RIP, Futurist
Twenty years ago, I spent Easter locked down in a concrete holding cell at CCDC—Clark County Detention Center—after being jailed on trumped-up charges by Caesars Palace, who couldn’t handle that my teammate and I had won a few thousand bucks playing Three Card Poker. From the jailhouse phone, I called Arnold Snyder, my publisher, to tell him to hold the presses to give my lawyer time to look over the manuscript for Beyond Counting, published a few months later. Like Jesus, I consider Easter something of a professional anniversary, typically celebrated by whacking a casino game while contemplating my career goals. This weekend there won’t be any game-whacking for me (can’t say about Jesus).
Today I’m spending my Easter locked down by the CDC—Center for Disease Control and Prevention—after a supposedly trumped-up coronavirus, without the flashy gore of Ebola and smallpox, caused a real pandemic after all. For me, it was real from the beginning. Ever since my own deadly bout with a pathogen years ago, Google has been feeding me every article on Ebola, MERS, E. coli, and brain-eating amoebas. I click on them all. I needed a ventilator for over a week, and had to re-learn to walk, so the medical implications of the coronavirus are quite real to me.
For others, there are different stages of realness. Did it become more real when the virus attacked a celebrity (Tom Hanks)? An athlete (Rudy Gobert)? When the NBA shut down, and then all sports, and hence sports betting, it started to feel real to some APs. Did it get real when Ireland shut down pubs? Maybe when Canada shut down hockey? Or when China shut down casinos?
Then the ides of March brought casino closures worldwide. That’s when it got real for APs. For some, the financial impact is palpable, but they don’t realize how lucky they got, medically. I am very confident that if casinos had remained open one more week, many APs I know—or you—would have gotten infected. No big deal, you say? A virus with a roughly 1% death risk, maybe a bit less for someone under 50 years of age—ha! I don’t know if you’ve looked at a calendar lately, but most of us aren’t young anymore! On top of that, most APs are male, possibly boosting the death risk twofold. Now we’re talking about something comparable to a one-outer in poker. Have you ever been in a “1n1” game of Ultimate Texas Holdem, on the river with the dealer down to a single out to beat you? Put your life against that last card the dealer is about to flip over. If everyone at the Blackjack Ball is put up against that, one or two people die.
It’ll become more real when someone you personally know dies. I’m there. A hobbyist card counter who often played a double-deck game that I sometimes played got COVID19 and died. He was such a fixture that my crew had a nickname for him. We called him “The Futurist” due to his resemblance to Dr. Michio Kaku, a scientist who is popular for his conjectures about the future. I suppose I didn’t personally know The Futurist. If you had asked him if he knew me, he would surely have said no, or he would have just said that I’m a local gambler he recognizes. I knew his name and his game, though, so that’s pretty close in my world.
The Futurist would always sit at third base on DD, playing one or two spots, always enjoying himself, especially when betting the Lucky Ladies in unison with other counters at the table. He probably enjoyed the camaraderie of it all more than whatever money could be made off that game. He was a friendly fellow, and he so consistently anchored that band of counters that it became a bit unnerving to occasionally see that table deadspread on a weekend afternoon.
And now, when the casino eventually re-opens, The Futurist won’t be sitting anchor. This isn’t real.
What is To Be Done?
When the coronavirus forced casinos to close last month, the smart APs I know were not in the casinos at all, or they were bouncing around the country liquidating chip inventories, making sure they had enough cash on hand to survive a protracted lockdown. The fake APs? Well, they were, I imagine, just panicking. Panicking about possible death from a relentless virus? No!! Rather, some are panicking about not being able to pay for basic expenses for a few months. APs are not peculiar in this regard. A recent survey estimates that over half of Americans do not have enough savings to survive three months of expenses: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/nearly-half-americans-live-paycheck-to-paycheck-bank-survey. It should be embarrassing for any AP to be living game-to-game after winning six or seven figures in the last few years. Fiscal responsibility is especially important for an AP, whose income can be highly variable and unpredictable. Who knows when the next big score will come?
