i been practicing for a while and i feel very confidence about my first time in the casino, as soon as my 18 birthday party over i will be on the road. my backroll now is $3740. but on the other hand i can use my money for IT certification training so i can get a job like geeksquad. which one is better a job or blackjack?
black jack vs getting a job
- Thread starter kingGambler
- Start date
Most places in the US require you to be age 21 to gamble. $3-4K is not enough of a bankroll to make even $8 an hour at BJ without probably going broke.
An IT certification and job at Geeksquad is all you can aspire to? If you're interested in and good computers get a real IT degree from a University and get a real IT job. Then you can afford to play BJ on the side.
Note #5 below and that's just with an AAS degree.
(Dead link: http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_from_degree_to_pay_check.html)
An IT certification and job at Geeksquad is all you can aspire to? If you're interested in and good computers get a real IT degree from a University and get a real IT job. Then you can afford to play BJ on the side.
Note #5 below and that's just with an AAS degree.
(Dead link: http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_from_degree_to_pay_check.html)
You can make more than $8 an hour back-counting with $4k.
But, back to the original post, I'd play blackjack part-time. Get your IT certifications. Try going to community college, where you may be able to get student loans so you can go to school without depleting your bankroll.
As far as college jobs go, I'd recommend either something techy since you understand that and can probably swing over $10/hr, or a tipped job. If you're at the right place you can make $15 an hour or more waiting tables, bartending, dealing, delivering pizzas, etc.
But, back to the original post, I'd play blackjack part-time. Get your IT certifications. Try going to community college, where you may be able to get student loans so you can go to school without depleting your bankroll.
As far as college jobs go, I'd recommend either something techy since you understand that and can probably swing over $10/hr, or a tipped job. If you're at the right place you can make $15 an hour or more waiting tables, bartending, dealing, delivering pizzas, etc.
18= losing hand. 21= winning hand.
Great ideas. Community college offers great value, especially in technical disciplines where the illusion of prestige that a big-name college offers isn't that valuable and a good attitude and work ethic are more respected.
Avoid blackjack until you are 21 and well-employed. I'm serious kingGambler I wouldn't lie to you. There are very few casinos where you can legally play at 18 and most offer bad games.
Also, not to prejudge you, but there is an enormous amount of discipline and self-knowledge that is required to be a successful AP and it is rare even at age 21. All emotion has to be left outside the casino. It is also very valuable to be able to command the respect of those whom you encounter, and that comes more easily with age.
Great ideas. Community college offers great value, especially in technical disciplines where the illusion of prestige that a big-name college offers isn't that valuable and a good attitude and work ethic are more respected.
Avoid blackjack until you are 21 and well-employed. I'm serious kingGambler I wouldn't lie to you. There are very few casinos where you can legally play at 18 and most offer bad games.
Also, not to prejudge you, but there is an enormous amount of discipline and self-knowledge that is required to be a successful AP and it is rare even at age 21. All emotion has to be left outside the casino. It is also very valuable to be able to command the respect of those whom you encounter, and that comes more easily with age.
$3740????
3740 is the amount of money I can go up and down and back and forth in one DAY. If I only had 3-4000 backing me it seems to me I would be in serious trouble and bankrupt in a week... or less!
Finish school, get a job... think rationally. Read a bit more about how this (blackjack) all works because if you are considering taking up blackjack with a 4000 bankroll and no other sources of income and cash flow you could have a very rude awakening! Many counters with a HUGE bankroll and lots of experience fail miserably at some point. Imagine the potential for disaster with a limited bankroll, no experience and a "less than stellar" count! It's stacked up against you even if you are the best there is so imagine if you are missing a few keys to the puzzle!
3740 is the amount of money I can go up and down and back and forth in one DAY. If I only had 3-4000 backing me it seems to me I would be in serious trouble and bankrupt in a week... or less!
Finish school, get a job... think rationally. Read a bit more about how this (blackjack) all works because if you are considering taking up blackjack with a 4000 bankroll and no other sources of income and cash flow you could have a very rude awakening! Many counters with a HUGE bankroll and lots of experience fail miserably at some point. Imagine the potential for disaster with a limited bankroll, no experience and a "less than stellar" count! It's stacked up against you even if you are the best there is so imagine if you are missing a few keys to the puzzle!
You have received some excellent advice, king Gambler, from some very qualified and quality people, who's intent is not to dissuade you from your disire to play blackjack but rather is based on reason. I on the other hand will play devil's advocate.
I started my blackjack career 5 and a half years ago with just a bit more that you, $5000, spreading $10-$50 at the time. I have never looked back, supporting myself and growing my bankroll to 35K. Looking back, I refuse to say that i was lucky, because I don't feel that i was. My earning seemed to fall pretty much as expected, but I will say that I was fortunate that I wasn't unlucky, meaning I didn't hit a real negative swing early on, which certainly would have been possible with the risk of ruin I was playing at. My point is that it can be done.
