The Real 21 Kids

A revealing interview with Mike Aponte and Dave Irvine, two members of the famed MIT Blackjack Team
BY KATIE LINDSAY

THE BOOK WAS CALLED Bringing Down The House, and the movie adaptation, 21, was designed to fill the house.
With the heavily hyped film about the MIT Blackjack Team having hit theaters this spring, blackjack and card counting are hot topics once again, so we caught up with two of the real life team members whose stories have now reached both the printed page and the silver screen. Both Mike Aponte and Dave Irvine took casinos around the world for millions, and just prior to the theatrical release of 21, they took some time to reflect with ALL IN:

ALL IN: What are your thoughts about the movie, 21?
Dave Irvine: I think it’s great. I think it was an entertaining story as we lived it, it was an entertaining story as we read about it, and I think it will be an entertaining story as we watch it on the big screen.
Mike Aponte: To be honest, I guess I have kind of mixed feelings. Obviously it is very personal; since college, the only profession I have ever had was blackjack. At the same time, I realize that it is the Hollywood version and it’s not meant to be a documentary. I think in the end it’s a pretty cool thing, and not many people can say they have had their life made into a major motion picture.

First the book, now the movie; how did this come about?
MA: It all started pretty unexpectedly. [Author] Ben Mezrich talked to one member of the team for Bringing Down The House, and that’s what got the ball rolling. The book was unexpectedly a bestseller and extremely popular, so they acquired the movie rights.
DI: When we all found out that he had talked to Ben, at first we were like Whoa, what is he doing letting the cat out of the bag? Once we thought about it a little bit, we saw the opportunity to do the Blackjack Institute [Aponte and Irvine’s training program], and since we weren’t really allowed to play anymore anyway, it actually was a blessing in disguise.
What things really happened that weren’t featured in the book or in the movie?
DI: One of the most fun things was going to Mike Tyson’s return fight. That was pretty cool. I have been to all kinds of professional and amateur sporting events, but going to a Mike Tyson boxing match, it was so electric it was over the top. There must have been like 30 A-list stars there along with a bunch of other celebrities. It was a little surreal, the life we were living. When we first started doing it, I was a little bit giddy, but then you realize this is work and you treat it as a business.
MA: A lot of things weren’t featured, because Mezrich did talk to just one person who hadn’t played as long as some of the other members. Initially, I wasn’t too happy about the book because our profession was always very discreet. Not many people knew about it, so for it to become public like that, my initial reaction was that I wasn’t too happy about it. In the end, though, I feel the positives outweigh the negatives.

If you could change anything about your experiences with blackjack or with the blackjack team, what would you change?
MA: If I could change one thing, it probably would have been being a little more strict. I think eventually one of the things that led to our team splitting up was the fact that the newer players were not as dedicated as our original core group. Looking back, there were some early signs, and if I could go back, I would have just nipped that in the bud hard in the beginning to prevent that from happening.
DI: I agree. Some people that were doing it for a while understood that it was work and you had to put in the time. Some of the people that came on the team later got a little more enthralled in the lifestyle and a little more enthralled in the money instead of thinking that they have to put in the time to make this pay off. It wasn’t a comfortable situation, the money got to be too much, I guess, and I lost some friends over it.

Do you miss playing blackjack?
DI: I miss it a little bit. I miss the excitement of it, I miss going out to Las Vegas and making money.
MA: I do, but I think I missed it more right before the book came out. I went into semi-retirement in 2000, and I thought that was it as far as blackjack. Then the book came out and then I did the World Series of Blackjack and then Dave and I started the Blackjack Institute and we just got involved in all of these really cool projects. I actually put more hours into blackjack now; it’s kind of more like a real job, but in a different capacity.
Do you play poker?
MA: I haven’t taken up poker yet. A lot of people have told me I should, but I just haven’t had the time. In the future I hope to be able to put in the time and effort to at least become a decent poker player. There are definitely some similarities between blackjack and poker in terms of probability and the mindset you need to have to be successful.
DI: I have played poker, but I’m not a poker player. You won’t see me at the Mandalay Bay poker room very often, but I have played a very, very little bit. I think there are some cross skills between blackjack and poker, but poker is a game where there is another layer. Blackjack is all math and it’s all practice. Poker you have math and you have to put in the time to get good at it, but poker has that other layer of reading the player, not the cards, and you don’t have that in blackjack. Certainly, all the technical stuff that is important in poker, a blackjack player would have an advantage because they understand the numbers and they understand what is going on. That stuff came easy to me. But being able to read people would be my downfall.