Even a squirrel is smarter than most Americans. A typical squirrel works hard all year long, and builds up a bankroll of 10,000 units, er, nuts. And no, the squirrel doesn’t forget where they all are. Studies show that squirrels have organized storage systems: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/504458/squirrels-are-probably-more-organized-you-study-finds. So the typical squirrel is smarter than Johnny Chang, the MIT counter of Bringing-Down-the-House fame, notorious for discovering caches of chips previously hidden and forgotten in his house. (I have no doubt Johnny Chang will comment below with a link to a squirrel trying to hide a nut in the fur of a Bernese Mountain Dog, and say, “I’m definitely smarter than that squirrel!” I’ll beat him to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTPOSdyA7Uo)
So while half the world is whining about what a nightmare this lockdown is, and comparing it to the UIGEA Black Friday in 2011, the competent people I know are all seizing this unique opportunity to be productive, to get caught up on projects and start new ones. We’re running around like Quicksilver while the rest of the world is on Pause: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMp_5HtO-aE.
On top of my standard workload writing code daily and working on my next book for Anthony Curtis, my publisher, I’ve added several activities to fill the extra time the lockdown has gifted me. As Kevin Garnett famously said: “I take a lot of pride in my craft. I work really hard on my craft every day, and I’m a true professional.” Here are some specific recommendations on what to do:
- Wash your hands frequently. Real APs use soap. Fake APs have the misconception that while soap will mechanically remove the virus by making it slip-and-slide down the drain, sanitizer will chemically kill it, or that soap is recommended as a cost issue. Wrong! Soap does not just wash the virus away; soap chemically kills the virus. Please read https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/3/11/21173187/coronavirus-covid-19-hand-washing-sanitizer-compared-soap-is-dope
- Watch a movie. I watched Inside the Edge, a cool card-counting documentary by KC and Chris Buddy. It turns out IMDB and RottenTomatoes list me as part of the cast. Who knew? It’s a ton of work to make a movie (or write a book), so I hope they get some views beyond the AP community. For about three seconds, this movie made me want to count cards. I wish I had KC’s stomach.
- Lose weight. I’m considering getting P90X to turn this into a fun project. For me, the lockdown has forced a certain amount of deliberation on my food acquisition. Gone are the relief-dealer snacks that caused me to balloon in recent years. Combined with daily exercise, I’ve lost 3 pounds so far, with my goal of 12 in sight if the lockdown lasts long enough. I wish I had KC’s stomach.
- Learn a language. Visit http://babbel.com, pick the language you always wished you could speak, and one month into this lockdown, you could be speaking it well above tourist level.
- Learn a language. Visit http://khanacademy.org, pick the language you always wished you could code, and one month into this lockdown, you could write a Three Card Poker simulator.
- Read a book. I read The 21st-Century Card Counter, by Colin Jones. It’s great, I give it an A. I’ll have much, much more to say about it later. For about seven seconds, this book made me want to count cards. I might have given it an A+ if the subtitle had been “A Pro’s Approach to Beating Today’s Blackjack.” It irritates me that a lot of APs (and teammates!) are going to skip this book and miss out.
- Work on your game. If you’re a poker player, you can be reading books, using software, playing online. If you’re an aspiring counter, you can be learning at https://www.blackjackapprenticeship.com/. If you’re a hole-carder, you can be studying your Paints. Now is the part of the movie when you’re up in the mountains learning kung fu before you get unleashed on the world to exact revenge.
- Write a blog post.
- Comment on a blog post!
Nice to see you back James, and I’m happy to hear about another upcoming book!
All good advice above for sure; KC’s movie and Colin’s book are solid, though I can’t shake the exaggerations of professional counter viability that BJA endlessly promotes, and honestly am a little surprised by the shining endorsement, considering your usual opinions of card counting.
Anyhow, stay safe, and I’m looking forward to all of us getting back into action.
