15 years ago or so as I was doing research for blackjack strategies I came across a video from Telly Savalas. Its titled “Telly Savalas: The ABCs of Winning Blackjack“. The video touched on a bit for the total blackjack newbie (hit on < 17 if dealer has < 7 showing) stuff but the big takeaways I got from it was the betting strategies.
A little definitions for non gamblers:
Unit = the amount of money you are betting. Generally on blackjack tables it is the table minimum. So a $5 minimum table 1 unit would be $5)
House = the person you are playing against, in this case refers to the Casino.
The basic rules were this:
1 - Make your initial 1 unit bet and continue to bet 1 unit until you win ($5).
2 - After each win continue to bet 2 units ($10).
Basically after the first win you are risking 1 unit and playing with 1 unit that you won from the house. Then each win in a row after that you are risking 0 but winning 2 units at a time.
Now this is all based on analyzing billions of hands of blackjack and learning that winning and loosing streaks come in 3 or more on average. I have used this strategy for many years and its worked out pretty well for me. Most of the time when I play in casino's its for entertainment value but my friends are always surprised at how well the strategy works over the long haul.
How it applies to making money online:
The making money online industry is very strange. You have people of all ages going from 0 to thousands or more per day when they find their groove. Most of the time these people do exactly what they shouldn’t. They buy cars, houses, take vacations… then when their niche dries up they are not only broke again but now have a ton more loans.
The best thing to do is play with the houses money. In the last 6 years I have been playing with the houses money. I never have to get a loan, or seek funding for a new venture because I have saved money from our past successes. AND while my income has significantly gone up year after year my spending has not. Thus I can continue to play with the houses money.
Everyone in this industry if they keep at it long enough will find some niche or angle to make money that will be very lucrative…. but the odds it will last are not very good. If you want to survive you have to always look to parlay your winnings into your next thing.
If you start spending money like water and stop looking for new opportunities your screwed. And this is exactly what happens to MOST people in this industry.
About the author...
Jeremy Schoemaker – who has written 2415 posts on ShoeMoney.com.
Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.
Images provided by ShutterStock
Things Internet Marketers Can Learn From The Pickup Artist 
10 Tips for Freelance Writers Applying for Blogging Jobs 
Are You a Conference Speaker Douchebag? 
{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
“The best thing to do is play with the houses money”. This is the best advise Jeremy. People pour in money into business or venture they are not sure about. Unless you are confident you should play with your houses money.
good articles, and this article will motivate me to stay and continue to do business in reaching the income through the internet (dance)
I’m pretty conservative by nature, I haven’t even quit my job even though I make 5x more online in 1/10th the time I spend at work. Even with the stability of the full-time income, I use money online primarily for achieving financial goals, not lifestyle. I still live in the same house, slightly nicer car, etc. But I max out retirements, investments, college savings, invest in small websites, etc. Even though a vacation house sounds nice, I wouldn’t be able to stomach it.
I have seen too many people makes lots of cash and start spending at a frantic rate only to be left with nothing.
Great Advice. Ever wonder why 80% of the People that win Lottery Money are always broke a few years later !!! This is the reason why!
Play with the House Money!
You are so right about that. I was watching something on the history channel about what happens to lottery winnners. Most of them are worst than before they won. Sad really.
Nice reflection from a real life’s activity. The houses money can be a very useful and practical strategy in every business undertaking – online or offline.
Jeremy i think that is important advice.
Many Americans have the problem of spending and not saving. Alot of what has contributed to our tough economic times.
If people listened to this simple advice and saved a percenatge of what they earned, the same percentage no matter their income fluctiations, they would be much better off in the long run.
This is why you are succesful. Good article, hopefully people will take the advice to heart.
It is kind of like a vicious circle. The more you earn the more you tend to spend. Comparing this behaviour to irresponsible gamling tactics works to get the message acrfoss!
Its not a circle for me.
Great advice! I personally only dip into my affiliate income pool when it comes to spending. I’m also a freak about debt, staying out of debt really helps with flexibility and options.
Nice article!