Katie Lindsay is a Los Angeles based writer who contributes to numerous gaming magazines and Web sites.

Sidebar:
Virtual Virtuosos
On the same day 21 hit movie theaters, Aponte and Irvine’s latest creation hit the Web. Blackjack VT (“Virtual Training”) launched on March 28, providing an online version of their live blackjack seminars. The Internet-based training platform combines virtual presentations from Aponte and Irvine with game play drills that help users practice card counting and betting strategies.

IN THE ZONE

BY KEN SMITH

Know When To Walk Away

IT’S BEEN ONE OF THOSE DAYS. You’ve done everything right. You’ve played like a true master of the game, making the right bet and the right play, time after time after time. Nonetheless, your results are more like those of Napoleon at Waterloo. It seems no matter what you do, the cards just won’t cooperate, and your losses just get bigger and bigger.

This scenario can happen at poker or blackjack, whether you are an expert or an amateur. Losses happen. They are unavoidable. You finally hit your straight on the river at a soft Hold ’Em table, but the other guy makes his flush. Or you push out a few max bets in blackjack, land a pair of 20s, only to have the dealer snap off a six-card 21. The bigger the hand, it seems, the larger—and more disheartening—the loss.

For a casual player, it’s easier to shrug off a few losing sessions. After all, if you view gambling as entertainment, you don’t necessarily expect to leave the casino with extra money in your wallet. But for a skilled player, losses can be harder to rationalize. When you know a lot about a particular game and are confident enough in your abilities to feel as if you have a big edge, it can be much tougher to book a loss.

Good poker players certainly are familiar with the threat that this poses. If there are holes in your psychological game, they will surface in just this kind of scenario. If you are at all susceptible to playing on tilt, you know you have to be vigilant against bad beats affecting your play. If losing a big pot or two changes the way you play, you are not doing your bankroll any favors by staying in the game if your head isn’t in the game.
Losing’s Losing!
The blackjack world is my area of expertise, but much like the world of poker, losing sessions in blackjack have their own unique risks, for both amateurs and professionals alike.

For the casual blackjack player, there are two main threats that come with losing. The first, and most insidious, is the temptation to alter your playing strategy. As an example, basic strategy says to hit your 12 against a dealer two. If you busted that hand three times in a row and are down $1,000, are you tempted to just stand instead? Don’t even think about it. If it really bothers you, it’s time for a break. Book the loss, and live to play another day. Blackjack is tough enough to beat without playing badly—and every time you break from the right way of playing, you’re playing badly.

A second threat for the casual player is the temptation to chase your losses with bigger and bigger bets. While you can sometimes luck out and erase all your losses with one big win, the downside is the larger possibility of really demolishing your bankroll. How are you going to feel if you turn that $1,000 loss into a $10,000 loss? If you are tempted to bet more than you should, it’s time again to just book the loss.

Tomorrow is a new day.

For the pro blackjack player, neither of the previous two concerns are much of a factor anymore. If they are, you’re not ready to be called a professional. If an expert blackjack player stands with that 12 against a dealer two, it’s because their card-counting system tells them that it’s the correct play. What happened in the same situation 10 hands ago is never part of the decision process. The math dictates the play, and that’s that.

A pro blackjack player is also acutely aware of his bankroll and the bet range it can safely support without running too high a risk of ruin. There is no temptation to chase losses, because that would require overbetting the bankroll. And a pro blackjack player knows that is the fastest way to go broke.

What’s Good For The Goose …
Still, skilled blackjack players run into some real risks in losing sessions, too. Many talented players hate to book a losing session, and will play for longer periods of time than usual in an attempt to get back to even. Even when playing perfectly, with right-sized bets, they run serious risks playing longer sessions.

Extra time at the table means the pit and surveillance crews have longer to evaluate your play, which increases the risk that they may accurately identify your play as a threat. In the long run, beating the game is the easier part of being a pro. Staying welcome to play is more challenging. One of the best ways to preserve your longevity is to restrict your session length to an hour or so. Developing a healthy “sixth sense” for casino heat has saved many a counter.

