Card Counting Truck Driver?

What do you guys think? Most of you already know who I am and what I do but for those of you who don't I currently run a full time dead end job while card counting every waking minute outside of work. I run with a 25k bankroll atm and make quite a bit between the 2 but honestly HATE my job with a passion. I was looking at choices and was wondering if any body out there is a truck driver or even better an AP truck driver. I have seen many forums and what not about truck drivers and casino stops but was wondering how it would be to just live off the truck as an AP card counter for a some time while you stack up some cash? Free gas, free room to sleep in (the truck) making pit stops putting in a few hours here and there on the casinos? Let me know what ya'll think!

Make sure it doesn't cut into your mandatory off-duty time. Probably best to work it into a 34 hour restart.

Try extra hard not to get trespassed, especially if you're parked on property. Don't want the qualcomm showing that you moved the truck (to avoid getting arrested) while supposedly off-duty.

You'll probably be carrying cash. Some of the places you'll stop probably have methed out lot lizards willing to smash into the cab. How are you intending to secure your bankroll? (Don't need to hear specifics, just that you have a plan.)

Is your dispatcher going to be friendly to the idea? Maybe help with assignments that are conducive to your secondary endeavors? (Can't just go abandoning a hazmat van to play cards, right?)

If there are a few spots on your regular path, it's maybe worth getting a players card and running some machine play, to see what kind of offers you get. This may be complicated if you only get your mail once every eight weeks; an accomplice back at the mailbox could prove helpful. E-mailers are great, but a lot of those tiny little places just 5 miles off the interstate with card tables and truck parking aren't that modern.

I'd look at it as a company driver, don't jump into O-O right away. I'm sure you're shrewd enough to get good lease terms, but I think you'll need to talk with a lot of other drivers before you have enough information to make the decision, and before you have enough safe miles to make insurance affordable.


I am not a truck driver, but I've met a few.

I read the post title and thought you were talking about John Breeding. He might be a better example of what a blackjack-playing truck driver can accomplish when compared to card counting at casinos near the highway.

Lot of truck stop-casino-hotels treat guys with a CDL very well. Room discount, free coffee. . . If rooms and food are as good as cash to you, learn a decent break-even game and take advantage of comps.

Video poker might be better than blackjack. Some places will give you multiple free hotel stays each month once you reach a certain level. Others it might be as low as $15 per night if you pay with points. Some places will give up to 1% back in comps that can be used on gas. All you have to do is find a 99% game and you can do very well, especially if it's an out of the way place that you go to regularly.

Any with live poker rooms where other truck drivers like to play. They are some of the very well be the worst players I've ever seen.

I think it could work well for you. (I was married to a guy who drove truck for a time.) You might do really well driving as a partnership, perhaps cutting your partner in on a percentage in return for a schedule that favors your play. A driver team has a lot more available to them for DOT hours of service (can be moving 20 hrs/day) and schedule layovers with a lot more flexibility. Part of their side of it could be dropping you off and picking you up so you're not trying to park on-site.

A lot of haulers contract for a regular route, making a weekly or bi-weekly run. You could make that work for you with stops near properties you want to play, especially as the outbound point (near being within maybe an hour of the property at the terminus.) It would also be helpful, if you can co-locate a property near the drop, if you get dropped off, then the partner goes to the terminus for the site off-load and paperwork, then comes back for you; a lot of times that's a half-day of standing around that doesn't require the both of you.

You can also play itinerant stops with more flexibility, since there are so many states with casinos now, and still keep an acceptable delivery schedule, even on a transcontinental route. Even if stops are only a couple hours, you might not want much time on-site anyway; keep kind of a hit-and-run cross-country schedule.


JMHO.

Just looking at the basic economics of the thing I think you could do very well. Most of the overhead that people experience going to casinos...gas, tolls, parking, hotel and food etc. You have covered as part of your job. As you pointed out you could sleep in the truck if you have to, but if you play rated I think you'd be surprised how often you could get room comps. Especially mid-week, most places are happy to fill the hotel on non weekend nights.

I think the key is find some good games, at affordable hotels, that are part of your regular route. Assuming you go near the same places over and over you could pretty easily develop a regular rotation, which should yeild you a very amount in comps. As someone else pointed out getting your offers in the mail might be the hard part. Though most properties now offer the option of electronic offers, so assuming you have internet access on the road, you should be able to access most of them I would hope.

Good luck it should be an interesting story if nothing else.

Quote: vendman1

Especially mid-week, most places are happy to fill the hotel on non weekend nights.

Oh yes. The shower in even a mediocre casino hotel is better than most found in the finest truck stops.

This seems like trouble written all over it.

Quote: RS

This seems like trouble written all over it.

Yup. Pop goes the tart.

Quote: RS

This seems like trouble written all over it.