Well in theory that works, however you have to first develop the skills to actually make money, right? That is why most people act on desperation once they finally get some money, I suppose…
Very good article. All newbies (and veterans) should read this and follow it.
It’s very hard to train yourself not to spend, esp when you get commissions checks of $5000 in the mail. ~ lol that check is all gone, and now iam back to where i started with no monayy..lol.. it’s strange really.
When the US dollar collapses and the economy goes back into a deep recession within the next 5 years a lot of those who made money will lose it.
INVEST YOUR MONEY IN GOLD AND FOREIGN STOCKS and live cheaply.
We saw this in the real estate industry. There were agents making a million plus a year and now they are back waiting tables.
Well according to me when USD goes down it affects entire economy of the country. Along with the country’s economy Global Economy is also getting affected as we all know that entire world is dependent on our economy. Never try to take risk and get in to any kind of Debt for which you have even 1% doubt of repaying back. It is always safe to play wit
Well according to me when USD goes down it affects entire economy of the country. Along with the country’s economy Global Economy is also getting affected as we all know that entire world is dependent on our economy. Never try to take risk and get in to any kind of Debt for which you have even 1% doubt of repaying back. It is always safe to play with In House money as suggested by Shoe.
Shoe, great advise man. A lot of people can learn from this. I have been playing with the house playing for over 2 years now. The ups and downs of business is always stressful and fun but using the money you made to make more money is always the best plan.
This may be my favorite post of yours. It’s exactly how I run my business and live my life.
Good blackjack advice.
#1 after actual car count… 
Interesting post. Thanks!
Great advice. It kills me to read stories about people who had a windfall and then ended up broke because they found a way to spend it all – plus a bit more.
On a side note – I wonder how many readers actually know who Telly Savalas was. You gotta appreciate wise words from the original Kojak.
Great post. I actually use 50% of my affiliate earnings to pay back my college loans and the other 50% is reinvested back into my ventures.
Getting rich is not just a function of earning. Rather it is a function of how you earn, how you spend and how you save.
If what you are doing is investing money out from your pocket in addition to the money that you have earned from your online business, in the quest of making more money online, you probably need a wiser approach and this wiser approach is what Jeremy has explained in this post.
Excellent advise.
I was just playing blackjack last night. Good advice Shoemoney!
Play with the houses money!
This is some great advice! When I started making money online I spent the money as soon as I got it, which was quickly proven to be a really bad idea. Now I have it all broken into percentages of what it will be spent on. Lots of it goes back in so I can make more. Great article!
Brenon MacLaury
I totally agree with your statement. Need to really watch where you are spending. There’s a huge temptation to overspend when you making ‘easy money’ .
>> “If you start spending money like water and stop looking for new opportunities your screwed. And this is exactly what happens to MOST people in this industry.”
Have never really approached Blackjack with much thought. Will have to check out that video, sounds interesting.
Most of the systems I have looked at (i.e Roulette Martingale), they do interest me, but you can really get burnt if you’re not careful.
God knows how the high rollers are working it these days.:)
I was speaking with a professional blackjack player about something else when it came up. He said that off the Vegas strip there’s smaller casinos who offer single deck blackjack (and also single zero roulette) where your chances are much better for counting cards.
These places don’t have the overhead of the giant casinos so they compete this way. He said only tourists go to the big places with six decks being dealt from at a time. Also he mentioned a friend one time looked at him and said “you have a good hand, I can tell”. When he asked how the veteran knew that the guy said “you looked at your cards and swallowed” and he was right…
I really find Victor’s blog interesting with great articles I find this guy a good writer, congrats Blog Raters posting articles about some other bloggers speaks great about yours.
I have never seen anyone link blackjack to MMO before in this way.
I haven’t quit my job, I get bored staying at home!
Thanks for great advice. Might be useful
Will I be a richman with this?
I very happy to be able to read your article, and I feel fortunate, because by reading your article I got from a lot of knowledge you very good article, I am happy to read it, thanks a lot
thanks for sharing this info. Its a pity that most people don’t care anything about contingency plans..
