If you’ve ever kicked the top off an ant mound to trigger and reveal an alarming frenzy of activity that is ultimately meaningless, then you know what it’s like to make an online post defending Colin Jones. The lurkers come out in full hater mode, trying to sting and bite everything in sight. A meta-analysis […]
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Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.
Those were Todd Beamer’s last words to the outside world before he, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, Jeremy Glick, and other passengers successfully sacrificed Flight 93, on September 11 twenty years ago. There are a few flashbulb images that will never leave me from that day. The smoking World Trade Center tower is the one we […]
An Opportunity or a Predicament?
In his recent blog post (which he coincidentally titled the same as mine), Bob Dancer ponders what APs have come to call a scavenging play: The stranger-cum-BFF gambling next to you is about to misplay a hand, and you have the opportunity to correct this injustice, merely by offering a bit of timely advice and […]
Colin Jones (S1 E10 Finale): The Ultimate Vindi...
Throughout The 21st-Century Card Counter, Colin Jones interviews former students who have gone off into the wild to ply their trade. There’s a bit of publication bias, because we don’t hear about the train wrecks, but that’s understandable. The success stories are still entertaining and educational, and include sufficient misery. Whenever I read those reports […]
Colin Jones (S1 E9): Knockout KISS
At the Blackjack Ball one year, Tommy Hyland came up to me saying he had a question. The preface “I have a question for you” is always a little unnerving, especially coming from someone you don’t talk to very often. So then he asked me … [wait for it …] “Why do you recommend KO?” […]
What is an AP?—Part II
[Colin Jones Season 1 will resume next time!] Previously, we asked the question, “What is an AP?” As an example, I threw out for debate the machine player who learns a few fun facts on Twitter and then wanders around the casino picking up money as a button-pushing zombie. As kids, maybe as early as […]
Colin Jones (S1 E8): Mail Bag
In this episode of my N-part series looking at Colin Jones’s book, The 21st-Century Card Counter, I’m just going to briefly comment on various phrases and sentences that caught my eye. This is like the “Mail Bag” episodes of Gambling with an Edge, or the Potpourri category on Jeopardy. [p. 26] “I’m not going to […]
Colin Jones: Season 1 Episode 7
That’s a pretty dry title for this post, about as aptly dry as Colin Jones’s “The 21st-Century Card Counter.” But the movie title’s better than the book’s. “Holy Rollers”—not just a play on words, but also an oxymoron that Hollywood loves. Remember that moment when the Preacher gunslinger swaps his clerical collar for a pistol […]
What is an “AP”?—Part I
[Note: Season 1 of Colin Jones will resume next time, and there is further good news: Netflix and GWAE have announced that Colin Jones is renewed for Season 2!] A few times per year, my elderly parents used to make the drive from New Jersey to Boston. Like all old people who haven’t grasped the […]
Colin Jones (S1 E6): The Secret to Investing—OP...
I walked off a game the other day, and I have Colin Jones to thank. On paper, the game could be a 20% edge or higher. In the real world? Not so much. My frustration grew. Why am I playing this 10% garbage? I’m out. Where does Colin Jones fit into this? Something he wrote […]