The document discusses strategies for playing blackjack and dealing with successes and failures in life. It recommends betting more when winning and less when losing at blackjack to take advantage of "runs" of good or bad luck that are inevitable. More broadly, it suggests pursuing well-defined long-term goals and increasing effort during successes while maintaining focus on goals during failures instead of quitting, as rough patches will pass.

1. The Blackjack Life Strategy

2. In statistics, one of the tests of true
randomness is "runs."

3. Meaning if you flip a coin a hundred
times, there HAS to be periods where
you get a bunch of heads in a row, or a
bunch of tails in a row.

4. When scientists or mathematicians are
studying unknown phenomenon, if it
doesn't show runs, it's not random. If
it's always back and forth, or at most
twice one way or twice the other way,
there's something else going on.

5. In fact, one good strategy for playing
blackjack is to follow the rules, so
you're getting close to 50% payouts,
and bet bigger and bigger once you
start winning.

6. Then you go back to your smallest bet
when you're on a cold streak.

7. The logic is when you are on a winning
streak, you're betting big, but when
you're cold, you're betting small.

8. Of course, this is why they have
scantily clad waitresses giving our free
booze!

9. No matter WHAT you're going after,
you're going to have runs as well.

10. Strings of good luck, and strings of bad
luck.

11. Not really luck, just stuff that happens
that's out of your control.

12. The big mistake is to assume EITHER
ONE is normal.

13. If you think you're going to be "on" all
the time, you're in for a surprise.

14. If you're halfway through a "losing
streak," or worse, one's almost over,
then you may quit.

15. The trick is to apply the Blackjack
philosophy.

16. When the going's good, go big. When
you start to slow down and hit some
rough spots, slow down a bit and wait
for things to get back to normal.

17. Because they ALWAYS will.

18. Once when I was in college I had a
TON of bad stuff happen at once.

19. I was in a pretty dark mood for a
couple weeks, but then I stepped back,
focused on a couple of really
important things, and let the rest slide.

20. Having a core set of goals is really
helpful.

21. If you don't know where you're going,
and you hit those rough spots, it can
be tough to get back on track.

22. But when you've got a collection of
HIGHLY DEFINED things way out in the
future you're going after, it's easy to
stay on track.

23. That one job, one girl or one situation
may not work out.

24. But if you've got a BIG GOAL (ideal
career, ideal relationship, etc) off on
the horizon, it's easy to pick up the
pieces and get moving.

25. If you don't have any highly defined
goals, that should be your first goal.

26. Get some big dreams, and define
them.

27. Do that, and you'll have true purpose
in your life.

28. These tools will help you get there:
mindpersuasion.com