The Blackjack Apprenticeship Podcast

SD1 and Joe748 are joined by BCD and SmurfAP to explore how professional gamblers stay healthy on the road. They discuss balancing fitness with long casino hours, and navigating travel diets. Packed with tips and personal stories, this episode offers practical advice for thriving in a high-pressure lifestyle. This is the first episode of our 2025 series in AP Lifestyle Skills. Each month we'll deep dive into a skill Advantage Players need to succeed at the lifestyle. 

T. Dane, a casino surveillance expert with over 20 years of experience and author, shares fascinating insights on the evolution of casino surveillance and advantage play. He discusses the transition from analog to digital systems and the role of facial recognition in modern gaming. T. Dane reveals strategies for monitoring player behaviors, like tracking card counters, while emphasizing mentorship's impact on his career. Intriguing tales of cheating and the challenges of surveillance in fast-paced environments round out this captivating conversation.

Today Joe748 and SD1 hang out with L_EC, a professional card counter. He was last here in 2021, a lot has changed since then. L_EC shares his journey from starting with a small bankroll and enduring a grueling 400-hour losing streak to eventually joining teams, playing solo, and mastering the art of advantage play. He reflects on the challenges of bankroll management, adapting to different team dynamics, and balancing his personal life while pursuing a career in advantage play.

Colin is joined by SD1 to tackle more community questions on card counting, blackjack strategy, and bankroll management. They dive into creating convincing “acts” to stay under the radar, the pros and cons of working with investors, and strategies for managing multi-currency bankrolls. Between questions they dive into stories, including high-stakes splits, team play mishaps, and the importance of learning from ploppies (non-counters). Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just curious about the blackjack lifestyle, this episode has something for everyone.

We hope everyone who celebrates has a great Thanksgiving! While we're out of the studio, enjoy one of our favorite previous episodes that you may have missed with Bootcamp graduate PingPong.  In this interview we discuss: – Learning to think ‘outside the box’ for $8 million – Advice for those considering transitioning from part time into full time card counting – Trusting the math while continuing to explore new ways to generate EV – To play rated or not to play rated? – How the people having the most success are well networked

In today's episode, Colin and Joe748 are joined by BJA member Johno, who shares his 30-year journey from a struggling card counter to a successful advantage player. He recounts his early mistakes, such as poor bankroll management and gambling behaviors, which kept him at a break-even level for two decades. Johno highlights how joining Blackjack Apprenticeship transformed his approach through proper strategy, community support, and rigorous practice, ultimately enabling him to retire comfortably as a part-time player.

In today's episode, Colin and Joe delve into the world of non-technical card counting strategies, focusing on topics like casino surveillance, countermeasures, camouflage, cover play, and legal considerations for advantage players. They discuss tactics to avoid detection, handling back-offs and trespass orders, and explore the limitations of certain camouflage techniques, especially with advances in facial recognition technology. Tune in to learn whether to play side bets for cover, the impact of bank policies on cash management, and using casino intelligence tools to maximize success while staying inconspicuous.

Joe748 and SD1 took over BJA this week and interviewed 5am, a former poker player turned professional card counter. 5am shares his journey from learning basic strategy as a child to becoming a full-time card counter with over six figures in winnings. He recounts experiences playing internationally, the challenges of variance, and navigating casinos that don’t always catch on to his strategies. 5am also reflects on the ups and downs of the profession and how blackjack, despite its swings, offers a more consistent edge than poker.

Colin and Joe748 tackle more audience questions. They dive deep into topics like how perfect your test-out skills need to be (hint: 98% isn’t good enough), how to handle betting strategies without raising casino suspicions, and whether deviations for different games are worth learning. Colin and Joe discuss real-world scenarios, like what to do when you encounter another card counter at the table and how to wong in and out without drawing attention. Finally, they explore how larger vs. smaller casinos can affect your play, and how much heat you can expect when scaling from green to black chips.

Today we're revisiting a classic interview from 2019 with an AP who goes by the name “Yoshi.” For those who don’t know his story, Yoshi is a card counter who turned $3,000 into $1.2 million in two years of full-time play. He has recently taken an indefinite break from AP to pursue other interests. In this interview we discuss: – The road from beginner to pro – What led to his decision to step away from advantage play. – His perspective looking back at the last 2 years – His advice for other card counters and APs