I’ll have much more to say about Colin’s book, and specifically why I like it, and the few parts (very few) that I disagree with, but it’s a very pleasant read. If I were just starting to count right now, I’d be very motivated to learn to count and attend one of their “boot camps.”
I very much look forward to reading that. I enjoyed this blog very much.
Dr. Michio Kaku was one of Art Bell’s favorite guests on Coast To Coast AM.
Use sanitizer (if you can find it) to clean stuff coming in the door. I clean my newspapers, groceries and deliveries. But then, use soap on your hands. Sanitizer isn’t all that great for humans either and soap may not kill – but, it is designed to remove crap of all kinds. Go to the grocers when the weather’s nasty and/or early in the morn. Do get exercise if you live where you can walk outside without getting close to people. This is even possible in Midtown Manhattan where I live. Eat a varied diet. Humans are omnivores and like variety. Indulge in guilty pleasures. We’ve been gormandizing on holiday foods and drink.
Enjoy your partner’s company. Enjoy other friends at a distance. Keep your sense of humor. Humor does wonders for the human psyche – as well as physical health. Find ways of making your time worthwhile. I spent a night in a concrete holding cell at CCDC with 50 of my closest new friends, one toilet, three phones, and blaring lights. I took it as an experience – another view of the human condition. Another opportunity to examine how other humans function. Take the opportunity to learn from all experiences.
Been a while. Hope all is well.
norm
The CCDC and the CDC lockdown have one thing in common–toilet paper was hard to get.
After a 20+ lag, I’m teaching myself python with the goal of teaching myself machine learning. It’s become so much more powerful and easy since I was younger.
My house is cleaned and more organized. Luckily my business plan in the short and medium run is unaffected and perhaps stronger.
And I retired from gambling with enough money to live comfortably.
Good post. I’m going nuts here. And in reality I’ve only missed maybe 2 weekend trips as a recreational player. Day trading the market volatility has not filled the void, nor has poker online. Don’t play Bovada blackjack, super rigged. Maybe I’ll finally get off my ass and list my Beyond Counting copy on eBay.
It feels a bit wrong to be a glass half full guy right
now but opportunities will undeniably be there when we
emerge from this. I’ve spoken with many APs who have
the same outlook as JG. Get healthy, get prepared and
come back with a vengeance and a renewed sense of
enthusiasm and appreciation when the bell rings.
The longer this goes the more of an AP herd thinning
there will be but on the other side you’re gonna recall
what it was like when you first started out.
Lately I’ve had people on Discord begging me to teach them online AP for a 10-25% freeroll. All of them fail, so I stopped accepting new students. I made much more hourly just playing than trying to teach. It takes rare skills and patience to devise a different game plan for each casino and put up with maybe eventually getting paid — to stomach credit risk superimposed on top of the actual game’s high variance. So I’m not worried about the market becoming overcrowded with APs, ever.
The world’s biggest online casino is wall street. Buy the dip with a low cost index fund like SPY and hold it forever. 99% of APs don’t have what it takes to pick stocks.
It is extremely difficult to find students and get them to a level where they can succeed on their own, which is why Colin’s success stories training people are so impressive. The biggest problem is people come to you and say, “I want to do this,” but what they really mean is, “I want to have the kind of money I dream of having, and you seem to be making a bunch of money.” But they only love the money (who wouldn’t?), not the process, not the game. The successful APs love beating the game, have a curiosity about the game, love having an edge, love exploring new casinos, and love talking to other APs. The money is just the inevitable result of this passion for the game, but most of the would-be students who show up have no interest in the game whatsoever. Same with the gym. The person who loves going to the gym and eating healthy foods will end up with a decent body; the rest of us who love seeing an Adonis in the mirror but hate exercise are going to be disappointed.
“The world’s biggest online casino is wall street. Buy the dip with a low cost index fund like SPY and hold it forever. 99% of APs don’t have what it takes to pick stocks.“
If you treat stocks as companies & shares (of stocks) as claims on future free cash flow; then a simple rule would be to buy when the stock price is trading at a meaningful discount to intrinsic value. As Warren Buffett stated many times, buy “stocks” when they are half off.
