Week Twelve, World Series of Blackjack 2005 (Semifinal 2)

KenSmith

KenSmith

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Tonight's episode is the second of the semifinal rounds, where we'll find out the final two players who advance to the final round next week.

Week Twelve (Semifinal round #2):
Kevin Blackwood, Leann Moell, Stanford Wong, Kami Lis, Charlene Ono

Friday Apr 15, 10 PM premiere, 1 AM encore
Sun Apr 17, 7 PM
Mon Apr 18, 11 PM
Tue Apr 19, 10 PM
Thu Apr 21, 1 AM

Post your comments here, and look for my show recap soon.
 
How Nice

I'm just not use to Hollywood being so nice.At least he finally realized how good of a player Charlene really is.I admire his change of heart....
 
Show Recap part 1

With only one episode to go, tonight's semifinal round will decide who we'll be seeing again next week. Two of the five players from tonight will join Rick Jensen and Kenny Einiger at the final table, where first place is worth a quarter of a million dollars.

In seat one tonight is Leann Moell who is a dealer and pit person at Barona Casino near San Diego. Her tournament debut was on week two, when she handily eliminated yours truly from the hunt for big money.

Seated next to her is Charlene Ono. Charlene is a ten-year tournament veteran who has fought her way back into this contest after finishing second to Leann in week two. She went on to win her wild-card round and gain a seat here tonight.

In the center of the table we have Stanford Wong, a man who needs no introduction among blackjack players. He's a prolific author on gambling topics and is sure to be a tough competitor on this table. In his pre-game interview he says he's curious to see whether his brain will work when playing for $250,000. He hopes to find out by winning a seat in the finals tonight.

Kevin Blackwood is up next. His premiere-episode match with Hollywood Dave and Joe Pane is certainly among the best shows we've seen, and he should be fun to watch tonight. Matt and Max point out that he's here in the semifinals despite winning only 8 of 25 hands in his initial round.

Polish player Kami Lis is in seat five. She says of her victory in the first round "I've never worked so hard!", talking about how much different tournament blackjack is from the normal game.

If all the players hang around to the end, Kami will be on the final hand button, giving Kevin Blackwood the best positional advantage at the table.

Although there is a $5000 prize money difference between first and second place tonight, the two are almost equal in value because the real prize tonight is simply advancing to the final table.

Hand 1:
*Leann........$100,000.....$1000....QK
Charlene......$100,000.....$3000....K8
Stanford......$100,000.....$2000....AQ
Kevin.........$100,000.....$1000....8T
Kami..........$100,000.....$1000....Q7

Dealer T36

Kevin points out to Stanford that the two of them are fortunate that this is a blackjack competition and not a beauty contest. We'll see how these two blackjack pros hold up under fire from the women at this table.

Hand 2:
Leann.........$101,000.....$1000....8T
*Charlene.....$ 97,000.....$2000....Q4
Stanford......$103,000.....$1000....A4A3
Kevin.........$ 99,000.....$1000....69
Kami..........$ 99,000.....$1000....7J

Dealer 28A

Hand 3:
Leann.........$100,000.....$1000....3J9
Charlene......$ 95,000.....$2500....T8
*Stanford.....$102,000.....$1000....99 -> Split 9K / 95
Kevin.........$ 98,000.....$1000....K5
Kami..........$ 98,000.....$1000....2448

Dealer T47

Deanna makes a dealer error here, peeking under the ten and thinking she sees an Ace. Instead, she misreads the four underneath, and flips it over as if she had blackjack. All the players see her stiff fourteen before playing their hands. Stanford splits his nines and Kami probably should have doubled her 6 but hits instead.

Leann says that she's going to pretend she didn't see the four, and plays her hand like she normally would. Don't ask me why, but it does turn out to change the outcome substantially. Deanna would have busted, but instead makes 21. Whatever the reason, it works pretty well for Leann.

Skip to Hand 5:
Leann.........$ 98,000.....$1000....6J6
Charlene......$ 87,500.....$5500....753T
Stanford......$101,500.....$1000....AK
Kevin.........$ 96,000.....$1000....8539
*Kami.........$ 98,000.....$1000....33 Split -> 3A4 / 37 Dbl J

Dealer 752T

During the break, apparently Stanford had a blackjack on hand 4, which means this repeat on hand 5 makes his third already.

Hand 6:
*Leann........$ 97,000.....$1000....795
Charlene......$ 82,000.....$6000....K37
Stanford......$103,000.....$1000....J22A6
Kevin.........$ 95,000.....$1000....32454
Kami..........$101,000.....$1000....687

Dealer 7A

Despite a dealer 18, Deanna pays everyone at the table except Kevin, who at least manages his first push.

