “The casino wants to make sure you win so they give you a little card that tells you the secret of winning and taking their money. My goodness, it’s a wonder they can stay in business since they’re giving money away!