It never ceases to amaze me that AP’s can calculate the EV of a “play” or “opportunity” in a casino to the penny but cannot calculate the intrinsic value of a “stock” price.
A stock can be valued based on (a) future free cash flows and (b) the correct discount rate. This isn’t rocket science.
Agreed completely.
I’ve been dedicating 5 hours a day to professional development, between reading and working on skills. Thanks James for the reminder that my fake AP ass has no excuse not to put in a full 8-10 hours.
Love the KG quote too. He was one of the hardest workers in the history of the game.
5 hours a day is tremendous, scary in fact. I think a viral inspirational speech by Ahhnold the Govenator made the point that if you just spent an hour a day, think how much you’d accomplish in a week, a month, a year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_ktRTWMX3M
Thank you for the post James! Let’s keep it going, please. Don’t be such a stranger.
Great read. I would love to read your books James, however they aren’t easy to come by. Look forward to what you put out in the future.
It’s articles and comments like this that at seventy years old my body clock wakes me up at two a.m. in Chicago to read the LVA. Great article and comments. Don’t forget to watch or read comedy daily. The Burns and Allen show always makes me laugh.
Thanks! (I don’t know if I’ve seen the Burns and Allen show. Is it like Key & Peele?)
I had to wiki Key and Peele. George Burns and Gracie Allen were a vaudeville married couple that went into radio and then into television in the fifties from 1950 to 1958. No coarse language and they didn’t joke about the president or religion back then. You had to come up with your own material. Quite an accomplishment. I record it here in Chicago and when the news gets me too serious I’ll watch an episode or two to laugh at it all. I’m sure we’ll get through this. Good luck.
I’m a big fan of George Burns, especially the Oh God movies. Key and Peele’s most famous sketch, and one of my favorites, is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw
Great article, James! I hope to put this time to good use by practicing Arnold’s Zen Count. With regard to the Coronavirus, I do think it is premature to talk about a case mortality rate, though. Since we have yet to get a sufficient number of results from the antibody test to get a good feel for the number that should be used in the denominator of that equation. I suspect the actual rate will be much lower that 1%, as does a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University (John loannidas).
I don’t disagree, just using ballpark figures. Our predictions for our own situations wouldn’t even use the ballpark figures. I think I’m under 1%, but I know some APs that would probably have a death risk above 30%.
”I suspect the actual rate will be much lower that 1%, as does a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University (John loannidas).“
N. Taleb proved J. Ioannidas is an “IYI” due to absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. See Taleb’s tweet: https://mobile.twitter.com/nntaleb/status/1246399228303282176 arguing for 1/N.
You might want to hold off on the Mortality Rate as this is just the first wave. It’s hard to predict a mortality rate when we are in the first inning of a 9-inning game especially given the exponential growth function (of innocent bystanders infected by CCP Virus).
Fantastic post. I’ve taken this time to learn the key differences in the different face cards of various card manufacturers. I was inspired by a certain white board quiz I saw a couple months ago. While many see this time as a major inconvenience I see it as a ‘calm before the storm’ of sorts. I’ll see you around.
Glad that you’ve recovered, but sorry for your loss. It’s amazing how much those familiar faces mean to us and our sense of community. I’d also recommend the DuoLingo app for language learning.
You’re the second person today who has recommended DuoLingo to me, thanks. I’m going to look at that.
During a time when it’s easy to forget the day of the week and lack the necessity of even getting dressed in the morning, the image of being up in the mountains learning Kung Fu is a good motivator.
Longtime no see, welcome back James. I was wondering for years when you would make your return to this platform.
Actually doing a lot of things that days on the road won’t give me time to do. Just finished Colin’s book. Entertaining reading but a few things bothered me, one of these being the “easiness” to win money if you count cards correctly. Having played this game at expert level for years, it looks to me like Colin and his group mostly hit positive variance off the bat and never looked back, which won’t be the case for over 50% of the good and even great players. It is simply not true that going to the boot camp and graduating with an A+ will put you in a position to start making money like crazy. It makes me laugh A LOT when I read he started with $2000… I have NO DOUBT this is true (that he had $2000 bankroll at the start) but it’s like reading someone made $100K at roulette strating with $2000. Turning $2000 to $xxxK at Blackjack in such a short period has nothing to do with talent or being great at counting. It has 99% to do with Variance!