Hand 7:
Leann.........$ 98,000.....$1000....3A Dbl T
*Charlene.....$ 88,000.....$6000....69
Stanford......$104,000.....$1000....3Q
Kevin.........$ 95,000.....$2000....3K
Kami..........$102,000.....$1000....2J

Dealer 52T

Skip to Hand 11:
*Leann........$ 95,500.....$1000....82 Dbl 7
Charlene......$ 80,000.....$10000...AQ
Stanford......$105,000.....$1000....K6
Kevin.........$ 92,000.....$1000....QJ
Kami..........$102,000.....$1000....89

Dealer 4K28

Hand 12:
Leann.........$ 97,500.....$1000....T329
*Charlene.....$ 95,000.....$5000....46 Dbl Q
Stanford......$106,000.....$1000....KJ
Kevin.........$ 93,000.....$1000....T5T
Kami..........$103,000.....$1000....J54

Dealer 789

Charlene has made up $25,000 in two hands, and she moves into second place.

Hand 13:
Leann.........$ 96,500.....$25500...248
Charlene......$105,000.....$2000....96
*Stanford.....$107,000.....$1000....2J
Kevin.........$ 92,000.....$1000....256
Kami..........$104,000.....$1000....33 Split 3 times -> 3AK / 35K / 32Q / 3Q

Dealer 4292

Leann charges ahead with a big bet to try to take the lead mid-round. When Deann draws to 17, she's back to the drawing board. Kevin's rotten cards continue, and he's fortunate to have been betting small so far.

Hand 14:
Leann.........$ 71,000.....$40000...7Q
Charlene......$103,000.....$3000....845 (Ins $1000)
Stanford......$106,000.....$4000....79 (Ins $2000) Surrender
*Kevin........$ 91,000.....$4000....334T (Ins $2000)
Kami..........$102,000.....$1000....2A4T

Dealer A7

Leann comes right back with another bet to take the lead, though she slightly overbets half her bank. While I would rather see the $35K bet here, it's not a big deal. Many possible split hands wouldn't be a good idea for splitting in her current situation anyway.

It's fun to watch Charlene think about insurance here, finally deciding that since Kevin took insurance it's probably a good bet. Kevin may be fairly new to tournament play, but he's a long-time pro at card counting. If he insures, he almost surely has a good reason. Deanna doesn't have the blackjack, but for Leann's big bet she may as well have. Leann is on the ropes early.

Hand 15:
Leann.........$ 31,000.....$1000....7A Dbl Q
Charlene......$ 99,000.....$4000....A8 Dbl 7
Stanford......$102,000.....$1000....8Q
Kevin.........$ 93,000.....$2000....64 Dbl 9
*Kami.........$101,000.....$1000....94

Dealer 56T

Charlene bets to pass Stanford if he pushes, then takes the opportunity to pass him regardless by doubling soft 19 here. I like this play. It's nearly basic strategy, and is quite likely the right play due to the count anyway. But I think it's a good tournament strategy regardless of the count. It gives her a good chance at taking the lead, but it doesn't work out.

Hand 16:
*Leann........$ 29,000.....$29000...32Q2
Charlene......$ 91,000.....$6000....83 Dbl 6
Stanford......$101,000.....$5000....3J5
Kevin.........$ 89,000.....$2000....T9
Kami..........$100,000.....$6000....4Q4

Dealer 9T

I think Kami just saw Stanford bet more than the minimum here and decided to follow along. It's a bad choice, because this time a minimum bet in Kami's seat has several advantages.

All-in Leann's fate is sealed when she loses her fifth straight hand. There just wasn't much to be done in her seat. Kami has to love the timing though, since Leann's departure moves the final hand button perfectly for Kami. With Charlene now on the final hand button, Kami moves from worst position to best position.

-- continued in next post --
 
Show Recap part 2

Hand 17:
*Charlene.....$ 79,000.....$7000....2448
Stanford......$ 96,000.....$5000....92 Dbl 5
Kevin.........$ 89,000.....$2000....62T
Kami..........$ 94,000.....$2000....8J

Dealer T59

Stanford extends his lead with a winning double, while Charlene gains on the rest of the field.

Hand 18:
Charlene......$ 86,000.....$8000....7Q Surr
*Stanford.....$106,000.....$5000....3AJ5
Kevin.........$ 91,000.....$6000....2KQ
Kami..........$ 96,000.....$6000....8437

Dealer 97J

Stanford's mid-size bets in recent hands have done a good job of making it expensive to chase him, and the rest of the field is unwilling to take the risk needed to threaten him. Their caution is pretty appropriate here, but that just proves the benefit of Wong's bets. With two players advancing, it's an effective strategy for the leader. If Stanford happens to pick up a few swing hands with bets this size, his lead really starts to seem unassailable, and the others will likely choose to fight for second place. Stanford's downside risk with these bets is also minimal. If he gets worse cards than the field, he's still in front by a small margin. No worries about that this hand though, as Stanford swings the whole table and picks up a $21K lead.

Charlene's surrender produces some reaction at the table, when Kevin tells her "Wow, that was stupid." He's playing mind games already, but he's right in this case. While 17v9 is a bad match-up, there are a lot more good things that can happen by Charlene standing here than by surrendering. A surrender guarantees she stays in last place, and the $4000 she possibly saves really isn't that important.

