SurrenderMan
New Member
SurrenderMan has won the 10th Qualifier of the LVH MDBIII !!!
The final round was the luckiest I've ever experienced in a tournament. Going into the final 5 hands I was the leader (as documented in the play-by-play section on this web-site) only because I had probably won 18 or 19 of the 23 hands. The play-by-play captures the only large bets I made in the round. About the only deviations from basic strategy I made throughout the tournament were some unjustified surrenders; and, as in hand 27 of the final round, they worked out well. (If I hadn't surrendered there and if Mr. Fortin had hit to 19: (1) I'd've saved the table, thereby tightening things up and (2) I'd've started with a 9,4 on hand 28 instead of the pat 10,9.) As I said, I was lucky in this round.
In the interest of educating tournament newbies that it is better to be lucky than smart I present the last hands of my 3 earlier rounds. I was not lucky in the early rounds except on the final hands. Here's my recollection; any errors in chip count or hands caused by my insufficient memory are minor and would not affect the decision-making or outcome of the hand:
RD1: 3 players left. 1st-place is already decided; 2 players competing for one spot. I am in 3rd-place with $2000; 2nd-place has $2750. I bet first! (Looks bad for SurrenderMan, no?) There is no room for subtlety; I bet $2000. 2nd-place bets $1500 to cover both high and low. (I opine a $1300 bet would've been a mite better to allow 2nd-place to split if necessary to cover a natural by me.) We both get 16's; the dealer shows a 7. (It is really looking bad for SurrenderMan now.) I hit, because I have to, and I get a 3 for a 19 total. 2nd-place hits and busts. I still need to win or push to advance; I don't recall if the dealer had a pat 7,10 or hit and busted; I do recall I moved from 3rd to 2nd.
RD2: 4 players left. 1st-place is already decided; 3 players competing for 1 spot. 2nd-place has $3300 and bets first. I am in 3rd-place with $3000, bet second. 4th-place has $2100 and bets last; but she places her all-in-bet first, out-of-turn. 2nd-place decides to go for low and bets $300. I bet $1300 to cover a win by 4th-place. I stand on my stiff against a dealer low-card, maybe a 3 or a 6. The dealer busts; we all win. I take 2nd by $100.
RD3: 4 players left; top 3 players in contention for 2 spots (Actually I think the first bettor was also in contention but he busted out first; pardon my memory-lapse). 1st-place has $6800 and bets second; he bets $1000. 3rd-place has $3900 and bets third; he bets $2500 (He'd've liked to bet $1950 but must bet in $100-increments.); I am in 2nd-place with $6750 and bet $1100. 1st-place gets an 18; 3rd-place gets a pair of 6's; I get a 13 (or maybe 14); the dealer shows an 8. 1st-place stands; 3rd-place doubles-for-less his 6,6 and gets a 7; I hit my stiff to 18. If I win, I'm in! The dealer busts. I take first by $50 over 2 players tied for second with $7800.
The significance of the above three final hands for me was that the cards and other players bets determined my action. I had only one obvious choice of, in some cases, very-low-probability-of-success options. And I got lucky.
FINAL NOTE:
At the conclusion of the final hand of the tournament JoeP inquired loudly if this win or my faux pas of surrendering a blackjack in an earlier MDBIII Qualifier was more memorable. And throughout the tournament FredL would remind me that a blackjack was a good thing and express his bewilderment at my earlier faux pas to all within earshot. ("faux pas" looks so much better than, say "bonehead play" or "screw-up", don't you think?) Anyway, this reminded me of the best line in the first episode of the new ESPN series "TILT":
"These guys are terrible. You sh*t your pants one time, . . . and they never let you forget it."
2ND FINAL NOTE:
Why? Why? Why? Why is the only tournament I can win being cancelled?
The final round was the luckiest I've ever experienced in a tournament. Going into the final 5 hands I was the leader (as documented in the play-by-play section on this web-site) only because I had probably won 18 or 19 of the 23 hands. The play-by-play captures the only large bets I made in the round. About the only deviations from basic strategy I made throughout the tournament were some unjustified surrenders; and, as in hand 27 of the final round, they worked out well. (If I hadn't surrendered there and if Mr. Fortin had hit to 19: (1) I'd've saved the table, thereby tightening things up and (2) I'd've started with a 9,4 on hand 28 instead of the pat 10,9.) As I said, I was lucky in this round.
In the interest of educating tournament newbies that it is better to be lucky than smart I present the last hands of my 3 earlier rounds. I was not lucky in the early rounds except on the final hands. Here's my recollection; any errors in chip count or hands caused by my insufficient memory are minor and would not affect the decision-making or outcome of the hand:
RD1: 3 players left. 1st-place is already decided; 2 players competing for one spot. I am in 3rd-place with $2000; 2nd-place has $2750. I bet first! (Looks bad for SurrenderMan, no?) There is no room for subtlety; I bet $2000. 2nd-place bets $1500 to cover both high and low. (I opine a $1300 bet would've been a mite better to allow 2nd-place to split if necessary to cover a natural by me.) We both get 16's; the dealer shows a 7. (It is really looking bad for SurrenderMan now.) I hit, because I have to, and I get a 3 for a 19 total. 2nd-place hits and busts. I still need to win or push to advance; I don't recall if the dealer had a pat 7,10 or hit and busted; I do recall I moved from 3rd to 2nd.
RD2: 4 players left. 1st-place is already decided; 3 players competing for 1 spot. 2nd-place has $3300 and bets first. I am in 3rd-place with $3000, bet second. 4th-place has $2100 and bets last; but she places her all-in-bet first, out-of-turn. 2nd-place decides to go for low and bets $300. I bet $1300 to cover a win by 4th-place. I stand on my stiff against a dealer low-card, maybe a 3 or a 6. The dealer busts; we all win. I take 2nd by $100.
RD3: 4 players left; top 3 players in contention for 2 spots (Actually I think the first bettor was also in contention but he busted out first; pardon my memory-lapse). 1st-place has $6800 and bets second; he bets $1000. 3rd-place has $3900 and bets third; he bets $2500 (He'd've liked to bet $1950 but must bet in $100-increments.); I am in 2nd-place with $6750 and bet $1100. 1st-place gets an 18; 3rd-place gets a pair of 6's; I get a 13 (or maybe 14); the dealer shows an 8. 1st-place stands; 3rd-place doubles-for-less his 6,6 and gets a 7; I hit my stiff to 18. If I win, I'm in! The dealer busts. I take first by $50 over 2 players tied for second with $7800.
The significance of the above three final hands for me was that the cards and other players bets determined my action. I had only one obvious choice of, in some cases, very-low-probability-of-success options. And I got lucky.
FINAL NOTE:
At the conclusion of the final hand of the tournament JoeP inquired loudly if this win or my faux pas of surrendering a blackjack in an earlier MDBIII Qualifier was more memorable. And throughout the tournament FredL would remind me that a blackjack was a good thing and express his bewilderment at my earlier faux pas to all within earshot. ("faux pas" looks so much better than, say "bonehead play" or "screw-up", don't you think?) Anyway, this reminded me of the best line in the first episode of the new ESPN series "TILT":
"These guys are terrible. You sh*t your pants one time, . . . and they never let you forget it."
2ND FINAL NOTE:
Why? Why? Why? Why is the only tournament I can win being cancelled?