Very true! Starting with $2000 is likely to end the other way, but Colin admits that very thing. He says that he got super lucky that first night and doubled up. I mark up books as I read them, and your point about the $2k starting bank was one of the first things I circled! But we’ll get to that in a future post.
I believe that the coronavirus is a hoax, that people with the common cold and other debilitating medical conditions are being reclassified as having Covid-19 because the testing is botched. People are passing away from underlying medical conditions which they already had. If someone out in society were to have a myocardial infarction and pass away he or she would be classified as having died from Covid-19. We all know as people age a lot of people and patients have more than one medical condition affecting their health.
What’s really going on is an economic collapse on a grand scale by design as governments around the world in conjunction with the media use this supposed virus to spread fear and paranoia. The Fed is pumping trillions and trillions of dollars into a dead economy. This is purely about “controlling” the population and keeping them locked in their house, destroying the economy and peoples lives in the process. The coronavirus did not cause the shutdown of the casinos, it was the politicians or either the casinos themselves who mandated the closures of the casinos. I’m not buying any of this nonsense from the media or politicians. This all started in China and look at what they did, they clamped down on the people. What did Western governments do in conjunction? They locked us down and put everyone’s lives on hold. For what?
I could understand how the scare of the coronavirus would seem real to you and taken seriously after I read that you fought a life and death situation several years ago. I’m saddened to hear that your friend known as The Futurist recently passed away. Did you know the full medical history of your buddy who was dubbed, The Futurist? Did the man have underlying medical conditions and was he tested after he passed away.
Yes, the Futurist and another family member both tested positive for coronavirus, were both under treatment for it, and both died. I doubt you’ll get much traction telling their family members that this is all a hoax. Whether or not the lockdown is part of a grand conspiracy is irrelevant to me. The casinos are closed. As an AP, what am I going to do with my time?
You do what you need to do. Brick and mortar casinos may be closed down but I’m sure the online servers are up and running. I know there is online blackjack and poker to be played. When you physically cannot be playing in person you may be able to play online but I’m not sure if playing online is your thing. A lot of people don’t trust online gaming and I can understand why after reading horror stories about online cheating.
In this article take note of the “underlying conditions and flu like symptoms” that these senior citizens had and note their ages.
It was a regular poker game among eight friends. Within weeks, coronavirus killed three and infected all.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/fl-ne-dying-together-coronavirus-20200414-atv34aun7fhf7atucntor63jee-story.html#rt=chartbeat-flt
Yes, we get it: old people, especially those with other conditions, are most likely to die. But the fact that that coronavirus is the last nail in the coffin for them–as opposed to the only nail or omnibus nail–does not mean that this last nail does not exist. Regardless, my blog post is not about the coronavirus, its origins, our national response, or any of that. Casinos are, in fact, under lockdown; that is not a hoax. The topic is what APs should do about it, and the importance of saving. These comments are straying too far off-topic, but I surmise there are many other forums to debate coronavirus ad nauseum.
have u ever found an online casino to play BJ on where it didnt reshuffle every hand and was open to americans?
i miss coin royale because i could bet less than 1c worth of bitcoin when u could bet 0.000001 bitcoin, but now its like $1 or less minimum because they changed it to 0.0001 bitcoin. i need a site i can min bet 1c, and martingale like crazy on it.
Great post. Well written and funny as always. If you run out of casinos to hit you could be a motivational speaker. 😉 In good news, APs are eligible for unemployment https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/professional-gamblers-qualify-for-nevada-unemployment-amid-crisis-2001863/
basically not true. everyone i know who tried to file for unemployment whose only income was gambling. all got refused when they tried. it. and 49 out of 50 professional gamblers live in one of the other states instead of NV, so this is useless to most.
