Colin Jones

Colin Jones is an American blackjack card-counting expert, teacher, and entrepreneur. He was a founder and manager of The Church Team, a successful blackjack card-counting team based in Seattle, Washington, which won approximately 3.2 million dollars from casinos between 2006 and 2011. Jones is featured prominently in the 2011 award-winning documentary, Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians. He owns the website Blackjack Apprenticeship and holds regular blackjack boot camps in Las Vegas.

Education In 2002, Jones graduated with a bachelor's degree in math from Azusa Pacific University. While in college, his friend, Ben Crawford, recommended he read a book about card counting. Jones read it, practiced at home, and then tested the strategies in the casinos. After feeling confident in the math, he asked his wife if he could use $2,000 from their savings. She agreed and he used that money to begin his career playing blackjack.

Jones saw card-counting as a way to put his math skills to good use, and does not consider it gambling.

The Church Team: Card-counting as a business Initially, Jones and Crawford attempted to discourage others from joining them, but eventually decided to create a team of individuals who were trustworthy, hard-working, and skilled at card counting. The Church Team got its name because most of the original members were from Jones’ and Crawford's church networks; many were regular church attenders, pastors, and theology students. Jones and Crawford trained their members to give honest answers when confronted by security guards and law enforcement. On June 8, 2012, Jones was interviewed by NPR's Ira Glass and Robyn Semien in episode 466: “Render Unto Caesar’s Palace What is Due Caesar’s Palace.”

Blackjack apprenticeship In 2008, Jones and Crawford created a website, Blackjack Apprenticeship, to train others to count cards. Jones also holds blackjack boot camps in Las Vegas. https://www.blackjackapprenticeship.com/