Remember—and this goes for amateurs and pros alike—you can win back your money at another casino down the road just as easily as you can in the seat you’re in right now. Don’t be so stubborn about it. If you’ve played a reasonable length session and you’re in the hole, just hit the door. If a player consistently books winning sessions, that alone can be enough to raise the suspicions of the pit. Sprinkling a few losses in there with the wins makes your lifetime record look a lot more like a typical gambler.
While a successful player should never become complacent about losses, he should always be aware that some losing sessions are inevitable. Use these losses as extra encouragement to continue your study and practice of the game. When you are confident that you are playing the best game you can, losses are nothing but a small bump in the road.

Ken Smith has appeared in all four seasons of WSOB on GSN and is a UBT champion. He can be found at his site BlackjackInfo.com, as well as at the tournament community he founded at BlackjackTournaments.com.

HOT CHIPS

BY TIFFANY MICHELLE

Diary Of A Blackjack Virgin

WHEN I GOT THE CALL TO BE A CELEBRITY GUEST on the latest season of the World Series of Blackjack on GSN, I was pretty excited. I couldn’t wait to take a crack at that million-dollar prize pool and, as a naturally competitive person with a card-playing history, blackjack seemed right up my alley. But in the midst of all my excitement I suddenly realized, I’m a poker player. I’ve never played a blackjack tournament before in my life! What am I doing?!

Granted, with all the casinos I frequent throughout the year on the poker circuit I wasn’t a complete stranger to the blackjack tables. Some of you may know me from my work with Pokernews (and other gaming news outlets) interviewing some of the top players in the gambling community, so I certainly had a head start over other blackjack novices. Ultimately, though, blackjack is just not poker.

Bottom line is, I had never diligently applied myself to this game and didn’t have any clue what tournament blackjack was all about, so a crash session was definitely in order. I quickly brushed up on my basic strategy, picked up the recommended Wong strategy book, crammed in a tourney blackjack session with friend Joe Reitman to explain this whole Elimination Blackjack concept to me, and packed my bags for Vegas.

Poppin’ The (Blackjack) Cherry
My showing at the WSOB wasn’t terrible. My first goal as a blackjack virgin was just not to be the first person eliminated from my table! I managed to make it down to the final three players (and even had the chip lead going into the final hand), but as fate would have it, the dealer had other plans and I came up one seat short of blackjack glory. Okay, maybe “blackjack glory” isn’t what was at stake, but I take my games seriously.
My experience in film and TV was helpful in preparing me for the bright lights and cameras that so many other players become disabled by, but I had other demons lying in wait. To be honest, as a non-math-nerd, I was mildly terrified of blackjack, what with stories of the MIT brainiacs, strategy books filled to the brim with charts and percentages, and too much time spent around the likes of “Hollywood” Dave Stann (who, despite the crazy punkish exterior, is a Mensa-certified human calculator). But after dipping my toes in the water at the WSOB and not ending up a complete loser, I quickly became determined to conquer my fears of mathematical inadequacy and take baby steps toward blackjack.

So I jumped on the tournament blackjack circuit and played every event I could. There may be several methods of learning and perfecting one’s game, but there’s just something to be said for practical experience. At the first blackjack tournament I played post-WSOB, for instance, I was ecstatic to have advanced all the way to the quarterfinals—only to surrender myself out of the entire tournament! Needless to say, I learned a practical (and painful) lesson that day that no book could have taught me. After spending the whole past year playing as much as I could, from UBT events at the Venetian and Barona to online blackjack tourneys, I’ve experienced many other hard lessons as well. But my game has never been better.

Turning The Tables
After a whirlwind year in blackjack, I’ve come to find that it’s actually pretty simple. I quickly discovered that I didn’t have to be a bona fide blackjack expert to show winning results in tournaments because (shhh, don’t tell anyone else) the majority of players out there are really bad! Average Joes who sign up for a blackjack tourney on a whim while vacationing in Vegas—or who decide to play an online tourney using the same “lucky system” they use at the blackjack tables—just don’t have a clue.

So if you have any concept of general tournament strategy or even basic blackjack strategy, you’re already a step ahead of the game. When I began playing online, I could practically min-bet my way through an entire tournament, letting all the clueless Average Joes self-destruct on their own. I would come out looking like a blackjack hero, but really I just let all the bad players eliminate themselves … leaving me on top to cash time and time again.