Hello! I liked your blog a lot! I would like to propose you a partnership. I’m a professional magician for more than 20 years and I’ve worked on the best circus and theaters all over the world. I’ve also presented myself in lots of brazilian and international television programs. I’m the only brazilian magician who did magic with white tigers, elephants and African leopards. Searching on the net I realized that everyday hundreds of people try to learn free tricks. But as it’s rare I’ve developed some videos to teach people now to do nice and free tricks. Lots of people have been searching for them on the net so I thought I could send them to you so you can publish them on your blog. As your blog will get many acess you can give me a link, afterwards. Get in touch. Best wishes.
http://www.magicorichard.com.br/
Well said shoe, you need to look into the future rather then just living in the present.
Ive never done something like this !
This is exactly why you see launch after crazy launch of very similar material only the name has changed.
People earn $10,000 one month after earning $1,000 pm for the past 10 years and just assume it will continue.
You have to get used to a certain level of income, factor in the life expectancy of that income stream and plan on that.
Remember, this isn’t an employer who has guaranteed a job for life. You’re in business now. And that is the crux of the matter. Most people think they’re in the “get rich quick” business.
With that attitude they’re in the “get rich quick and lose it faster” business.
Well said Mr ShoeMoney
I just believe in one thing and that is nothing is here for life time. If you are making money through your one idea than sooner or later this idea will evaporate. So before it evaporate you should come up with the new idea and keep enjoying the success.
The betting strategy is complete rubbish. You are just as likely to get bad cards as good ones which you will see if you actually play billions of hands.
The only exception is if you are counting the cards and bet more on a good count (where there are lots of aces or “tens” in the deck”) that is good for the player.
I see your point in the affiliate world but don’t send people to the casinos trying to win with a strategy that don’t work.
thats probably why I do internet marketing for a living and not play blackjack.
Whether you are making $5000 per week or $200 per week, the same rule applies. Your advice is sound. Unfortunately, most people do not have the discipline to stay within their means. Like power, success corrupts. One must be diligent in keeping success under control. Thanks for the post.
Yeah, it was funny when the money started to come in I found I went form owning 5 domains to 50 in about a week. Fortunately it was all money earnt from the early successes but it took a while before I managed to break the domain buying addiction.
On the plus side, I have ear marked some for expiry and now enjoying the rewards from the ones that worked out.
I’m still confuse with this strategy Jeremy,
what if lets say I lose for 8 times in a row before a win, it means I’ll spend $40 (8 x $5) on the first 8 times lose.
And then I raise it to bet 2 units lets say for worst case (since I’m not lucky enough), I keep losing again for another 6 time bets, it means I have to spend $60 (6 x $10)
So what should I do?
Thanks
It bugs me when people start getting more money than they can handle and need to burn it. I always found it astounding how celebs could ever get into millions of dollars of debt. Just live a comfortable life instead of trying to live like it’s your last day (everyday) and burning every dollar you get.
Smart advice. Invest when you have the money and continue to grow your wealth instead of blowing it.
I really like your articles with this and I feel lucky to be able to read your article, I really like your articles with this article because you have to give this a thought for more advanced again, many thanks
It’s funny you use gambling as an example; I often say this very same thing about celebrities. Especially with the millennial phenomena of reality TV and reality stars, I wonder how many of those people take their lucky break as just that – a quick jackpot – and either invest the money for the future when the oppotunity for fame has passed or parlay it into a new viable venture. Great tie-in to the MMO niche.
Danelle Ice / Homemaker Barbi
This is one unique way of earning and you have put some interesting thoughts here
That makes a lot of sense (Though i know nothing about black jack)… I like to think that I am making the most of the opportunities that i have right now and taking the necessary risks to make my online investments grow.. Great article.
In making money online including playing houses money, we should know how we get the money and use some of it to get more. I think it is the same meaning with how we manage our financial support to run our own business.
great idea for earning.
That is cool, We teach the way to gambling
But i am just newbie, that it work for me ??
Great post we also are always looking for more opportunities to make money.
Thanks
Mike
O seu site de produtos de segurança na internet
A melhor loja de artigos de segurança na internet