Blackjack Awakening: How a Blackjack Institute seminar changed my view on card counting - Part I
by David Miller

It was round three of the skills competition and the task at hand was to count down a deck of cards as fast as possible. Speed wasn’t the most important criteria. A blazing time would only matter if I was able to accurately keep the count. Despite the challenge I was confident I would fare well. As I readied myself to start thumbing through the cards, I noticed MIT Mike looking over my shoulder. “Keep your focus,” I told myself. “Don’t get nervous.” Mike is someone who can burn through a deck without flinching, someone who has made millions counting cards, someone who I have respected for years. Now was my chance to impress him.

I had the opportunity to attend a Blackjack Institute seminar in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. The following is my account of the seminar.

Saturday - 8:30 am. After only 20 minutes of sleep and a quick shower, I was shuffling through the halls of the Platinum Hotel and Spa, dog tired and deeply regretting my night of Vegas revelry with my friends. Luckily there were signs on the fourth floor pointing me in the right direction. When I finally made it to the seminar room I found Dave Irvine standing outside. Dave was full of energy and ready to go.

As soon as I walked into the room I made a bee line for the coffee. The coffee smelled like heaven, but before I could get my first cup, I met Mike Aponte. Mike is built like a tank which belies how polite and cordial he is. Dave and Mike made a great first impression. They each have an authoritative presence but at the same time they are easy going guys.

After introductions Dave and Mike got down to business. It was an open presentation in that you could ask questions at anytime. For a seminar it had an intimate feel and everyone felt comfortable right from the start. Sometimes people would ask the same question in several different ways. Dave and Mike would patiently and clearly answer every question, even the ones that were repeated. The interactive dynamic really kept my interest.

The seminar’s instruction followed the training manual but with a nice twist. Dave and Mike would interweave their experiences, explaining how the material applied to real world situations. You can be lectured to death but that isn’t going to teach you live application in casinos. I glanced around the room, observing the other attendees. Age wise they ranged from the early 30s to mid 60s. I was the youngest person there.

Dave started the seminar, covering the basics of blackjack such as the rules, card values, basic strategy, etc. Intermittently Mike would contribute his knowledge. Dave and Mike worked extremely well together and their teamwork made the instruction very effective. When it came to key points of emphasis, Dave’s face took on a serious expression. Not like you see in a business meeting or a lecture, but a drill sergeant type look. I privately nicknamed him SGT Dave. Dave was honest and to the point. For example, Dave made it emphatically clear you should not deviate from basic strategy. Both Dave and Mike preached that basic strategy is the foundation of card counting.

Everyone was asked to try to write out basic strategy from memory on a blank chart. I looked to my right and the gentleman sitting there was about a third done - no mistakes as far as I could tell. I appreciated the fact that I was in the company of other people who shared the same passion I have for blackjack. I watched him crank out the basic strategy chart as if he was filling out his name and address. Then I headed back to the coffee pot.

One of my favorite parts of the seminar was the interactive practice which was held in a second room. After learning the count system and more important, how to count using meaningful pairs, we had the opportunity to apply what we were taught. When I walked into the practice room there were four blackjack tables set up with a dealer standing behind each one. I chose a seat and said hello to Bob, the dealer. Bob was from Switzerland and didn't look a day over 21. I asked Bob which casino he dealt for and he explained that he was in dealer school. I asked him, “Do you know what’s going on here?” He said, “Not really. I was just assigned to deal for this event.” I asked, "Do you know about the MIT Blackjack team?" Bob’s eyes lit up and he said with a smile, “Yeah they won millions of dollars from the casinos by counting cards.” I looked over my shoulder and pointed to Mike and Dave and said "That’s MIT Mike and MR. J from the MIT Blackjack team.” His eyes opened wide in surprise, and I could tell he got a bit nervous. After I took another sip of coffee I said, “Let’s play some blackjack.”

During our practice session we focused on keeping the running count while flat betting and of course playing basic strategy. Mike and Dave walked around from table to table, checking on how everyone was doing. I noticed a few people were a little gun shy in their interactions with Dave and Mike. It wasn’t completely surprising given that among the attendees, Dave and Mike hold celebrity status. After our practice session, everyone had the opportunity to relax and socialize during our lunch break. After lunch the seminar resumed. Mike discussed deck estimation and the true count, and then covered betting strategy, money management and game selection. He told a number of great stories which everyone enjoyed. You could see Dave and Mike get a little giddy reminiscing about the good old days. Then, we had an unexpected guest speaker. Much to our surprise a former casino shift manager was in our midst.....

Part II