Our guest this week is a blackjack player, and team leader called Vecnan. Vecnan first came to my attention when I heard he had recruited blackjack teammates off Craig’s List. I thought he sounded completely insane, and had to get him on the show.
podcast
Click to listen – Alt click to download
Show Notes
[00:33] Vecnan’s early advantage play experience
[02:51] Self-taught advantage play
[03:35] Writing articles about blackjack
[04:47] Becoming a full-time professional, difficult aspects of that job
[08:25] Dating while playing full-time
[09:46] 200-hour losing streaks, risk of ruin
[11:34] Back-offs and cover plays
[19:18] Forming a team, advertising, training
[27:30] More training program discussion
[29:18] Playing as a refusal
[31:12] Changing spread or top bet by market
[32:44] Bankroll split
[35:23] South Point Casino January Promotions – $400,000 Spin to Win
[36:49] Predictit.org/promo/edge – place small bets on various political events, $20 deposit match for GWAE listeners
[41:47] Anticipating a back-off
[45:52] Buying candy bars
[48:39] Vecnan’s first AP play at a high school casino night
[50:25] Will Vecnan’s team expand into other forms of advantage play?
[52:44] Recommended – “A Creature of Habit” episode of The Hidden Brain, “Two Hustlers” episode of Risk of Ruin, RxGamble.com
Sponsored Links:
SouthPointCasino.com
VideoPoker.com/gwae
Predictit.org/promo/edge
Recommended:
Hiddenbrain.org/podcast/creatures-of-habit
Podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-hustlers/id1527018692?i=1000504515764
Never miss another post
Vecnan, out of all the players you have on your blackjack team how rigorous is your testing when you vet your BJ prospects? Did everyone make the team that you met from your Craigslist advertisements? What were some of the toughest learning curves that your blackjack students had to overcome while learning the game knowing you preferred a blank slate? Did you train them in blackjack with the aid of computers and simulated casino play where you trained your team? I once ran an ad on Craigslist in my local area to find people interested in blackjack years ago where I only had one response but the person got cold feet.
I’m not a fan of the way you pay the players on your blackjack team. I think all players should invest and split the risk on the bankroll equally, and the bankroll should be split and paid out to the investors on a pre-determined date in the future while establishing a set goal to be disseminated to the team on the number of hours to be played.
When it comes to splitting the bankroll whatever people put into the starting bankroll they should know and receive a predetermined mathematical percentage based on what they invest in the starting bankroll. That way everybody knows what percentage of the payouts they will receive before the action begins. That’s the way I would do it.