2009 year in review

2009 was a very good year for me. My best in six years of playing by far. Finished up 2829 units, which was my high point for the year. I also like to think I learned alot and grew some towards being the best that I can be. I experienced my worse and longest down slide in the middle of the year, which made me a bit nervous at the time, but I hope the experience will better prepare me for the future. I also positioned myself to be able to spend more time in Vegas and have access to more and better games than I had been playing in AC. My travel time to the casino will be cut dramatically as well.

I learned a great deal from many of you and for the most part enjoyed sharing experiences and discussions with you concerning blackjack. I thank you all for that and hope everyone else had a profitable year and and even better one to come.

For the most part, I didn't notice playing conditions deteriorate all that much during the year. Didn't improve, but didn't get much worse. Comps did seem to be down across the board, as has been mentioned in other threads, especially food comps. I still get a ridiculous amount of free rooms, but in some places it seems you need to be a high roller to get a $10 comp for a burger and coke. That's ok, though. Give me a decent game and I'll pay for my own burger.

Would like to hear your results and thoughts about the year.

Kewl J,

It's a pleasant surprise to see a full time player such as yourself share your yearly results. Keep up the good work, for sure it's still a tough battle to wager and it appears you've reached another plateau.

Warmest wishes to you and your family in the coming year.

For myself, this is my first full year, and it's had some wild swings which tested every fiber in me to the core. I may still have 1 more visit in me for this year.

1) My year high was +620 units which was a steady rise from Jan - June
2) My year low was a -57 units after a huge losing streak from July-mid November
3) With no additional action I will finish the year up a paltry but none-the-less +70 units. end of Nov-Dec.

So I have no plans of giving up the day job anytime soon.

The conditions didn't change locally although there was a huge turnover of dealers where I regularly visit so scouting at the same stores was continual.

BJC

for the year, for the all time

this year was a plus two hundred and ninety six unit gain.
that put me just over my all time high for my bankroll.
actually my blackjack play alone didn't account for all of this gain, but it was some recent new knowledge gained at the last bash that helped the roll forge ahead.
with one more foray before the end of the year i just hope to hold my ground or even gain some more.

sagefr0g said:

with one more foray before the end of the year i just hope to hold my ground or even gain some more.

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"just hope to hold your ground"?? You can do that by staying home! Come on froggy, you can muster up a better attitude than that. If you are at your all-time high, forge ahead and set a new alltime high!!

Congratulations, Kewjason! That must be over $70k for you!

I have been playing 6-deck shoe games a few hours each weekend with only 1-4 spreading. This year I am up 200+ units. So I still need to keep my full time job! Good luck (yes, even APs need good variance) everyone in the new year!

kewljason said:

2009 was a very good year for me. My best in six years of playing by far. Finished up 2829 units, which was my high point for the year. I also like to think I learned alot and grew some towards being the best that I can be. I experienced my worse and longest down slide in the middle of the year, which made me a bit nervous at the time, but I hope the experience will better prepare me for the future. I also positioned myself to be able to spend more time in Vegas and have access to more and better games than I had been playing in AC. My travel time to the casino will be cut dramatically as well.

I learned a great deal from many of you and for the most part enjoyed sharing experiences and discussions with you concerning blackjack. I thank you all for that and hope everyone else had a profitable year and and even better one to come.

For the most part, I didn't notice playing conditions deteriorate all that much during the year. Didn't improve, but didn't get much worse. Comps did seem to be down across the board, as has been mentioned in other threads, especially food comps. I still get a ridiculous amount of free rooms, but in some places it seems you need to be a high roller to get a $10 comp for a burger and coke. That's ok, though. Give me a decent game and I'll pay for my own burger.

Would like to hear your results and thoughts about the year.

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That's a hell of a good year I must say!

2009

I will always have the fondest memories of The "Dream Shoe BJ BASH" which brought together the finest group of very renowned BJ Mavens from around the U.S. to meet and greet and play one of the BEST shoe games available today. A most outstanding group of men they were... and are.

Thanks to all who attended both 2009 BASHES.

CP

2800 units! Nice going.

For me, 108 units in 141 hours. A third of the winnings and about half the play from last year.

My peak was 120 units in mid-February. All downhill since then.

Here is to a Hopeful 2010!

