Mike Aponte
Encyclopedia
Mike Aponte also known as MIT Mike is a professional blackjack
player and a former member of the MIT Blackjack Team
. Aponte was one of the leaders of a team of MIT students that legally won millions at blackjack tables around the world by counting cards. He is one of the main characters, "Jason Fisher," in the best selling book, Bringing Down the House
, by Ben Mezrich
. The bestselling book inspired the major motion picture, 21.
Growing up Mike never really played cards. The son of a U.S. Army tactical instructor, Aponte and his family moved on a regular basis, both in the United States and overseas. Aponte attended 11 different schools before graduating valedictorian
from Ewing High School
in New Jersey
. That fall, he moved to Boston to attend MIT, where he studied economics
and played on the school’s football team. In Aponte’s senior year his career path took an unexpected turn when a friend told him about a team at MIT that used special mathematical techniques to win at blackjack.
In an interview for All In Magazine, Mike recalled: “When I attended my first blackjack team meeting I was completely hooked. I was fascinated by the mathematics of card counting and of course the lure of big money and the high roller lifestyle. I was highly motivated to learn card counting and I practiced hard to develop my skills.”
Aponte first hit the casinos in 1992 as a member of the MIT Blackjack Team after passing the team’s big player test (the BP “checkout”). In the big player team strategy, it is the BP that comes in and capitalizes on the advantage with big bets after spotters have identified a "hot shoe" with a favorable count. Aponte was one of the team’s most successful big players, and also took on an even more prominent role as a manager, responsible for recruiting and training new players, as well as coordinating team trips.
Through 2000, Aponte and his cohorts enjoyed an incredible run at casinos in the United States and other countries as well. In the end, they walked away with millions. On their journey they met famous athletes, Hollywood stars and some of the wealthiest individuals on the planet. The crew partied at the hottest nightclubs, stayed in posh suites and lived a lifestyle of which most only dream. Their success was made possible by hard work and a business-like approach. The team practiced rigorously to stay sharp, endured a brutal travel schedule and meticulously planned their blackjack assaults.
After his professional card counting career, Mike went on to win the first World Series of Blackjack championship in 2004, and co-founded a company that provides instructional products and services on how to win at blackjack. In 2007 Aponte became the first blackjack player ever to be depicted on a trading card in Topps' Allen & Ginter set.Mike now offers his blackjack expertise through in-person and online coaching and instruction at MikeAponte.com. Mike also speaks professionally for universities and corporations.
External links=
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
player and a former member of the MIT Blackjack Team
MIT Blackjack Team
The MIT Blackjack Team was a group of students and ex-students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and other leading colleges who used card-counting techniques and more sophisticated strategies to beat casinos at blackjack worldwide...
. Aponte was one of the leaders of a team of MIT students that legally won millions at blackjack tables around the world by counting cards. He is one of the main characters, "Jason Fisher," in the best selling book, Bringing Down the House
Bringing Down the House (book)
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions is a book by Ben Mezrich about a group of MIT card counters commonly known as the MIT Blackjack Team. While represented as non-fiction by Mezrich and Free Press, the book contains significant fictional elements...
, by Ben Mezrich
Ben Mezrich
Ben Mezrich is an American author from Princeton, New Jersey. He graduated magna-cum-laude with a degree in Social Studies from Harvard University in 1991. Some of his books have been written under the pseudonym Holden Scott. Mezrich attended Princeton Day School, in Princeton, New Jersey...
. The bestselling book inspired the major motion picture, 21.
Growing up Mike never really played cards. The son of a U.S. Army tactical instructor, Aponte and his family moved on a regular basis, both in the United States and overseas. Aponte attended 11 different schools before graduating valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
from Ewing High School
Ewing High School (New Jersey)
Ewing High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves over 1,100 students in ninth through twelfth grades from Ewing Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Ewing Public Schools....
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. That fall, he moved to Boston to attend MIT, where he studied economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and played on the school’s football team. In Aponte’s senior year his career path took an unexpected turn when a friend told him about a team at MIT that used special mathematical techniques to win at blackjack.
In an interview for All In Magazine, Mike recalled: “When I attended my first blackjack team meeting I was completely hooked. I was fascinated by the mathematics of card counting and of course the lure of big money and the high roller lifestyle. I was highly motivated to learn card counting and I practiced hard to develop my skills.”
Aponte first hit the casinos in 1992 as a member of the MIT Blackjack Team after passing the team’s big player test (the BP “checkout”). In the big player team strategy, it is the BP that comes in and capitalizes on the advantage with big bets after spotters have identified a "hot shoe" with a favorable count. Aponte was one of the team’s most successful big players, and also took on an even more prominent role as a manager, responsible for recruiting and training new players, as well as coordinating team trips.
Through 2000, Aponte and his cohorts enjoyed an incredible run at casinos in the United States and other countries as well. In the end, they walked away with millions. On their journey they met famous athletes, Hollywood stars and some of the wealthiest individuals on the planet. The crew partied at the hottest nightclubs, stayed in posh suites and lived a lifestyle of which most only dream. Their success was made possible by hard work and a business-like approach. The team practiced rigorously to stay sharp, endured a brutal travel schedule and meticulously planned their blackjack assaults.
After his professional card counting career, Mike went on to win the first World Series of Blackjack championship in 2004, and co-founded a company that provides instructional products and services on how to win at blackjack. In 2007 Aponte became the first blackjack player ever to be depicted on a trading card in Topps' Allen & Ginter set.Mike now offers his blackjack expertise through in-person and online coaching and instruction at MikeAponte.com. Mike also speaks professionally for universities and corporations.
External links=