I’ve been very surprised (and relieved) to find that tournament blackjack parallels my already established poker background in many ways. If you understand poker tourney strategy you have a huge advantage simply because you instinctually understand concepts like playing your position, chip management, and psychology. These are concepts that the average gambling junkie convinced he’s a great player is not likely to come equipped with.

Hungry For More?
At the end of my rookie year in blackjack, this is how I’d sum it up:

1. If you’re afraid of the foreign waters of tournament blackjack, don’t be such a baby—just dive in, you might be surprised to find that you’re already more prepared than you think.

2. People are morons, especially many of the ones drawn to blackjack who are convinced that winning has more to do with lucky vibes and feelings than just cold, hard strategy. So prey off those novices just as you do in poker and claim your own blackjack glory at their expense.
3. Don’t be intimidated by the math nerds trying to spook you away from the game. Even non-math-nerds can still take down a blackjack tourney by means of basic strategy, practice, and an understanding of concepts behind those scary numbers and percentage signs.
There are first times for everything, but just like losing your virginity in certain other activities, blackjack may be kind of awkward at first but I promise you, the more you do it, the more you’ll like it.

When Tiffany “Hot Chips” Michelle isn’t burning up the felt, she can usually be found hosting and commentating for various poker media outlets. She’s most recognized for her WSOP and EPT coverage with Pokernews, and can be found online at TiffanyMichelle.com.

HEAD GAMES

By “Hollywood” Dave Stan

– One From The Vaults

DID YOU GUYS REALLY THINK IT WOULD BE that easy to get rid of me? Sure, ALL IN may have axed the blackjack side of the magazine, but Hollywood Dave lives on, bitches! Thanks to all the readers who demanded it—and publisher Kasey Thompson’s state of extreme inebriation during contract negotiations the other day—yours truly is here to stay. So strap on your seatbelts, fuckers, cuz it’s story time!
In keeping with the whole exotic-locations theme set down by my last few columns, I’ve decided to dust off one of the more elaborate backoffs I’ve experienced as a professional blackjack player and spill the tale here in ALL IN. Hey, it’s either that or make up some bullshit checklist using a trite masturbation analogy to describe the most effective ways of palming casino chips. And Lord knows we don’t need any more of that.
So this month I’ll revisit my doomed 2006 trip to Australia—specifically, the super-awesome way in which it fell apart. And yes, by “super-awesome,” I most certainly do mean, “tossed out on my ass by heartless bastard casinos.” Bonus points go out to those of you who’ve already picked up on the ever-so-slight sense of disdain toward the hypocritical casino empire starting to creep into this article. You guys are good. More to come …

Koala Conundrum
Everything was set—more than two glorious weeks to plunder the Australian casino coastline, a trip that would take me from Melbourne’s exquisite Crowne and Sydney’s shitty Star in the south, to a confidential casino location up north (sorry, but I gotta keep some secrets), and finally ending in conservative Brisbane’s gestapo-run Treasury Casino on the east coast. The plane tickets had been purchased, accommodations set, and bank money wired to the respective casino cages. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Right?
God bless the Crowne. Melbourne’s glittering jewel, home to the southern hemisphere’s most expensive poker tournaments, but apparently a complete clusterfuck when it comes to playing blackjack. I had spoken to a host there several times over the past few weeks to set up my money transfer and to select a cashback program (like comps in Vegas), so one would think the fact that I was coming to play a little blackjack wouldn’t exactly be a surprise.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Let’s just say that after the provided limo ride from the airport, I checked in but never even made it out of the hotel lobby before the casino manager pulled me aside to notify me that due to my status as a professional player, I would regretfully not be permitted to play blackjack during my stay in Melbourne. Damn, I’d been backed off before, but getting the boot before even setting foot in the casino itself takes some serious talent!
“No problem,” I replied coolly, “I’m just here to relax anyway. Which way to the nearest kangaroo petting zoo?” Inside, of course, was another story. Despite not wanting to piss anyone off enough for them to alert all the other Australian casinos to my presence, I was pretty livid about the timing of this particular proclamation. Don’t want me to raid your blackjack tables? Fine. Waiting until I fly across the fucking ocean to tell me? Priceless.

Reef-er Madness
After my forced exile in Melbourne and aborted trip to Sydney (let’s just say that the Star Casino there might as well own stock in Shufflemaster CSMs), things got back on track. I headed up north to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural Wonders of the World, and a sleepy little casino (which shall remain nameless) operating well off the beaten path. Time to introduce them to one more Wonder: card counting!

