I don't know how you pros do it 40 hrs a week

Thunder

Well-Known Member
#1
I'm an AP and I only play BJ maybe once a week or biweekly and it's getting to the point where it's getting really boring for me. I don't know how you guys who play BJ for a living can manage to stand sitting there for 8 hrs/day playing. To be fair, I also mix playing bj with NL poker and craps but I find myself after 3 hours of playing BJ to be bored to tears especially when you sit through long stretches where the count isn't good. I guess the only reason why we play BJ is the thrill of when you have a max bet out and you get a BJ or a nice split/dd.
 
#2
better then a day job

A lot of people will make the argument that its better then sitting in an office for 8 hours a day which I would have to agree. Either you get to sit in a casino environment for 8 hours or do something else as a job. Plus you can split it up to whatever hours you want and there's no clock to punch. Plus you get to go where ever there is a casino. Its not as bad as you think.
 

ExhibitCAA

Well-Known Member
#3
I think that most professional players do not actually put in 40 hrs per week on the tables (though some do). Also, you are correct that counting cards can be boring for many people. However, keep in mind that there are very few (I don't know any) professional APs who solely count cards. The modern AP uses techniques beyond counting, plays poker, hustles comps, milks machines, plays online, bets sports, etc. I think that this diversification alleviates the boredom.
 

shadroch

Well-Known Member
#4
cardplay said:
A lot of people will make the argument that its better then sitting in an office for 8 hours a day which I would have to agree. Either you get to sit in a casino environment for 8 hours or do something else as a job. Plus you can split it up to whatever hours you want and there's no clock to punch. Plus you get to go where ever there is a casino. Its not as bad as you think.

The thing about having a job you like is that your co-workers become a second family. Most people end up socializing with their co-workers.You look forward to discussing the weekend football games with some of them,ect,ect.
Playing BJ you end up making small talk with a never ending parade of strangers., at best.
 
#5
Rarely pull a 40

Married with three kids - my goal is to limit the hours inside the casino's as much as possible. I have weekly stop-loss as well as upside limits that I utilize.

Some "workweeks" can be 2-3 hours TOTAL if the count/cards heat up early. I have no problem being done for the week once I hit my goal. Whether that takes me one morning or several days to achieve.

Having reasonable targets is the key. Not trying to get rich here...just earn an "honest" living.

rock
 
#6
Not true

shadroch said:
The thing about having a job you like is that your co-workers become a second family. Most people end up socializing with their co-workers.You look forward to discussing the weekend football games with some of them,ect,ect.
Playing BJ you end up making small talk with a never ending parade of strangers., at best.
This site offers the BJ BASH for the posters, players of this site so we can get together and socialize, chat face to face, eat, play golf, play BJ, VP and party etc.

I hope you can make the next BASH coming up fairly soon. In fact I am there right now and you would love the place as well as the great game.

CP
 
#7
Thunder

Thunder said:
I'm an AP and I only play BJ maybe once a week or biweekly and it's getting to the point where it's getting really boring for me. I don't know how you guys who play BJ for a living can manage to stand sitting there for 8 hrs/day playing. To be fair, I also mix playing bj with NL poker and craps but I find myself after 3 hours of playing BJ to be bored to tears especially when you sit through long stretches where the count isn't good. I guess the only reason why we play BJ is the thrill of when you have a max bet out and you get a BJ or a nice split/dd.
Not for me, very exciting still after 14 years of it.

CP
 

callipygian

Well-Known Member
#8
I'm guessing some AP's wonder how us "regular" people can sit in cubes and sit in corporate pep talk meetings for 40 hours a week. :)

What would you say you do here at Initech?
 

JulieCA

Well-Known Member
#11
shadroch said:
The thing about having a job you like is that your co-workers become a second family. Most people end up socializing with their co-workers.You look forward to discussing the weekend football games with some of them,ect,ect.
Playing BJ you end up making small talk with a never ending parade of strangers., at best.
I'm a gregarious extrovert who is also a loner. Casual acquaintances at the casino suit me fine. I get a kick out of the people I meet but I don't have to get to know them well enough or long enough to find out they're morons.

Most of my friends are in my computer. :grin:
 
#12
rocksolid68 said:
Married with three kids - my goal is to limit the hours inside the casino's as much as possible. I have weekly stop-loss as well as upside limits that I utilize.

Some "workweeks" can be 2-3 hours TOTAL if the count/cards heat up early. I have no problem being done for the week once I hit my goal. Whether that takes me one morning or several days to achieve.

Having reasonable targets is the key. Not trying to get rich here...just earn an "honest" living.

rock
If you want to limit your play to have more time for family, that's great. But you should set time limits, not dollar win/loss limits, assuming of course that you are indeed playing with an edge. Stop-loss & win limits will cost you a lot over time in lost opportunity. If you want to limit your play to say 10 hrs per week for example, play the full 10 hrs every week regardless of results instead of temporarily stopping after say 5 hrs just because you hit some arbitrary weekly win/loss limit. You'll make a lot more over the long run with no additional risk. You'll have the exact same magnitude of swings that you are experiencing now, but you'll just experience them quicker.

Stop losses don't prevent or reduce future losses unless you are quitting forever... they only delay them, and delay your future wins. Likewise a win limit doesn't "lock up" the win. You are just as likely to give it back on your next play no matter if that play occurs immediately or not until next week. Yes there will be times that you are way ahead and will give it all, or least some, back. But there will also be times that you'll continue winning big that you would've missed out on by using a win limit.
 

daddybo

Well-Known Member
#13
golfnut101 said:
why are you playing thrue neg counts ?
He may be playing SD or DD games or orther games with NMDE. Sometimes it's hard not to do it. Actually he didn't say he was playing in negative counts. I believe he said the "counts weren't good".
 

kewljason

Well-Known Member
#16
Thunder said:
I'm an AP and I only play BJ maybe once a week or biweekly and it's getting to the point where it's getting really boring for me. I don't know how you guys who play BJ for a living can manage to stand sitting there for 8 hrs/day playing.
I don't think there are many AP's playing 40 hours per week. The Higher limit guys would draw too much heat playing that many hours and wouldn't last very long. Us lower level ($25 unit and under) grinders, need to play more hours to make any money and I don't think most of us can get in 40/hrs a week. I know I don't. 2008, I played 1442 hours, which comes out to about 28/per week. This year I was on a pace for a bit more, but a month of inactivity in july while recovering from a collarbone break has put me back on pace for about the same range as last.
 

psyduck

Well-Known Member
#17
%$#@ those high TCs

I have been playing once a week for a few hours using Hi Lo. So far I lose more during high counts when I bet my max. One time I did not even see TC in three consecutive trips. I know in the long run counting is how to beat the game, but the long run is about a six figure number based on my sim. This means I may never realize the long run.

I know in my heart that card counting works in theory, but in reality it is a pain in the behind. Once I was Wonging like crazy. A security guard would have a hard time catching up to me if he would want to tell me something. But I still came up short. I have to give those a lot of credit who do this for a living.
 
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