You don’t really know how much you can handle until you have experienced the worst that life has to offer. At the tables this usually means a series of hands so bizarre and devastating to your bankroll that you swear the gods have conspired to single you out for an enduring and tortuous punishment. Our sins are awash in our busted hands, six card dealer 21s and buried blackjacks. We come back from the trip and wonder what anyone can say that will comfort us, and then slowly the words rise up, and then we hear ourselves shouting: "Blackjack Sucks."

Tolerance for pain is one of the greatest skills the young player can learn. Given the choice between winning big and losing big, I would wish a big loss on the new player. Let there be no doubt in his mind, the casinos are playing for keeps and the money is real money. No simulations, no practice modules, no flash cards and no risk analyzers can prepare the player for the experience of catastrophic loss at the tables.

At the beginning of my blackjack career such a loss cost my first marriage (which was ultimately a very good thing). It began with a solo trip to Tunica in early March, 1997...

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