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The Blackjack Apprenticeship Podcast

The Blackjack Apprenticeship Podcast

Blackjack Apprenticeship 170 Episodes Jun 24, 2026

Everyone wants to beat the casino. Hear from those who actually have. From practical tips and hard earned wisdom to epic stories of blackjack careers that went far better than expected, the Blackjack Apprenticeship podcast is for anyone interested in blackjack, card counting, or just sticking it to the man.

Episodes

Gilgamesh: Why He Left a Six-Figure Career for Blackjack | BJA186 Jun 24, 2026 2345 Colin and Joe748 are joined by BJA member Gilgamesh to share how a lucky first trip to Las Vegas led him from casual blackjack player to full-time advantage player. After training with BJA, attending a boot camp, and counting cards part-time while working long hours as an engineer, he left his $128,000-a-year career and committed to life on the road. He discusses the successes and failures of play
May Mailbag Q&A: Bet Sizing, Wonging, Advanced Counting Systems | BJA185 May 27, 2026 2332 Joe748 and SD1 are back for a new mailbag episode to answer more questions from socials and the BJA community! They're discussing bankroll expectations, heat management, chip cashouts, wonging, ID requests, bet sizing, and whether advanced count systems are worth learning. Emphasizing that many decisions are situational: the mathematically optimal play is not always the best real-world move once h
He Won $100K Counting Cards While in Law School | BJA184 May 19, 2026 2670 Colin and Joe748 sit down with BJA member Jaw5reaker to talk about how he went from a rough first Vegas trip to winning over $100,000 counting cards in less than 300 hours. They get into his early training, what changed after joining BJA, learning to handle backoffs, bankroll decisions, playing above EV, splitting 10s, sleeping cheap on the road, and why the human side of advantage play matters on
April Mailbag Q&A: Pro Income Levels, Finding S17 Games, Burnout | BJA183 Apr 29, 2026 2406 Colin, SD1, and Joe748 discuss professional card counting income, burnout, team play, finding Stand 17 games, “flow of the cards” myths, superstitions, wonging in and out, and how new players should get started. They compare solo play and team play, emphasizing that teams can pool bankrolls and reduce variance but also create trust, conflict, and accounting problems. The guys also push back agains
How This AP Beat Electronic Blackjack for $700k | BJA182 Apr 16, 2026 1868 Joe748 and SD1 talk with Australian advantage player DoubleAny2, who explains how he adapted when continuous shufflers made traditional blackjack harder to beat in Australia. He describes finding a major edge in electronic blackjack machines by combining card counting with creative ways to estimate deck depth, exploit promotions, and avoid attention, ultimately winning well over $700,000. The conv
Max Ruben Interview: From Casino Cheats to Advantage Play Expert | BJA181 Apr 8, 2026 2976 Colin sits down with Max Rubin who share stories from a lifetime in gambling, tracing his path from growing up around casino cheating to becoming one of the most respected figures in advantage play. He talks about learning legal advantage techniques, discovering how casinos overvalued player losses in their comp systems, and turning that insight into the ideas behind Comp City. Max tells wild stor
[Rebroadcast] The Magic of Card Counting with Steven Bridges | BJA103 Apr 1, 2026 3656 Steven Bridges is a UK-based professional Street Magician turned Blackjack Card Counter. We had the pleasure of meeting Steven back in 2018 when he attended one of our Blackjack Bootcamps. Since then, he has taken on the exciting challenge of going from beginner to pro in the world of professional card counting. Steven has documented the entire process from the beginning training to getting kicked
Ex-AP Turned Casino Surveillance Reveals How They Catch Card Counters | BJA180 Mar 25, 2026 1720 Joe748 and SD1 interview “Fish,” a surveillance agent with an AP background, about how casinos actually identify and evaluate card counters. Fish explains that most surveillance departments focus heavily on table games, mispays, weak dealers, and obvious AP indicators like refusing a name, taking key deviations such as insurance, mid-shoe buy-ins, and unusual chip behavior. He also describes how r
[Rebroadcast] Married Advantage Play Teammates with ‘Flewster’ | BJA101 Mar 18, 2026 2901 How do the trials of a married card counting duo compare to the endeavors of the typical solo card counter? Joining Colin and Joe748 are BJA member Flewster and his wife and they discuss: The heat difference between husband and wife, The flexibility of full time, The effect of card counting on their marriage, Getting in local hours, Second thoughts after losing half their bankroll, and more!
March Mailbag Q&A: Generating Max EV, Best Time to Play, Is 10k Enough? | BJA179 Mar 11, 2026 2006 SD1 and Joe748 are joined by Colin to answer questions about bankroll requirements, optimal playing conditions, and advanced strategy decisions in card counting. The discussion covers whether a $10K bankroll is realistic, why bet spreads—not just deviations—drive most of a counter’s profit, and how casino conditions like table crowding or payout rules dramatically affect expected value. They also
Darryl Purpose: Stories From a Lifetime of Beating Casinos | BJA178 Mar 4, 2026 3183 Colin, SD1, and Joe748 talk with Blackjack Hall of Famer Darryl Purpose about how he got his start in card counting as a teenager after reading Beat the Dealer, eventually joining Ken Houston’s blackjack team. Darryl shares stories from decades of advantage play, including team dynamics, international trips, and memorable casino moments. The conversation also covers how blackjack has changed over
[Rebroadcast] The Courage of a Female AP with CurlyFry | BJA096 Feb 11, 2026 3358 With 450 hours and counting in at the blackjack tables so far this year, BJA member and full-time card counter CurlyFry joins Colin and Joe748 to discuss: Betting $250 on a $2500 bankroll, Getting a cruise ship casino to change their rules, Getting backed off on a first date, Playing in Monte Carlo, the advantages and disadvantages of being a female AP and more! **Originally aired Nov 9th, 2022**

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