site banner
SubstantialFrivolity  I'm not even supposed to be here today  1yr ago (text post)   2181 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 14, 2022

Be advised; this thread is not for serious in depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

9
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I recently watched a series on YouTube about card counting. It was made by this English fella, who was a complete beginner at card counting. He just learned the basics and then went to the US, with a large amount of money backed by a friend, and then traveled around to casinos to play blackjack.

I knew nothing about card counting beforehand, but it was an interesting insight into a somewhat unique lifestyle. It is also very entertaining to see the bullshit the casinos try to pull when he is backed off.

There are 12 videos of about 20 minuttes each. I would say it is well worth a watch.

playlist

Is the time investment so high as to require a 'lifestyle' ? I thought it was something poor but brave MIT students did over summer break.

That was also kind of what I thought, and you can definitely do that, but it is unlikely to make any significant amount of money. The edge you get from counting cards is very small, so it requires a lot of playing to make good money. You also need a decent bankroll so you can endure losing streaks.

Combine that with being backed off from playing, sometimes while you are at a loss. At one point he is backed off while down thousands of dollars. It is not easy.

It is also very much a life on the road. Casinos will ban you from entering them, so you have to travel. On top of that they circulate information about suspected card counters, so getting backed off in one can result in not being able to play at others in the same area. He teams up with five other card counters so they can pool their money and hit casinos that others are banned from.

I don’t think you have to be brave necessarily, but you definitely have to be comfortable with confrontation. A couple of times he has the cops called on him even, though he has done nothing illegal. You would assume the casino knows this, but they do it anyway, so I guess it is an attempt to intimidate him into not cashing out.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats