The wonderful world of blackjack
There is a huge difference between present day and 20 plus years ago. Many people that are around today that see the crummy games offered compared to "the days of old" think these games, such as 8 decks and H17 are just perfectly okay, whereas anyone who saw better times and the days when a lot of Vegas casinos offered 2 to 1 blackjack payouts as a sort of promotional thing on a regular basis, etc.
Things are different now. The casinos have tightened up to maximize their HA as much as possible. They get REALLY PISSED OFF if anyone actually wins. They want people to come in, slap it down, lose, get told "better luck and see you again soon!", they will be sports about it and give you a little comp or incentive to come back... and the cycle continues... NEXT VICTIM! Any deviation from this and they don't much care for it!
The only thing a professional player can do is do the same, roll with the punches, tighten up using strategic strikes of surgical precision, try to stay under the radar, compensate by whatever means possible to offset the additional gouging on the part of the casinos. You have to be sharper and have a lot more precision these days to achieve the same sort of results you could expect to achieve 20 years ago. It's harder... a LOT harder than it ever was; Most that could perhaps have done okay "way back when" will have a much higher failure rate these days. You are up against a brick wall and there are very few people able to break bricks with their bare hands. In this day and age you have to be very picky about what tables you are willing to do battle at and your tactics in general. There are few survivors in this battle but if you are the best there is you can manage to make a reasonable sum of money.
Now I have a question, which is "Why do you ask this question? Do you aspire to play blackjack professionally? All a matter of devotion and most people simply do not have the willpower to be THAT devoted. Let's put this in terms of... football! (which might be bad because I know little about football and I will catch much flack about this like when I used some sort of racecar thing as a comparison when I in fact know nothing about racecars). I DO know a few football players even though I have to ask the day before the superbowl "So what two teams are playing?". Anyway, in gradeschool, virtually everyone gets to play football, even the worst players... we can compare this to your average tourist that has a pocket full of change and has never played blackjack. High school football is a bit different, a bit tougher and you have to try out and make the team... we can compare this to your seasoned gambler that sort of knows basic strategy and as we all know is destined to lose in the long run. Getting on the college football team is much more difficult than getting on the highschool team and I have heard it said that "college football is 100 times more difficult than highschool football" by an actual professional player... we can compare this to the novice counter that has a complete knowledge of basic strategy, the "illustrious 18" and uses a basic hi-lo count. Out of all the college football players VERY darn few actually make it to the pros...you see where I am going with this?
You can devote the sort of time, attention and devotion to this that you would spend attaining a PHD. I devote about 60 hours a week to blackjack. I wake up and do card counting/flipping drills with my morning coffee. I have read every book that is worth reading. I have perfected my use of the Tarzan/DHME system. I am always studying, evaluating and reading the thoughts of some of the esteemed experts here and elsewhere and am always looking to learn more and improve even though I have been doing this for 24 years now and playing professionally for the last three or four.
Even with all that I have seen my share of adversity that only clear, concise, rational thought and a big enough bankroll can overcome. Most don't have the emotional stability, the common sense, the ingenuity OR the bankroll required to deal with the roller coaster ride of fluctuations and this is a very tough ballgame. I would venture to say that most people are not cut out for it.
Be sure to tune in next week when I do another stupid comparison thing using F-14's and the "Top Gun" comparison when I have never actually been in a fighter jet in my entire life. I HAVE made a lot of money playing blackjack though.
Flash sees well enough to see cards slapping down on a table--This I know first hand! I am also pissed off at Flash that I can no longer call the "Tarzan System" the "Tarzan System" and have to refer to it as the "Tarzan/DHME System". That is all his fault! This I will have to live with, I suppose and I guess he has more than made up for it in any case with lots of helpful data, evaluation and personal perspective along the way.