The Blackjack Apprenticeship Podcast

Episodes

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  From Nurse to Six-Figure Card Counter: Parcero’s Blackjack Journey | BJA190 13.08.2026 35m

  Colin and SD1 sit down with BJA member Parcero to trace his path from a decade in nursing and casual basic-strategy play to disciplined advantage play. After months of rigorous training and a successful BJA Bootcamp test-out, Parcero says he grew an approximately $50,000 starting bankroll into the low six figures in just over 150 hours of play. Parcero explains how strict game selection, deck penetration, heads-up play, casino rotation, and consistent practice shape his high-EV approach. We also cover expanded deviations, backoffs and trespasses, preserving local games, and remaining disciplined through short-term variance. You can WATCH this interview on the BJA YouTube!
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  July Mailbag Q&A: Online Blackjack, Deviations, Travel Budgeting | BJA189 22.07.2026 32m

  SD1, and Joe748 sit down to answer a wide range of listener questions covering blackjack strategy, side bets, travel, casino heat, facial recognition, and bankroll management. They discuss emphasize relying on mathematical analysis rather than intuition, caution against chasing unproven side bets or strategy updates, and explain the tradeoffs between maximizing EV and avoiding casino attention. This is also a VIDEO on the BJA Youtube
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  SharpCookie Shares How She Won Over 300k Playing Blackjack | BJA188 15.07.2026 54m

  Colin sits down with SharpCookie, she shares how she went from discovering card counting almost by accident to becoming a full-time advantage player with more than $300,000 in profits. She discusses the intense training, emotional swings, team support, casino cover tactics, backoffs, and trespasses that have shaped her career. She also explains how her background in competitive sports prepared her for the discipline and uncertainty of blackjack, while emphasizing how much small details, continued practice, and a strong support system matter. Looking ahead, she hopes to use her growing Spanish-language platform to make professional card-counting education more accessible to players who cannot easily learn in English.Watch the video version of this interview on the BJA YouTube!
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  [Rebroadcast] Beating a Mobile Game for $650K w/ Magnum Wordsmith | BJA108 08.07.2026 47m

  Sitting on your phone all day is a waste of time, right? Not if you're BJA member Magnum Wordsmith. In this episode, Colin and Joe748 are joined by the aforementioned Magnum Wordsmith. They discuss topics such as transitioning from playing in a band at casinos to playing blackjack, developing his own system to beat a mobile app, becoming a full-fledged casino AP, the importance of taking care of oneself, and much more!
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  Gilgamesh: Why He Left a Six-Figure Career for Blackjack | BJA187 24.06.2026 39m

  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 playing solo and on multiple teams, including a failed Vegas-focused bankroll, high-stakes team play, and the trust and culture required to survive major swings. Gilgamesh also explains why the freedom and control over his time have made the risk worthwhile, while cautioning that full-time advantage play is not the right path for most people.   This is a VIDEO podcast, watch it on the BJA Youtube Channel
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  John Mehaffey Discusses Best Blackjack Games in Vegas 2026 | BJA186 03.06.2026 32m

  John Mehaffey co-founded Vegas Advantage in 2018 with his wife, Kristina. The site covers Las Vegas table game minimums and rules, including where to find the best blackjack games and which ones to avoid. John and Kristina survey at least a dozen Las Vegas casinos every month to find the latest game conditions for their Patreon members. You can find their Las Vegas blackjack information here: https://vegasadvantage.com/las-vegas-blackjack/   Watch the video version of this interview on the BJA YouTube!
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  May Mailbag Q&A: Bet Sizing, Wonging, Advanced Counting Systems | BJA185 27.05.2026 38m

  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 heat, bankroll size, longevity, and casino relationships are considered.    Catch the guys in video as well on the BJA Youtube channel!
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  He Won $100K Counting Cards While in Law School | BJA184 19.05.2026 44m

  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 once the technical game is solid.   This is also available as a video podcast on the Blackjack Apprenticeship YouTube channel!
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  April Mailbag Q&A: Pro Income Levels, Finding S17 Games, Burnout | BJA183 29.04.2026 40m