Blitzkrieg:
Just in New York City: over 700 people die per day that have tested positive for COVID-19. The average number of people pronounced dead at home or in the street before COVID was about 30 per day, now it is 250 per day. You think that is a common cold? The flu? Not in April.
Yes, many people have COVID and it is not severe or fatal for them. But to call it a hoax is laughable. By that logic, cancer is a hoax.
The casinos hope that your gaming strategies are also based on hunches like your conclusion that COVID-19 is a hoax. “I’ve got a good feeling that inside straight will hit. I’m all in!”. “Roulette has hit black 5 times straight so it will definitely hit red this spin!”.
By the way, I don’t treat my patients on hunches. Because science.
VA is getting casinos. During my current business downtime, I thought about contacting the right people in VA. I contacted one of the politicians behind the push already. Would James G, Anthony C, Al R, Munchkin, Dancer, etc… ever consult with a new state to help them set up good laws? Or is that over exposure and naive to think they would listen to APs? I assume the casino company lobbyists are all over these people who are setting up the laws. Who is on the general publics side? PA has had big success from what I understand. And they put in place good rules. How did they know to do this? Is a call to these politicians with a suggestion to copy PA a smart idea? I am a nobody in the industry so unlikely to be heard and I really don’t want to expose myself with very little to gain. I will finally have casinos nearby and would like them to be safe and playable. Thanks for suggestions on how to proceed!
When casinos get approved in a state, the state is concerned about the big-picture business implications–tax revenue, jobs creation, traffic, unions, affected other businesses (local restaurants, racetracks, nightclubs), crime–and they don’t really see any issues with the minutiae of how the games are dealt, nor could they ever be convinced that a handful of backroomings are a big deal. In any case, they will always set up a Gaming Commission, and empower that body to make the actual gaming rules that most affect us. So I think the best chance of having any meaningful influence is to lobby the members of the Gaming Commission, and file appropriate lawsuits when necessary.
James Grosjean wrote:
” In any case, they will always set up a Gaming Commission, and empower that body to make the actual gaming rules that most affect us. So I think the best chance of having any meaningful influence is to lobby the members of the Gaming Commission, and file appropriate lawsuits when necessary.”
Casinos can at their discretion circumvent or avoid going through the trouble of having a hearing process in the state of Massachusetts whereby bypassing and trying to prove an established Gaming Laws breach for the possible state exclusion of a patron from their premises. Instead, they just use the normal Commonwealth Laws to barring any person’s for a lifetime from entering business for basically whatever reason they want. Who knows how many people this involves that the Gaming Commission never hears about. By just avoiding the state gaming laws they can bar innocent people who they know that they could not prove their case such as cheating. The players that are actually on the State exclusion list and those that subsequently go back and play again and if caught will have their chips confiscated and those sums of money will be put in the state’s general fund that the casinos will not benefit from.
I can’t imagine a state ever consulting any of us.
States maybe won’t consult “us,” but that doesn’t mean they won’t listen to “us.” A big part though, is who “us” is. That’s why I started the American Bettors Coalition with a few other people. Our focus is sportsbetting legalization, but sportsbetting is definitely a form of advantage play.
We’re looking to be the voice of the consumer. Not just the sharp bettor, but all bettors. The idea is simple. If we lobby for a more sustainable product then players won’t make ill-informed choices on what they spend their money on. This creates longer lasting liquidity into gaming markets. The resulting boost into recyclable liquidity creates more room for sharp bettors, or AP’s, to operate.
American Bettors Coalition is a bit different in that we’re involved with an industry that will gladly cannibalize itself on a race to the bottom. Casino gaming is here to stay and is an institution in American culture. Sportsbetting, on the other hand, doesn’t have as firm of a footing. However, it is largely still being shaped by laws and regulations. We feel we have a golden opportunity to make a difference.
Anyway, that’s a sidetrack but I wanted to be clear that states have the capacity to listen to the consumer and AP’s have the ability to be altruistic enough to serve causes beyond their own EV.