Yep, sounds like a bad idea to me. Actually, just having a regular type job where you have to be somewhere at specific times sounds horrible, but that's just me and probably a different discussion. lol

I get the idea of covering expenses associated with blackjack travel by combining them with expenses already incurred as a truck driver, BUT...I was under the impression the whole truck driving lifestyle was sort of dangerous, with lots of crime and prostitution associated with truck stops and places that cater to truckers. Just doesn't sound like the environment I want to be carrying around any kind of bankroll, and going to sleep in with any kind of bankroll on me.

i am just wondering what the rules are for parking your truck in casino parking lots. Some casinos actually have quite a few trucks parked out there, while many others have none. so is there some type of rule about this, or is it that truckers are not going to some of these casinos. honestly, i think it would be weird to see a truck pull into certain casino parking lots

The Vegas Gambler says Truck driving sounds like an environment with lots of crime and prostitution? ;-)

Quote: TwoFeathersATL

The Vegas Gambler says Truck driving sounds like an environment with lots of crime and prostitution? ;-)

Point taken, 2F. :)

But, while I do support myself from AP play (or gambling as you want to say), you'd be surprised at the normalcy of my life. I live away from the strip in a very suburban setting (as suburban as you can be in Vegas). Quite a difference from my first couple years in Vegas, living in a high-rise condo a block off mid-strip. lol

Quote: Avincow

i am just wondering what the rules are for parking your truck in casino parking lots.

Out here in the sticks, where there are a lot of "locals" casinos, many of them have dedicated truck parking areas, and they don't seem to mind truckers taking their 34 hour resets there.

I have not (yet) seen a casino affiliated laundromat out by the truck parking. If I did, that would assure me that the casino is looking to cater to the drivers' unique needs. I have seen casino affiliated RV dump stations (and RV parks, with full hookups, on-site), so I'm reasonably certain they want that business.

I have not seen such convenient parking at the fancier places nearer the big cities. I think they're looking for a different class of clientele.

I have heard some places ask drivers to move their oversized vehicles to oversized vehicle parking, instead of the main lot. Usually they start asking this when the main lot is expected to fill up. It's a little farther away, but there's a free shuttle bus.

I've ridden along several times with my ex when he was driving. It is what you want it to be; if you want lot lizards (trucker prostitutes), you can find them. If you want sleezy places, you can find those, too. It was my impression that the vast majority of places, you could find decent food prices, facilities, and people. Most better truck plazas have full security lighting all night, and at least one private officer walking the lot, not to mention near-constant traffic at all hours. I wouldn't try to nap in a rest area on the interstate, or by the side of the road, but you can also have your cab wired and secure, not just depend on local safety procedures.

A two-person team is also the best safety procedure around, because you can have much greater flexibility in not driving when you're tired, or having to make 10 hours/day each unless you're up to it. It also helps you make enough miles that you're not as tempted to speed or do other short-sighted stuff. You also have to make yourself be patient and drive defensively, but if something does happen, chances are you're going to "win" against anything smaller than a train. The other part is mechanical, making sure your vehicle is in good repair (especially tire wear) and having your load balanced properly. And I think it's worth booking southern routes and avoiding winter weather up north.

JMHO. re: winter weather, my dad drove 100K miles/year for over a decade in the upper Midwest (large car with samples, not a truck) and managed to run a weekly route without accidents, so it can be done, but ice and trucks are a really ugly mix and require special skill.

I don't know anything about truck-driving, but....

I would imagine you can't just make your own route from stop to stop. Sure you can probably stop anywhere along your route, but you can't just zig-zag around hitting all the casinos as you make your way cross-country. I believe semi-trucks are watched closely (drug-trafficking)....I imagine you could find yourself in some trouble if you're caught with any decent amount of cash ($20K+).

If anything, it seems like truck-driving would be the main source of income, and card-counting would be a rare and occasional venture.


If you want to be a truck-driver, then be a truck-driver. But I wouldn't try to be a truck-driver so I could play more BJ or cover expenses.

If you're single, no kids etc., IMO, your best bet is probably save as much money as you can, sell everything you have, move to LV and get a cheap apartment, and go from there. That is, if you really want to put in more hours and go pro.

Quote: RS

I don't know anything about truck-driving, but....

I would imagine you can't just make your own route from stop to stop. Sure you can probably stop anywhere along your route, but you can't just zig-zag around hitting all the casinos as you make your way cross-country. I believe semi-trucks are watched closely (drug-trafficking)....I imagine you could find yourself in some trouble if you're caught with any decent amount of cash ($20K+).

If anything, it seems like truck-driving would be the main source of income, and card-counting would be a rare and occasional venture.


If you want to be a truck-driver, then be a truck-driver. But I wouldn't try to be a truck-driver so I could play more BJ or cover expenses.

If you're single, no kids etc., IMO, your best bet is probably save as much money as you can, sell everything you have, move to LV and get a cheap apartment, and go from there. That is, if you really want to put in more hours and go pro.

