Mike Aponte

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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 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.^[1] The book has been made into a major motion picture, 21.

Now 36 years old, Mike never really played cards growing up. 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 in 1988 from Ewing High School in New Jersey.^[2][3] 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, he later 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 Club after passing the team’s big player test (the BP “checkout”). When a team is working the tables, it is the BP that swoops in and gathers up chips with big bets after spotters have identified a favorable count. Aponte was one of the team’s most successful big players, and later took on a 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 2004 World Series of Blackjack, and co-founded a company called the Blackjack Institute that provides instructional products and services on how to win at blackjack.^[4] In 2007 Aponte became the first blackjack player ever to be depicted on a trading card in Topps' Allen & Ginter set.^[5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• "Math Whiz Breaks The Blackjack Bank" Fox News DC - video
• "From Casinos to Counterterrorism" The Washington Post
• "The MIT Team's $500,000 Weekend" Midwest Gaming and Travel
• "Blackjack's Real Deal" ALL IN
• "Mastering The Comp Game" Midwest Gaming and Travel
• "Card Counters Talk to Casino Execs" Las Vegas Now
• "Practice Makes Perfect" Midwest Gaming and Travel