Continuing on my above post if a player who was only casino barred in Mass but not state excluded goes back and plays again and gets caught I do not believe his chips would be taken, at least legally, but, is now giving the casino ammunition for building a case as a troublemaker who does not follow orders and they very well may now inform the state that they would like to have an exclusion hearing, with a much better case against the individual, a double edge sword so to speak.
Sorry James G, as I realized too late that you were referring to rules of the games and I was talking about barrings.
the author of this post is a whole lot like Nancy Pelosi, totally out of touch with the poor and working people she is supposed to represent. does not care and cannot relate because they personally arent greatly suffering due to the closures. those of us who were making about $100 a day as an AP in the casinos, whether it be BJ, poker, or ocean magic machines, were using the entire 30-40k per year to live on, and when u only make that a year u have nothing left to save up. it all gets spent to live on and pay bills. and now we all have no income for 2 months maybe 3-4.
as well as he is financially, he should offer us $500 each on ACR as a stake to play poker with, and we can give it back to him later with his share of the profit. he should send us some AP reading material so we have something to do during the lockdown. and maybe supply us with a free apt to live in in the meantime. or at least hook us up with another person in the same boat, that we can meet up with in groups of just 2 (well below 10) and play 1 cent minimum $1 maximum Blackjack with for 1-100 units where we can kill time, and improve our skills and maybe try and earn $20 a day off each other.
I didn’t realize that my job is to represent the poor and working people, but for the sake of transparency, I’ll throw this out there: I am not spending my lockdown chilling on a yacht, and my name is not Elmer J. Fudd. Everyone is suffering. I go to casinos EVERY DAY, so you think this has no financial impact on me? You think I don’t help out family and friends financially, during the lockdown and otherwise? You think I don’t have a family member in the hospital right now?
Regardless, that’s all irrelevant. There are two simple points to my blog post: (1) People need to save their money. Of course there are people who don’t make enough to save much, but you’d be hard-pressed to claim that that’s the norm in the AP community. If it is, then you’re right–I’m out of touch. In my experience encountering many APs, I’ve found that leaks, reckless spending, poor play (that could be easily improved with work) and myopia are the main reasons they have not saved up enough to last a 2-5 month lockdown. Maybe your experience is different. (2) Of course these are tough times, but what is an AP going to do about it? My inspiration is Kevin Garnett, so I’m working every day during the lockdown. I worked out 6 days last week (lost 4 pounds!), I’ve listened to probably 20 or so Gambling With An Edge podcasts (they’re free!), I’ve been writing code every day that will boost the EV of my teammates, I cleaned up an email account that had almost 6000 unread messages, and more. I’m still putting in 15-hour days, and feeling lazy that it’s not more. I’m THAT guy. And I’m encouraging my readers to try to also be THAT guy. If you want to be the OTHER guy (the guy who finds a way to insert “Nancy Pelosi” into comments on every blog on the internet), that’s your choice.
Inspired! A call to be THAT guy. A call to arms to improve AP strategies, physical and mental and spiritual fitness! Sounds like a plan to sharpen our swords and prepare for battle! Thanks James! Keep on blogging and inspiring the AP community.
PS still waiting for the second edition of the “ideal BP” follow up blog post to your last post. An older 40+ woman or older Asian male is my top two, leaning towards male bc they can blend in alittle more easily. More males are gamblers in general…
” I cleaned up an email account that had almost 6000 unread messages, and more.”
Now I know where my “important email” to you ended up! 🙂
I’ve lost a few pounds since casinos closed. Amazing what not eating at a buffet will do!
Regarding your 6000 emails, did you “clean up” the email one at a time, or a bulk delete?
I didn’t open every one, but I checked/deleted one-by-one. Still gotta work on answering the ones that need answering!
Shutdown or not, I’m always dealing out some form of game.
Time to move into a 21st century environment and polish up those online skills.
Oh to be in London ordering pizza (no cilantro of course)
Awesome read!!!