I had a rip-roaring best year in a decade.

I won 2,120 ($25) units.

However, I played A LOT.

More than I have in a very long time.

My books show 960 hrs. played.

2.20 units per hour.

Pretty good, but not statistically that impressive.

On the other hand, that was all of the money that I needed.

Flash

FLASH1296 said:

I had a rip-roaring best year in a decade.

I won 2,120 ($25) units.

However, I played A LOT.

More than I have in a very long time.

My books show 960 hrs. played.

2.20 units per hour.

Pretty good, but not statistically that impressive.

On the other hand, that was all of the money that I needed.

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Nice job, now how much was expended on overhead, travel, hotels, food,,,leave Booze, Blow, Cuban Cigars and Women out of it.:laugh:

CP

FLASH1296 said:

My books show 960 hrs. played.

2.20 units per hour.

Pretty good, but not statistically that impressive.

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Congrats Flash. Sounds pretty impressive to me.

kewljason said:

"just hope to hold your ground"?? You can do that by staying home! Come on froggy, you can muster up a better attitude than that. If you are at your all-time high, forge ahead and set a new alltime high!!

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lmao, you are right kewl won.

i been watching Discovery channel's "mt Everest beyond the limit" flics all night, just i know how this stuff we do is every bit as tough in it's own way and standing on the summit it's hard to even imagine reaching a higher one.
thing about it is though, it is possible to reach higher after summiting, unlike how it is if you reach the top of Everest.

thanks for the pep talk, cause i sure as hell need it, lol.

and CP and all the MMOA guys if your reading this, the bash made 2009 a winner anyway you look at it. :1st:

2009, my first year playing AP blackjack was extraordinary for me as well. While I do not keep detailed records, I won around 2100 units from blackjack, and had a significant winning year at poker. All of this was acheived starting in late july or early august or maybe mid august, but for at least a few months I was strictly playing poker. I spent a lot of time gambling, aside from a week or two off I went to the casino virtually every day until I got backed off from the store where I learned how to play BJ. Mind you, this is after expenses - which were considerable, although I am a practical man and did not spend much aside from what I needed to spend - taxis, food, the odd hotel room, tips, etc.

Here is a picture for you all to enjoy

(Dead link: http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3107/pict0002ui.jpg)

FLASH1296 said:

I had a rip-roaring best year in a decade.

I won 2,120 ($25) units.

However, I played A LOT.

More than I have in a very long time.

My books show 960 hrs. played.

2.20 units per hour.

Pretty good, but not statistically that impressive.

On the other hand, that was all of the money that I needed.

Click to expand...

Congrats, FLASH. Best of luck in 2010.

2009 was definitely a good year on the BJ front for me and it was also very exciting with getting onto higher-value tables, going on several trips, attending the BJ BASH in June, getting barred, working and meeting with some other AP's thanks to this forum, and earning a good 2/3rds of my year's income from the tables.

350 hours, +1160 units
(cant look at the details right now, but about 0.5-1 standard deviation above EV)

not much hope for 2010 though

matt21 said:

not much hope for 2010 though

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I don't get it. The worst thing you can do is to play the same way. Are you barred everywhere?

Very well done, Jason, FLASH, and matt21!

Creeping Panther brought up a very good point that really deserves some mention and analysis . . . if 2009 taught me anything it was about maximizing the dollar and seeing how much overhead can cut into one's EV.

I played 326 hours and made a total of 947.6 units ($25). The number of hours was nearly equivalent in Las Vegas, Reno, and Atlantic City, with a good number of hours in the Gulf Coast as well. I played considerably less hours in Southern California, the Carribean, and other small towns in Nevada. I went to Las Vegas twice and Palm Springs once on business, for which all (reasonable) expenses were reimbursed.

All in all, I spent 88 days in the casinos (3.70 hrs/day) . . . yes I know that may be a bit on the low side for hrs/day but I also like to have a little fun when I'm not in Philly! A few of my trips to Reno were not strictly for gaming, either, what with my girlfriend's family reunion and her sister's college graduation.