Now the second positive you have going is that you are young and I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume (yes I know the dangers of assume, ass-u-me) that you live at home and don't have the responsibility of children ect. This is a positive because your expenses are minimum. What better time to take a shot than when you are living at home. If it doesn't work out, you still have a roof over your head and food available, while you get a job and move on. This is a much better time to "take a shot" than 10 years down the road when you have a mortgage, children and car payments.
ok, all that being said, my advise. Put Blackjack on hold. continue your education, get a job, learn all you can about blackjack and begin playing parttime.
I started my blackjack career 5 and a half years ago with just a bit more that you, $5000, spreading $10-$50 at the time. I have never looked back, supporting myself and growing my bankroll to 35K. Looking back, I refuse to say that i was lucky, because I don't feel that i was. My earning seemed to fall pretty much as expected, but I will say that I was fortunate that I wasn't unlucky, meaning I didn't hit a real negative swing early on, which certainly would have been possible with the risk of ruin I was playing at. My point is that it can be done.
Now the second positive you have going is that you are young and I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume (yes I know the dangers of assume, ass-u-me) that you live at home and don't have the responsibility of children ect. This is a positive because your expenses are minimum. What better time to take a shot than when you are living at home. If it doesn't work out, you still have a roof over your head and food available, while you get a job and move on. This is a much better time to "take a shot" than 10 years down the road when you have a mortgage, children and car payments.
ok, all that being said, my advise. Put Blackjack on hold. continue your education, get a job, learn all you can about blackjack and begin playing parttime.
Last edited:
Your bankroll is a month's salary for an average American. I'm not pointing that out to laugh at you (my bankroll at its peak was, like shadroch's, around $2,000) but to point out how easily you can make money with a traditional job relative to what you have now. If you're good at computers, for instance, you can easily get a loan to go to college, get a $60k+ job out of school, pay off your loans in a year, and then save up a bankroll 5-10x the size of what you have now - with less risk and a shorter runup than if you were to try and grind your bankroll to 5-10x what it is now.
Blackjack is a tough way to become rich. Once you're rich, it's a nice way to become richer, but you're not going to play for a few years and retire to your private Caribbean island.
If you want my advice, put off blackjack for 5 years, and make it your goal to get a degree in applied math, computer science, or IT from a good university (take out student loans if you need to - they're generally super-low interest for the first few years after you graduate). Work really hard and try to graduate at the top of your class, and then sign up for a really nice job. Pay off your loans and then save up 6 months of living expenses as a backup (this is super-easy if you live frugally). After all of that, save a separate blackjack bankroll and play on weekends until you're making a comparable amount to your job (which will probably take a few more years). Request a leave of absence from your job (6-8 weeks) and take your shot at being a full-time player; fall back on your job if you don't think you can make it.
Blackjack is a tough way to become rich. Once you're rich, it's a nice way to become richer, but you're not going to play for a few years and retire to your private Caribbean island.
If you want my advice, put off blackjack for 5 years, and make it your goal to get a degree in applied math, computer science, or IT from a good university (take out student loans if you need to - they're generally super-low interest for the first few years after you graduate). Work really hard and try to graduate at the top of your class, and then sign up for a really nice job. Pay off your loans and then save up 6 months of living expenses as a backup (this is super-easy if you live frugally). After all of that, save a separate blackjack bankroll and play on weekends until you're making a comparable amount to your job (which will probably take a few more years). Request a leave of absence from your job (6-8 weeks) and take your shot at being a full-time player; fall back on your job if you don't think you can make it.
Kids in the US seem to be mesmerised by BJ. It must be a cultural thing. Lke turning 18 and coming out of age. No doubt casino make alot of money from them. The online casinos which Ken use to host did make alot of money until the legislation was change. Just ask Ken. Just to think you can make a decent living from the casino. Go on dreaming while the casino rack in your cash, thank you.
Good Question, Only One Answer...........
You would have to define "better". Better for you? Better for the place where you lose your stash?
Blackjack should be thought of as FUN! Not a way to expect to earn a living during your productive years.
Here I go preaching; but you DID ask the question, after all. And I was young once, too, long ago. But given what I know NOW, and didn't know THEN, take it from me, get your education completed, work to EARN some money, and then consider yourself to be in a position where you may risk losing it.
Never, ever, gamble with money you cannot afford to lose! imp
You would have to define "better". Better for you? Better for the place where you lose your stash?
Blackjack should be thought of as FUN! Not a way to expect to earn a living during your productive years.
Here I go preaching; but you DID ask the question, after all. And I was young once, too, long ago. But given what I know NOW, and didn't know THEN, take it from me, get your education completed, work to EARN some money, and then consider yourself to be in a position where you may risk losing it.
