edge init

Originally Posted by ChocolateDigestive

That last point was telling for me in that you could give most people a solid edge but they most likely would not have the discipline and staying power to take advantage of it.

Originally Posted by ChocolateDigestive

Will try to get the thread back on track without the mentally challenged disrupting things (the most polite way I could put it)

I was having a read through of the Blair Hull interview last night in new market wizards. Of course I bought the book from amazon although some people say it is available on illegal download.

I enjoyed his interview as he hardly talked about trading to begin with it was all about his early days as a blackjack card counter. Some great stuff there. Points that stood out:

*He spent 5 days a month in Las Vegas hour after hour playing blacjack just for a 1 to 2% edge. Wow that is some effort for such a small edge. He turned $120 into $10,000 over the space of 2 years using this edge.

*He talks about the importance of how many times you can apply the edge. I think about whether i would prefer an 90% 1:1 edge that I only get the opportunity to apply once a month or whether I would prefer a 55% 1:! edge that I can apply 1000 times a month. hmmmm

*He talks about how and why he played in a team. Very interesting, they pooled their bankrolls which allowed them ride out a greater variance of results but also allowed them to conceal the 'big player'. Pooling came with it's own problems though when they found one of their team was skimming off the top.

*He talks about the edge still be available in Casinos. He said the casinos knew people could play with an edge but they also knew most people ( i think he mentioned 499/500) would not have the discipline and staying power to take advantage of it.

That last point was telling for me in that you could give most people a solid edge but they most likely would not have the discipline and staying power to take advantage of it.

Originally Posted by neil324

You mean card counting.

Originally Posted by ChocolateDigestive

that was his technique for generating the edge yes.

Originally Posted by neil324

Don't they beat or kill you for doing that though.

Watched a film about it recently forget it's name, Kevin Spacey was in it.

Originally Posted by neil324

Don't they beat or kill you for doing that though.

Watched a film about it recently forget it's name, Kevin Spacey was in it.

Originally Posted by ChocolateDigestive

If you think you have an edge how did you come about it? Not asking for details of the edge just how you came about it?