I use the MIT blackjack team's basic strategy (I don't count) when playing blackjack at the Bellagio and MGM.... one thing that one could look at as a parallel to trading is, in blackjack you are mostly breaking even on a large percentage of overall hands; the only way to stay in the game and lose less, is to bet large (double down) when player-favorable setups occur.

This is similar to trading in that we get a lot of small stops and small wins, what differentiates us, what makes us win, is capitalizing on the larger wins when we "get a good trade on", by trailing close stops and letting those work out larger for us. Also by having a lot of small trades that are slightly more green than the stops, so that having a lot of small 'base hits', singles, adds up as well.

And of course, unlike blackjack the odds are not fixed, so can intelligently scale in and out of our positions, making for great opportunities.


-ken


p.s. when I play blackjack, I am astonished that virtually nobody (of hundreds who've come, lost, and gone, while I remain) even follows basic strategy correctly. I can sit there at a $5 or $10 table with a mere $200 stack of chips and play for 6-8 hours on end without being significantly up or down more than $70 or so... by using the correct basic strategy, that I hand-scribble on a note in front of me. I consistently outlast anyone I play against, though I do not win much, I do not lose much either - so I look at it like entertainment. I use the basic strategy from www.expertinsight.com (MIT blackjack team leader Andy Bloch's basic strategy, great dvds there too btw I've bought all).