That being said, my total, non-reimbursed expenses (non-comped hotel stays, airfare, food, gas, car rental, tolls, and airport parking) was $1703.07 ($19.35/day, or less than 1 unit; I feel that this is acceptable). As $1703.07 works out to 68.12 units (at $25/unit), my net take-home pay was (947.60-68.12) 879.48 units, or 2.70 units/hr after expenses. I tried to make good use of frequent-flyer miles, Starpoints, and AMEX Membership Rewards points to keep these expenses as low as possible . . . free airfare, car rental vouchers, etc. I can say that I'm pretty satisfied with this result but I know I can do better. I figure that if I had gone solo on all of my trips, sans significant other, I may have been able to knock off another $300-400 from the expenses.

My zenith for the year was (+)1011.1 units, and my nadir was (-)80 units.

I learned the importance of Wonging out and taking the time to shop for the best penetration.

2009 gave me many lessons in hanging in there when the situation is good despite getting whacked so badly it feels like you're walking into a turnstile in the opposite direction, repeatedly. But in the end it made me a better player.

Thanks to all of you on this site who helped make 2009 a success . . . I wish you all the best for 2010. Chef JJ, hope you have a blast on New Year's! Special thanks to Mimosine and FLASH, for your resources and advice.

Good point, nottooshabby. I spent roughly $4900 in expenses, which was about 7% of my earnings. This included 3 roundtrip and 1 one way airfair to Vegas. 8 roundtrip train fair from Philadelphia to New London, conn (foxwood casino), 47 round trip Patco high speed line/new jersey transit train tix to AC, plus tax on my comped rooms, and taxi and jitney transportation and resturant tips.

You will notice that I said roughly, because I also took a driving trip across country with a friend, which involved stoping at many casino, but was also a vacation and rollercoaster riding trip, so the expenses get a little fuzzy there.

I also purchased a parttime residence in LV, which I am not counting as an expense but rather an investment, but which will allow me to spend more time in vegas in 2010 at a much lower expense.

I must say your nearly 3 units per hour is an impressive figure. I personally no longer keep track of hours, opting instead to estimate the number of hands that I play each session and keep a running total. I then can come up with a number of units won/per 100 hands played. Since I play many many short sessions, this seems to smooth things out for me rather than adding up fractions of an hour, 12 minutes here, 17 minutes there, 22 minutes over there. It also solves the problem of 25 minutes playing heads up may equal 140-150 hands, while 25 minutes at a nearly full table may equal 25 hands. (not all 25 minute sessions are created equal...lol) If I had to try to translate my hands estimate into hours, I am sure my units per hour would be much closer to 2 than yours, maybe even below 2, so again, that is a very impressive figure you have. Congrats on a sucessful year.

nottooshabby said:

That being said, my total, non-reimbursed expenses (non-comped hotel stays, airfare, food, gas, car rental, tolls, and airport parking) was $1703.07 ($19.35/day, or less than 1 unit; I feel that this is acceptable). As $1703.07 works out to 68.12 units (at $25/unit), my net take-home pay was (947.60-68.12) 879.48 units, or 2.70 units/hr after expenses.

Thanks to all of you on this site who helped make 2009 a success . . . I wish you all the best for 2010. Chef JJ, hope you have a blast on New Year's! Special thanks to Mimosine and FLASH, for your resources and advice.

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I'd say that you'd had a great 2009...best wishes to you in 2010 to keep up the great work. As long as one can get some enjoyment out of AP "work", any amount of return seems worth it.

You guys enjoy your NYE as well...we're heading a bit south to Annapolis. It's snowing now, so who knows what kind of night it will be out there tonight :grin:

good luck :joker:

Congrats to everyone that came out ahead this year. As much as I dislike arbitrary time periods (365 days, or one trip around the closest star?), it does serve as a functional metric for measuring progress.

2008 was abysmal. I lost my entire BR due to overbetting and getting caught in the moment. Rookie sh!t. 2009 started with a modest contribution to the BR, and I'm happy to report the BR now stands at 8.7x the initial contribution. A good chunk of that came from VP and some exploitable "sucker" sports props, but the majority came from the green felt.

Since I'm more of a lurker/reader, and don't post often (unless I have something useful to contribute, ex this post ), I'd like to thank the active members for their contributions. I've learned a hell of a lot on this forum, and as I progress, I hope I can contribute in a way to better others' experience as an AP. Here's to good variance in the upcoming year.