Notes to Self

After a number of stupid decisions:

You broke rules again today, Chris.

You are going to lose money and it will end this endeavor and then where will you be? Sitting at a desk speaking into a headset asking people to turn it off and on again. What will it take? At some point you’re going to ignore and hold a loss until it clears out what you’ve made already.

We need to be ready for losses but they need to be managed by YOU, not by luck. And that’s what happened today. You got lucky. I don’t even want to look at the chart anymore.

This was a three hour fucking trade that NEVER should have happened. Had you taken the loss and then reversed your position, you would have made MORE money than you just did ($37.85). Sure that’s still 12$ an hour but is that the reason you’re doing this? To make minimum wage risking your own capital? That’s not the idea. 

That is all.

New Blackjack Strategy Trainer – Now Mobile Friendly!

I’ve posted about BlackJack Basic Strategy before but I wanted to share a tool that really helps those that are interested learn basic strategy. This link goes direct to a mobile friendly web app that can help you learn BS because it has a strategy trainer built right in. It will correct mistakes and allow you to learn by doing.

Give it a try!

This is an updated mobile friendly version of our blackjack trainer. It’s a free game that teaches basic strategy and warns if you make any mistakes

Source: New Blackjack Strategy Trainer – Now Mobile Friendly!

Blackjack: What is Basic Strategy?

Almost everyone knows the goal of blackjack: try to get closer than the dealer to a card total of 21 without going over. Pretty simple, no? But is it all guessing about what you need to do when you get a particular sequence of cards? The easy answer is no and hopefully I’ll give you a bit more information about how you can educate yourself on the right decisions.

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BlackJack: Or How I’m Proving I’m Not My Father

Sly and I have made an annual trip to Vegas during the Xmas break. It’s turned into a bit of a tradition and I’ll tell you why (in no particular order):

  • Inexpensive
  • Endless entertainment options
  • World Class dining establishments
  • No snow
  • No (family) drama

After our first trip we really understood how Vegas could answer the holiday blues for us. When it came time to decide our vacation the next Xmas break, it was a very easy decision to make. So we went again. And it was glorious.

We ate at Burgr, had a champagne brunch (bring on the pitcher of mimosa!!!) , and saw Zarkana, another of the incomparable Cirque de Soleil shows. We visited the Mob Museum, wandered around Fremont Street and did some shopping at the North and South Premium Outlets! Our hotel last year was the MGM Grand and our room was so fantastic, we’ll be using them for our hotel again due to the amenities and the proximity to the theatre we attend to see a movie or two. (Last year we managed to get into a preview of Into the Woods! So cool!). See the gallery below for some pictures.

You’ll notice something from the list of activities above: no gambling in a city where gambling is one of the main draws. Not to say we didn’t gamble! Sly and I spent a bit of time at a Walking Dead slot machine and had a great time. We even ended up coming out significantly ahead due to a lucky spin. But that was it, nothing else. No poker, no blackjack, no roulette.

As you may or may not know, my Father was a gambler. Even worse, he was a gambler that didn’t know when to quit and, I realize now, didn’t understand that gambling to excess is like anything else: damaging to yourself and those around you. Eventually he lost something of value beyond a few restaurants and money: he lost his family.

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