Needless to say, between SCUBA diving trips and koala-hugging adventures, I managed to squeeze out enough action from that tiny outpost casino to fund the entire trip, and then some. I blended in as just another American tourist come to experience the joys of the outback, and before I knew it the time had come for the final leg of my journey: the fabled Treasury Casino in Brisbane.

Occupying a refurbished historical government building in downtown Brisbane, this casino sports a breathtaking exterior and immaculately detailed interior. The suite I stayed in was a huge converted turret, and the casino itself was divided up into a series of exclusive gaming salons accessible only by private keycard.
Surrounded by a superstitious hoard of upscale Asian clientele, I went to work. After picking up a few grand in the first shoe, I made the mistake of joking, “How do you guys stay in business?” Well, that was to be my last joke of the evening, because four hours later I had improbably pissed away $50,000 (that’s Australian money; about $35K American) and was quite literally sick to my stomach. So much for that big win up north!
Fate had some interesting plans in store for me, however, as the next day I just as quickly made back nearly every penny I had lost the night before. Stopping just shy of the $50,000 mark, I called it quits to revel in my remarkable comeback (and get drunk on that famous Australian wine). Unfortunately, the most bizarre event of all was yet to come.

Outback Surprise
The next day, the Treasury provided a car service to take me down to their sister casino, Jupiters, on the Gold Coast an hour or so away. My host set up a room for me there for the overnight trip, as well as the electronic transfer of my funds to the other cage. Halfway to Jupiters, however, the kangaroo shit really hit the fan.
Someone from the Treasury called on my driver’s cell phone to inform me there had been a major overbooking that evening, and consequently, they needed to give my room at the Treasury to another guest since I wouldn’t be using it for the night. “No problem,” I told her. “Let me just have the driver bring me back so I can pack up my stuff, since I only have an overnight bag with me.” Imagine my surprise when I was told they had already taken care of that, and someone from the “housekeeping staff” was already en route to my room to pack it for me.

Alarm bells went off in my head, and as I immediately made the driver turn around, I emphatically told the Treasury drone to wait until I arrived so I could pack myself. The last thing I needed was a bunch of casino goons rifling through my shit to find whatever information they could find on me. That, and the fact that my suite was filled with plenty of final edits from the nearly completed Hollywood Blackjack (what can I say, it was a working vacation). Well, it was about to be a case of too little, too fucking late …

Arriving back in Brisbane, I sprinted to the elevator to find the casino manager waiting there for me. He humorlessly told me that after reviewing my play, they were going to have to enforce certain restrictions. No more blackjack in the private rooms—only on the CSMs downstairs (which, like in Sydney, make the game unplayable). I did the usual protest song-and-dance shtick, but to no avail. There were a few hotel guests nearby, so I did my best to loudly announce how the casino sure as s— didn’t have a problem with my play the day I lost $50,000, but as soon as I won it back, I was no longer welcome. Needless to say, he wasn’t moved. Fuckin’ prick.
Eventually I made it to my room to find it deserted, but quite obviously tampered with. Clothes strewn on the bed, and just as I had guessed, my blackjack notes clearly examined. So I packed hastily and left, my invasion of privacy rants falling on deaf ears. After all, they had only sent “housekeeping” into my room to “pack” for me—while I was conveniently trapped in a company car half an hour away. Sheer genius!

Happy Trails
Hey, don’t let my negativity sway you—Australia is one beautiful country, and I’d go back in a heartbeat. It just so happens that out of all the backwater casinos I’ve been to in the world, Australian surveillance departments are definitely up to snuff when it comes to thwarting the rising tide of the advantage player menace.

So I learned the hard way to stick to the Caribbean, Europe, and a couple other hidden gems for all my illicit card-counting needs. At least along the way, I got to snap some cool underwater pictures of sea turtles and hug that really cute baby koala. Life could be worse.
My only real regret? That somewhere out there right now, a casino executive is reading this article with a big, fat grin on his face, pleased as punch at my misfortune Down Under. Hey buddy, don’t smile too hard—your casino is next on my list!

Hollywood Dave is a two-time UBT Champion and a WSOB runner-up and has appeared in over 60 episodes of gambling TV. His first book, Hollywood Blackjack, was just released and he can always be found at HollywoodDave.com.