I have thought about it but honestly right now I have a 1k per month lease where I live, on top of $350 a month for car insurance, on top of $300 for gas, so I was thinking if that shit was payed for by a buisness thats nearly 2k saved per month already, mind you its not alot but it adds up over the course of 10 years (250,000). My roommate I trained 100% in card counting for months and trust him with my life and was talking to him about going into trucking as a team. I was talking to a few people and there are alot of truck casinos right on the highway side now that arent out of the way and was just looking at playing heads up for a good count and having him come in and play a few big hands and just get back on the road and rinse and repeat. Also not doing it as a life choice, I was running the math and as a truck team you make $80,000 start and dont have to pay for gas and what not. The math just makes sense that if we are both contributing to bankroll and living in the truck we can set up a very nice bank roll and get great table time in. And like others have said I believe if nothing else, you would have some hella stories at the end of the road! Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

P.S. no kids, single, and don't see me wanting kids any time soon (early 20s, still a whole life ahead of me!)

Have you done team play before (spot + BP)? I assume you're probably talking about MW casinos primarily. I haven't played (blackjack) in the MW, but ex-teammates didn't do too well at it. They'd jump into a shoe with smallish bets, like 2x100 or 2x200 and instant heat and plenty of back-offs. Tough to do that kind of play when everyone in the store is betting $15 or less. You can get away with it in some locations (ie: Las Vegas). But in joints I imagine you'd be playing 'truck-stop casinos'....I'd reconsider.

Can you drive for 8-10 hours a day, stop at a casino, and actually feel like playing blackjack? Perhaps try doing it without the truck-driving. Just you and your buddy, get in a car and head to a casino and try it out. See how it goes. Some people are OK with being on the road constantly, sleeping in motels or their car. Many people can't do it (I couldn't...at least not for long).

It might be obvious, but people generally seem to have a hard time with this sort of thing.

I think you'd solve most of the safety concerns if you never told anybody what you were up to.

Lots of truckers gamble so as long as people think you're just a degen there won't be much added risk, at least not more than any other gambling trucker.

Quote: RS

Have you done team play before (spot + BP)? I assume you're probably talking about MW casinos primarily. I haven't played (blackjack) in the MW, but ex-teammates didn't do too well at it. They'd jump into a shoe with smallish bets, like 2x100 or 2x200 and instant heat and plenty of back-offs. Tough to do that kind of play when everyone in the store is betting $15 or less. You can get away with it in some locations (ie: Las Vegas). But in joints I imagine you'd be playing 'truck-stop casinos'....I'd reconsider.

Can you drive for 8-10 hours a day, stop at a casino, and actually feel like playing blackjack? Perhaps try doing it without the truck-driving. Just you and your buddy, get in a car and head to a casino and try it out. See how it goes. Some people are OK with being on the road constantly, sleeping in motels or their car. Many people can't do it (I couldn't...at least not for long).

We did team play for well over 6 months, plenty of long road trips (we do snowboarding trips every year where our vacation home is and its about a 17 hour drive) we have done 4 hours driving 4 hours sleeping 4 hours driving 4 hours sleeping then spent 3 or 4 hours in a casino and back onto the road, and that was in a compact car, it a truck with an actual bed in it I would think it to be even a little easier then that. We have done team counting at some local casinos where I run table minimums and him jumping in the shoe at a high count running full kelly for our bank roll at the time (300-1000) a hand for the remainder of the shoe and just both leaving at separate times at the end of the shoe. We made pretty good EV with me using up small bets and him catching the big numbers but as you can imagine it was slow and steady, and we wouldn't do more then 2 pits before leaving for the day, which is why I was thinking if we could just do the casinos along the way we could take that 1 hour for me to rush through decks heads up and have him hit one hard and immediately leave to the next casino on the route. I don't know though... just spit balling at this point looking for opinions and options.

Quote: avenged43

I was running the math and as a truck team you make $80,000 start

To do that, I think you need to be getting 4000 miles a week at $.40/mile as a team. I don't think you get that as an inexperienced team. First year will probably be less (CDL training costs, company training pay penalties ($10/hr while with a company trainer instead of $22/hr (mileage) solo), inefficiencies as you learn the company load assignment system, new drivers may not get load priority...).

Sure, experienced OTR teams that are signing on with a company may get that, because the company's training costs will be lower. I'm guessing you don't both have a year experience OTR.

In order to get that, you need to be rolling 11 to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week (or 14+ hours a day, 5 days a week). Don't forget that many company trucks are governed (60, 63, or 65mph TOP), and the max cruise control speed may be lower yet.

Live loads/unloads will cut into your clock (less with a team than solo), so hopefully you get some offset pay for each one.

After a recent career change, I have some new experience on this front.

In order to make it work, it will all come down to where your load takes you. You really are going to have to make friends with dispatch to get routed to where you want to go for AP, or you're going to have to pick your own loads off the load board to get routed to where you want to go.

Buying a truck (or leasing), and being an O-O or lease contractor, is the whole AGI nightmare all over again.


It can work, but it's more likely to be on an opportunistic basis - if coincidence happens to take you near a place, and your load schedule allows you the flexibility to stop for a few hours, then great.

Otherwise, expect that you'll be a trucker.


Shiny side up!