Mike Aponte grew up all over the world. The son of a U.S. Army tactical instructor, he attended eleven different schools before graduating high school in New Jersey in 1988. He went on to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, where he pursued a degree in economics and played on the school's football team. In 1992, his senior year, Aponte was recruited to join the MIT blackjack club, a team that used card counting to consistently (and legally) win at high-stakes blackjack. Aponte was intrigued with the game and the notion of beating it with math and spent hours practicing to hone his skills. He soon became one of the team's most successful players and eventually its manager. By the end of year 2000, Aponte and his teammates had achieved a historic run at casinos all over the world, having won millions.