David Drury
From notorious card counter to keynote speaker on risk, trust, and decision-making under pressure.
Why you should book David Drury for your next event
- Former professional blackjack player who legally beat casinos using math, discipline, and a high-trust team system.
- Powerful lessons on risk management, clear thinking, and calm execution in volatile environments.
- Story-driven keynotes that equip leaders to perform consistently under pressure and uncertainty.
Non-binding request for David Drury
Card Counter Mindset for leaders navigating risk and uncertainty
David Drury is a former professional blackjack player, once nicknamed America’s Most Notorious Card Counter by casino surveillance agencies. For six years, he operated in high-stakes casino environments, legally beating the house through math, discipline, and a carefully structured, high-trust team system. Today, David brings the Card Counter Mindset to business audiences worldwide. His keynotes translate lessons from the casino floor into practical strategies for leaders who must make smart decisions under pressure, manage long-term risk, and build teams that perform in uncertain conditions.
David Drury – From Card Counter to Keynote Speaker
David Drury spent six years as a professional blackjack player in some of the most high-pressure environments imaginable. Known by casino surveillance agencies as America’s Most Notorious Card Counter, he built a career on legally beating casinos through disciplined execution, mathematical precision, and a tightly coordinated team system built on trust.
In the world of professional blackjack, emotion is expensive. Overconfidence, fear, and hesitation all carry a cost. Success depends on making clear decisions with incomplete information, protecting your downside, and thinking long term in systems designed to create volatility. These lessons now form the foundation of David’s work as a keynote speaker.
Today, David Drury speaks internationally from his base in Seattle, sharing the Card Counter Mindset with organizations that operate in fast-moving, high-stakes environments.
Card Counter Mindset in Business
What does professional blackjack have to do with leadership? More than most expect.
In business, leaders face uncertainty every day. Markets shift. Data is incomplete. Outcomes are never guaranteed. The ability to think clearly when results are unknown separates strong leaders from reactive ones.
David’s keynotes focus on three essential areas:
Decision-making under pressure – How to stay calm and rational when stakes are high
Risk management over the long term – Why protecting downside is the foundation for sustainable upside
Trust-based team performance – How disciplined collaboration drives consistent results
In blackjack, the goal is not to win every hand. The goal is to execute the system with discipline over time. The same principle applies in business. Short-term wins mean little without long-term consistency.
David shows audiences how elite performers detach from emotional swings, focus on process over outcome, and build systems that support sound judgment.
Decision-Making Under Pressure
Operating inside casinos taught David how quickly pressure can distort thinking. Bright lights, surveillance, large sums of money, and constant scrutiny create a volatile environment. One lapse in discipline can erase hours of strong performance.
Leaders face similar dynamics. Quarterly targets, shareholder expectations, and rapid change can push teams toward reactive decisions. David breaks down how to slow down thinking in high-speed environments, filter signal from noise, and act from data rather than emotion.
He shares practical frameworks that help leaders:
Assess risk before committing resources
Separate short-term variance from long-term trends
Maintain composure when outcomes fluctuate
The result is better judgment, stronger execution, and fewer costly mistakes.
Building High-Trust Teams
Professional card counting at scale requires more than individual skill. It demands coordination, trust, and disciplined communication. David worked within a high-trust team system where each member had a defined role. Success depended on reliability and shared standards.
In business, high performance also depends on trust. Teams that lack clarity or discipline struggle to execute under pressure. David illustrates how structured roles, clear expectations, and mutual accountability create resilience in volatile conditions.
Trust is not built through motivation alone. It is built through consistency. The Card Counter Mindset emphasizes preparation, alignment, and shared responsibility.
Book David Drury for Your Event
Organizations invite David Drury to speak because his story is compelling and his insights are practical. He does not glorify gambling. Instead, he translates his experience into grounded lessons about risk, discipline, and leadership.
His presentations are story-driven, engaging, and rooted in real-world experience. Audiences leave with clear frameworks they can apply immediately—whether they lead executive teams, manage financial risk, or navigate rapid organizational change.
Based in Seattle and speaking internationally, David works with organizations seeking clarity in complex environments. His message resonates with leaders who understand that success is not about chasing every opportunity, but about making disciplined decisions over time.
When you book David Drury for your event, you bring a perspective shaped by real stakes, real pressure, and real accountability. The Card Counter Mindset equips leaders to protect downside, think independently, and build teams that perform consistently—no matter how volatile the environment.
Keynotes
Keynote by David Drury:
Gain the Edge: Life Lessons from America’s Most Notorious Card Counter
For six years, David Drury’s full-time job was to beat casinos at blackjack—legally—by making disciplined decisions under uniquely intense scrutiny and pressure.
In this keynote, he shares how the same mindset that works at the blackjack table applies to leadership, business strategy, and risk management.
Audiences learn how to think probabilistically, avoid emotional overreaction, and build systems that reward long-term performance over short-term wins.
Best for: leadership conferences, executive audiences, cross-functional teams.
Keynote by David Drury:
Signal Over Noise: Making Better Decisions Under Pressure
In fast-moving environments, leaders are surrounded by data, opinions, and urgency. The real challenge isn’t information—it’s discernment.
Drawing from high-stakes systems where mistakes have immediate consequences, David shows how to distinguish signal from noise, evaluate decisions by process rather than outcomes, and stay steady when conditions are volatile.
Best for: business leaders, small business owners, operations teams, strategy audiences.
Keynote by David Drury:
Card Counter Mindset: Managing Risk Without Playing It Safe
Risk isn’t something to eliminate—it’s something to build around.
This keynote reframes risk management as a human skill, not just a technical one. David explores how elite performers protect downside first, define decision rules before pressure hits, and avoid the common traps that cause teams to abandon good systems too early.
Best for: finance, risk management, operations, compliance, public sector audiences.
Keynote by David Drury:
Trust Is the System: How High-Performing Teams Win Under Uncertainty
In beating blackjack, no card counter succeeds alone.
David reveals how trust, communication rhythms, and clear directives make the difference between winning teams and failure for leaders from all disciplines.
This keynote focuses on building cultures where people stay aligned under stress, support one another through variance, and perform consistently without burnout.
Best for: leadership development, people & culture, team performance events.
David Drury - Teamwork Keynote Speaker - Sizzle Reel - 2024
Watch David Drury in action