  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 against superstition and bad gambler logic, stressing that card counting depends on math, perfect execution, strong tools, and a reliable support network.   Editor note: The ByrnenDownTheHouse and ScottCao episode is in fact members only, but you can celebrate with Byrnen when he crossed 1 million dollar mark in BJA121 on Spotify or Apple. 
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  How This AP Beat Electronic Blackjack for $700k | BJA182 16.04.2026 31m

  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 conversation also highlights how valuable it can be to look for unconventional opportunities outside standard casino table games.   This is actually a video interview.Watch it on the BJA Youtube!
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  Max Ruben Interview: From Casino Cheats to Advantage Play Expert | BJA181 08.04.2026 49m

  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 stories about comp hustling, roulette and blackjack teams, shuffle tracking, sound plays, casino countermeasures, and the culture of both advantage players and casino operators.    This is also available in video on the BJA YouTube channel!
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  [Rebroadcast] The Magic of Card Counting with Steven Bridges | BJA103 01.04.2026 1h

  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 out of casinos in his video series “Beat the Odds.” Steven takes us behind the scenes discussing the ups and downs of the journey, techniques, & strategies he's employed to become a successful Card Counter. Watch the video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDGqlb-weEI  Follow Steven's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@stevenbridges
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  Ex-AP Turned Casino Surveillance Reveals How They Catch Card Counters | BJA180 25.03.2026 28m

  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 rundown decisions work, how much weight casinos give to flyers and facial recognition, and why many common camouflage tactics do not buy players nearly as much time as they think.
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  [Rebroadcast] Married Advantage Play Teammates with ‘Flewster’ | BJA101 18.03.2026 48m

  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!  
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  March Mailbag Q&A: Generating Max EV, Best Time to Play, Is 10k Enough? | BJA179 11.03.2026 33m

  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 discuss practical tactics for maximizing EV, preserving local casinos, and avoiding unnecessary heat.
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  Darryl Purpose: Stories From a Lifetime of Beating Casinos | BJA178 04.03.2026 53m

  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 the years and why understanding expected value and longevity is key for successful advantage players.
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  [Rebroadcast] The Courage of a Female AP with CurlyFry | BJA096 11.02.2026 55m

  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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  2026's First Mailbag Q&A: Being Flyered, Loss Limits, Deck Estimation | BJA177 04.02.2026 39m

  SD1 and Joe748 kick off the first mailbag episode of 2026, answering a wide range of questions from the BJA community. They dig into topics like deck estimation, one hand vs. two hands, advanced counting systems, session length, loss limits, CTRs, new tax laws, and whether double‑deck is worth playing with crowded tables. They also talk about comps, resizing bets mid‑session, and the reality of playing infrequently with a “rechargeable bankroll.” Jump over to YT and sub to our new podcast channel @BJAPodcast
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  Lessons from a Lifetime at the Tables: JoeMiner’s 30-Year AP Journey | BJA176 28.01.2026 39m

  Joe748 and SD1 sit down with longtime card counter JoeMiner, who shares his 30‑plus‑year blackjack journey—from his early days in the 90s to his modern approach as a retired AP. Joe talks about how the game has changed, transitioning from double deck to 6 and 8 deck, how aging has affected his play, and how joining BJA reignited his passion. He recounts memorable backoffs, training challenges, and what it’s like to operate as an older counter in today’s casinos. Don't forget, we now have a BJA Podcast YouTube channel - @BJAPodcast. Head over and give us a subscribe to help the algorithm learn that we're worthy of promotion!
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  December Mailbag Q&A: Casino Theft, Best EV Game, Moving Bankrolls | BJA173 10.12.2025 40m

  Joe748 and SD1 answer more questions form BJA Forums and socials about casinos not cashing your chips out, choosing the most profitable blackjack games, and whether other players’ decisions affect your results. They also explain how to handle back-room situations and the smartest ways to store or move money when you're working with large bankrolls.