Through the years (13 now) I have shared some of my experiences, good, bad and ugly, of my journey of supporting myself through advantage play....mostly card counting with some supplemental machine stuff thrown in. It was my hope that sharing my experiences could benefit other members, just as I have benefited from so many others in the community sharing their knowledge and experiences.
Today I want to share some of my younger brother's year, his second year of full-time card counting and first playing green to black stakes. Last year, I started him at low limit, red stakes play to gain some experience, just as I began my career playing red chip level. I figure (and my own journey told me) if you can learn to win against the crappy, crowded $5 and $10 games, you are well on your way to finding bigger success.
So after his initial red chip year in which he made about 9 grand, but spent more than he earned (that's not going to work for long
), I set my brother up playing green to light black to start this year, playing a rotation of better than two dozen casinos. His starting BR, which was what was left over from last years play, win and spending more than won....was not adequate for his new level of play. But I was prepared to add to his BR as needed (I just never told him so), assuming I felt he was heading in the right direction and I am not talking about profit/loss.
As good fortune would have it, he jumped out of the gate very strong, never needing any additional BR from me. He was running 4-5 times ahead of expectation most of the early months, ending the first 6 months about 3 times ahead of expectation. Over $60,000 profit vs EV of about $20,000. Pretty sweet!By the end of June his major concerns were, should he buy a new car, and get his own apartment? I tried hard to put the brakes on his enthusiasm and ground expectations, but I am not sure I was getting through.
Where I was struggling to keep his enthusiasm grounded, Lady Luck (or Mother Variance) did. As the calendar turned to July and the second half of the year, the rollercoaster peaked and headed downhill. $13,000 losses in a few days. As we talked through his experience, we both learned he fell victim to some bad judgment in chasing losses, a hard lesson to learn....but one that must be learned.
He spent the better part of the next three months in a slow grind, a very different experience than his first half of the year and by the end of September was just about were he was at the end of June, having made up that 13 grand. And in the 10 weeks since, he has continued that slow grind and entered the final month of 2016 ahead $68, 000. But only ahead $8000 since July.
So in this one year, his second of fulltime cad counting, he experienced the whole rollercoaster ride that is card counting. 1.) An incredible 6 month run far above expectation, 2.) a substantial loss backwards, 3.) A slow crawl back from that hole, and 4.) a period of 10 weeks running just about expectation.
From my perspective, it has been an amazing year for him both educationally and financially as he is still about 50% above expectation for the year. ....and there are still 4 weeks to go!! Who knows what he will get to experience?? I have thoroughly enjoyed watching it all unfold and watching him go through this educational process (with lots more of that process to go). He is a little more focused on and feeling a little down about how the last 5 months have gone. I am trying to get him to look at the whole pie, not just a piece of it and see and appreciate how well he has done overall.
Today I want to share some of my younger brother's year, his second year of full-time card counting and first playing green to black stakes. Last year, I started him at low limit, red stakes play to gain some experience, just as I began my career playing red chip level. I figure (and my own journey told me) if you can learn to win against the crappy, crowded $5 and $10 games, you are well on your way to finding bigger success.
So after his initial red chip year in which he made about 9 grand, but spent more than he earned (that's not going to work for long
), I set my brother up playing green to light black to start this year, playing a rotation of better than two dozen casinos. His starting BR, which was what was left over from last years play, win and spending more than won....was not adequate for his new level of play. But I was prepared to add to his BR as needed (I just never told him so), assuming I felt he was heading in the right direction and I am not talking about profit/loss.As good fortune would have it, he jumped out of the gate very strong, never needing any additional BR from me. He was running 4-5 times ahead of expectation most of the early months, ending the first 6 months about 3 times ahead of expectation. Over $60,000 profit vs EV of about $20,000. Pretty sweet!
By the end of June his major concerns were, should he buy a new car, and get his own apartment? I tried hard to put the brakes on his enthusiasm and ground expectations, but I am not sure I was getting through. Where I was struggling to keep his enthusiasm grounded, Lady Luck (or Mother Variance) did. As the calendar turned to July and the second half of the year, the rollercoaster peaked and headed downhill. $13,000 losses in a few days. As we talked through his experience, we both learned he fell victim to some bad judgment in chasing losses, a hard lesson to learn....but one that must be learned.
He spent the better part of the next three months in a slow grind, a very different experience than his first half of the year and by the end of September was just about were he was at the end of June, having made up that 13 grand. And in the 10 weeks since, he has continued that slow grind and entered the final month of 2016 ahead $68, 000. But only ahead $8000 since July.
So in this one year, his second of fulltime cad counting, he experienced the whole rollercoaster ride that is card counting. 1.) An incredible 6 month run far above expectation, 2.) a substantial loss backwards, 3.) A slow crawl back from that hole, and 4.) a period of 10 weeks running just about expectation.
From my perspective, it has been an amazing year for him both educationally and financially as he is still about 50% above expectation for the year.
....and there are still 4 weeks to go!! Who knows what he will get to experience?? I have thoroughly enjoyed watching it all unfold and watching him go through this educational process (with lots more of that process to go). He is a little more focused on and feeling a little down about how the last 5 months have gone. I am trying to get him to look at the whole pie, not just a piece of it and see and appreciate how well he has done overall.
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