Considering full-time play? I suggest you continue part time for awhile

Question for DD': I work in real estate and investing, I have been self-employed my whole life and never really had a boss. I know what it is like to have a lot of extra cash and to have no extra cash. I am used to not having a steady income and used to making my own pay by my level of work and time I work. I have all the free time I want really as I work for myself, so I can make any time available.

As far as income, time and other factors what are good professions for blackjack players, I am an average player who plays high-low, can count well and have about $10k disposable bankroll. Am I ready to try full-time blackjack play?

DD’: When you are ready to do this for a living, you will know the answers to those questions. You can start by dedicating the 10K you now have to your bankroll and making monthly contributions to it while you still work. If you are successful playing part time, you could work this up to 50K or so over a couple of years. I don't think I personally know any pros who play to bankrolls of less than 100K, but I'm sure there are some. Your bankroll needs to be about the size of your intended annual income. You also need funds to live on that will last you for a year or two, since a losing year at blackjack is not all that uncommon. That's one of the reasons why so many players are on teams.

I would suggest you learn about lots of forms of advantage play and allow blackjack to be just part of the mix. Broaden your circle of email contacts. Read and participate in Green Chip discussions. Do lots of this over the next couple of years and you will start to figure out what it’s all about. Just knowing a count system and hitting the street with your 10K bankroll has a microscopic chance of success.

It took me about five years from the time I set out to do it to become a full-time pro. This is because I did it the wrong way, like you are now planning. I went broke many times and had to go back to part-time jobs. I could have probably done it in half that time if I had kept a steady job, contributed income to the bank, and played part time. 10K cannot earn the expenses associated with blackjack travel, tolerate the variance, and provide you with a regular income.

If you are lucky, things could happen quicker. There is a chance that you will be in the top 10% of the Bell Curve with your results over the first three or four months, and then have enough money. But, unfortunately, if that happens you will likely still go broke. Those who are super-lucky at first generally have no appreciation for how things are really going to be. They spend too much of their winnings and soon lose the rest when variance swings the other way.

Originally published on bj21.com Green Chip, edited for this format.