Never, ever, gamble with money you cannot afford to lose! imp
George
George,
I have been in the IT field for over 38 years, far better than BJ as a career, at least for most.
I have just finished a 4 day BJ tour, glad to get back to work, even though I had stunning wins and just 2 small losing sessions. The life of a full time BJ Pro is nothing I would want. As a side source of income, adventure, entertainment, diversion...OK, but that is it.
CP
George,
I have been in the IT field for over 38 years, far better than BJ as a career, at least for most.
I have just finished a 4 day BJ tour, glad to get back to work, even though I had stunning wins and just 2 small losing sessions. The life of a full time BJ Pro is nothing I would want. As a side source of income, adventure, entertainment, diversion...OK, but that is it.
CP
Then get a job as an overseas sales rep.
A full-timer might not have as much freedom as you think. Sort of like being a fisherman. Even though he has the oceans available to him, he's still a slave to where the fish decide to go, weather, fuel costs, market conditions, and bad luck just like an AP. He can't just set sail for another place that he likes better, as he might not be able to make any money there. Likewise a full-time AP may have to settle for playing in a disgusting casino, only on certain shifts, and alongside disreputable colleagues to get his EV, and he still might get screwed by variance. Not as free-and-easy as one might imagine.
A full-timer might not have as much freedom as you think. Sort of like being a fisherman. Even though he has the oceans available to him, he's still a slave to where the fish decide to go, weather, fuel costs, market conditions, and bad luck just like an AP. He can't just set sail for another place that he likes better, as he might not be able to make any money there. Likewise a full-time AP may have to settle for playing in a disgusting casino, only on certain shifts, and alongside disreputable colleagues to get his EV, and he still might get screwed by variance. Not as free-and-easy as one might imagine.
kewljason said:
....... although in my case that may not matter as SS will most likely be long depleted in 40 years when I qualify.
Great concept; predictably, I failed to adhere to it, and today depend virtually 100% on subsistence by S/S. It is here even though I was certain back then it would not be.
Of course, as with anything government-created, there are no absolute guarantees. imp
I never really gave much thought to trying to make a living playing BJ. I've done well at times and I've done not so well. I'm happy I made that decision years and years ago to pick and stick with a non-gambling profession. Today I have a nice retirement that's not stock market or Social Security dependent and supplement that with consultant work. Maybe I was just never good enough of a player but it would have been hard to make the $50/hour I made working a regular job and have all the benefits of vacation time, sick leave, health care insurance, and a pension over all those years. I've gone back to playing more lately and I've got to say it's pretty relaxing to know I don't have to worry about winning or losing in terms of my income.
something may be said for all the young ones going "pro" playing poker these days. the convenience of playing AP poker is much more compelling than that of full time blackjack. pick your hours and location (both online and at the tons of poker rooms around the country AND the rest of the world). from my research, if you are very good, starting BR requirements seem to be lower than BJ. BUT the upfront learning and time investment is much higher for poker than BJ... and unless you are absolutely great, your poker hourly EV probably wouldnt reach what you can hit fairly easily with BJ.
was that heresy posting that here?? :devil:
was that heresy posting that here?? :devil:
Danger
Not only is your bankroll very small but if you take anything out of it for expenses you are in even more danger. As others have pointed out there is an emotional and mental strength needed that probably has not been tested with major losses and given your youth. Are you prepared to potentially lose half of your bank very quickly? Throw in that you are new to the game and your chances of failure are probably about 100%:joker::whip:
Not only is your bankroll very small but if you take anything out of it for expenses you are in even more danger. As others have pointed out there is an emotional and mental strength needed that probably has not been tested with major losses and given your youth. Are you prepared to potentially lose half of your bank very quickly? Throw in that you are new to the game and your chances of failure are probably about 100%:joker::whip:
Poker has a lot going for it but it is even more complicated than BJ and other games against the house. Like BJ it has a cash variant and a tournament variant which are not the same thing, surely closer in poker than in BJ but they are still not the same game.
For one, you never can be sure who is going to be sitting at a table with you, and it doesn't take too many competent players to screw you out of your EV. Determining who is competent, who is lucky, who is acting, and who is colluding is a form of scouting and costs a lot more time and money than just looking for good pen.
Then there's the problem of the shark/fish ratio at higher limits. I wouldn't want to have to rely on poker for an income, probably better suited to a recreational player.
For one, you never can be sure who is going to be sitting at a table with you, and it doesn't take too many competent players to screw you out of your EV. Determining who is competent, who is lucky, who is acting, and who is colluding is a form of scouting and costs a lot more time and money than just looking for good pen.
Then there's the problem of the shark/fish ratio at higher limits. I wouldn't want to have to rely on poker for an income, probably better suited to a recreational player.