A few pages from Chapter 3 - The Tournament
“Okay, here we go,” said the dealer as he started giving out cards. I watched as player got their cards, 19, 18, 15, 16, 18, 20 and 14. Now the dealer tuned an Ace. He looked under the card then asked, “Insurance anyone?” he asked.
The player in seat 2 stared at the dealer like a hawk seeking it’s pray. After 10 seconds the dealer looked away faking a cough. “Ten seconds” he said. Player 2 grabbed two yellow chips and took insurance. “He’s got it,” said player 2 – you can see it in his eyes.
Players 3 & 4 passed on insurance. Now it was my turn. I know insurance is a suckers bet I thought. Besides it’s only hand two. He doesn’t have it. Besides I’ve only got 1000 bet anyway. I waved the dealer off. As expected no other players took insurance.
Insurance is closed announced the dealer. He reached for the down card and flipped a King of diamonds. “I told you guys he had it,” said Benny G. No trick there. Why do you think I’m the champion?” I was torn between being in awe of Benny and wanted to just slap him upside the head. Show off. But then again he’s got the lead.
“Place your bets”, said the dealer. I looked at him and noticed a slight tinge of red around his ears. He was either nervous about being read or angry at Benny. I couldn’t tell. But then again I was still trying to figure out why I was here in the first place.
When it was my turn I counted my chips – 20,000. Here it was hand three and I’m down 5,000 already. I looked at my fellow players and tried to count the stacks in front of them. Player 4, the expert card counter, has 23,500 or is it 23,000? I can’t be sure and start to count again when I get the countdown from the dealer.
“Ten seconds.” Quickly I just grab three yellow chips and announce my bet. “1500,” I say as I put the chips in the circle. “Hey that’s three thousand,” the computer geek in seat 3 chimes in. I look and notice that I’ve picked from the wrong stack. I only wanted to bet 1500 not 3000! I go to reach for chips and change them. As I touch the chips Benny says, “No, no, no, no – you can’t do that. Once the chips are in the circle it’s a bet.”
“But I wanted the purple not the yellow,” I said. “You heard me say 1500 didn’t you?”
“What you say and what’s out there are two different matters. You can’t touch it now. Too late,” Benny chided me.
I looked pleadingly at the dealer. With an apologetic look on his face the dealer informed me that Benny was correct. There was nothing that could be done. Dejected, I watched as the other players bet 500 or 1000. The dealer started with seat one: 15, 17, 14, 13, 18, 20 and 11. The dealer than turned an Ace for himself. “Insurance anyone?”
How many times was this going to happen I thought? There was an audible moan from the table. The dealer started the same process asking for insurance again. This time no one took it. I focused on the dealer as he peaked at his hole care. There was no expression this time – he sported a good poker face.
The players in seats 3 & 4 both bust. Now it was my turn. 18 versus a dealers Ace. I waved the dealer off and did Carlos. Phil looked at the cards and then started down the dealer then back to the pair of sevens in front of him. “Gotta hit it,” he said. The dealer gave him a 10 and Phil bust. Slowly the dealer reached for his card and tuned over a 6 for a soft 17. He took another card from the shoe – a King of spades. “Seventeen” he announced. Yes, I had won my first hand! In fact it was twice what I was originally thought. As the dealer paid the players the professional blackjack players leaned across the table staring at the chips stacked in front of me and Carlos. I put my chips in the right color piles.
“Hey that stacks got more than 20 doesn’t it?” It was the computer geek from seat 3. I looked down at my stack of yellow chips. I started with 20 and had just won 3 more. I was supposed to start a new stack and instead had placed them all in one pile. Within 10 seconds this kid had spotted the discrepancy. I quickly took the three off the top and placed them on the felt as I offered an apology.
On the next hand Benny placed five yellow chips into the circle. Seats 3 & 5 continued to bet 500 each. I took my three yellow chips and moved them into the betting circle. Carlos picked up his newly won yellow chips and placed a stack of eight into the circle and raised more eyebrows. Phil put three yellow chips into play.
The dealer started dealing: Ten, Ace, eight, six, four, King, Queen, eight, ten, eight, ten, seven, Jack and eight. “A Gainer! He pulled a Gainer!” stated Marty C. The dealer produced a Queen as his up card. As the dealer went from player to player I started to get nervous. What to do with an eleven? Double down was my gut response. But its against a ten I thought. When the dealer came to me I picked up another three 1000 yellow chips and slid them next to the original three. Six thousand dollars! I gulped hard. This was going to get me the lead I thought. It’s time to make my move. “Doubling down,” the dealer said as he slid a card face down next to my four and seven.
Finally the dealer turned over a 10 for a total of 20. Great! I saw that players 1, 3, 4 & 7 would all lose. Carlos was going to push. This could work out great. Except for Benny I would be in second place – as long as that double down card was a ten. I watch the dealer take the chips from player 7. I stared at the single down card. Be a ten, be a ten I kept repeating in my mind. I wanted to will a face card to be there. This was for second place among the elite in the blackjack world. This is it I thought. As the dealer grabbed the card I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. By now I was repeating the mantra – be a ten to coincide with my racing heartbeat. My heart was racing as he turned a 3 – “fourteen,” the dealer stated as he grabbed my six yellow chips. No I wanted to scream. Down to 14,000 so soon! "