Hand 19:
Charlene......$ 82,000.....$8000....4Q Surr
Stanford......$111,000.....$5000....K32A
*Kevin........$ 85,000.....$5000....K6 Surr
Kami..........$ 90,000.....$5000....9J

Dealer J6Q

I like Kevin's surrender here, but it would be a tougher choice if Kami wasn't holding a nineteen. We know Kami won't be surrendering, and it's quite possible she'll lose against a dealer ten up. Kevin can't pass her this hand unless draws to 21 and the dealer makes 20. Since that's unlikely, the surrender gives him a way to narrow the gap by $2500 if the dealer beats Kami.

Charlene's decision here has the same characteristic as last hand, with a surrender guaranteeing she's in last place. However, 14vT is a worse situation than last hand's 17v9, and it's arguable that conserving the chips is worth it here. I don't have a strong opinion either way.

Wong is really getting perfect outcomes here, as a dealer bust bails him out while holding a four-card 16.

Hand 20:
Charlene......$ 78,000.....$13000...J4
Stanford......$116,000.....$6000....34J
Kevin.........$ 82,500.....$6500....Q2K
*Kami.........$ 95,000.....$6000....K3Q

Dealer 296

Charlene needs to start making up some ground, and while this $13K bet will help, it's not quite strong enough to give her the boost she needs. It's just as well though, as everyone but Stanford loses this hand. His charmed seat has given him a powerful advantage that just keeps getting better.

Hand 21:
*Charlene.....$ 65,000.....$15000...JA
Stanford......$116,000.....$5000....94
Kevin.........$ 76,000.....$6000....A8
Kami..........$ 89,000.....$6000....5Q

Dealer 3A8K

Kevin is out of second place by $13K this hand, but bets only $6K. I think he should be betting just over his deficit here instead. The problem is that the button won't pass him until hand 24, which means he almost certainly needs to take a shot at catching Kami even while she's betting after him. That's why I like $14K here. If not $14K, then at least $7K to be able to double into second place if Kami pushes. That probably gives him a swing shot as well, as Kami is likely to match the $7000. If she loses $7K while he wins $7K, that does the trick.

You may remember that the semifinals aired in the opposite order than I expected, and I think this hand explains why. Kevin makes a comment after Charlene gets a blackjack with $15K working... "Anthony Curtis said go big or go home." When Charlene remarks that she hasn't seen Kevin taking that advice, he follows up with "You think I would trust Anthony Curtis? Why do you think he's sitting over there (pointing to AC in the audience), and not down here?" I guess GSN chose to air Anthony's semifinals prior to this show to keep from revealing his result prematurely.

Hand 22:
Charlene......$ 87,500.....$12500...9J
*Stanford.....$121,000.....$5000....3Q3
Kevin.........$ 82,000.....$12000...K5 Surr
Kami..........$ 95,000.....$12000...64 Surr

Dealer T9

Kevin's bet is either the result of a bad chip count, or just a bad idea here. Down by $13K, he bets $12K. Kami matches him. Charlene basically matches both of them, in an apparent effort to stay in third place instead of moving up an all-important spot. She could take either second high or second low instead, but chooses neither. (Second low is dangerous, as the surrenders point out, but it's still better than her $12,500 choice.)

Kevin's cards are unfortunate, but he needs to play this hand out rather than surrender it. Once he surrenders, Kami makes a very tournament-oriented surrender of her 10, to correlate exactly with Kevin. Max likes Kami's surrender here, but it's a mistake. By surrendering, Kami accomplishes her goal of retaining the same $13K lead over Kevin that she had going into the hand. If she were to lose the hand instead, she would still lead Kevin but by $7000 instead. There's really no difference between the two. However, if Kami plays the hand out, lots of good things might happen. If she wins the hand, her lead over Kevin expands to a very useful $31K, which is more than half a max bet. Also important, after Kami surrenders, Charlene passes her with a win. Kami dodges that outcome though, when Charlene pushes.

Hand 23:
Charlene......$ 87,500.....$17500...6J Surr
Stanford......$116,000.....$10000...8A
*Kevin........$ 76,000.....$25000...A5TJ
Kami..........$ 89,000.....$25000...T9

Dealer Q26

Now Kevin cranks up the pace with a pretty effective large bet, and Kami sticks with her plan of matching him. These bets are pretty good, but there is an illustration here of the dangers of getting too focused on the fight for second place. Once Kevin is willing to risk $25K, he might consider $31K instead to take a shot at Stanford. Perhaps the extra $6K risk isn't good value though, since he still would need a half-swing against Stanford for it to pan out. However, Kami can take the same shot for only an extra $2500, which I think is well worth it for her.

Charlene's bet here is really good. She takes the low (second low, after Stanford of course), including covering a Kami surrender with a surrender of her own. Yet she can double back into the high over Kami as well. It's sort of Curt's Revenge with a surrender option.

Wong's bet looks like he felt the pressure of all those larger bets leading up to him, and felt like he needed to risk more than his recent $5000 bets just to keep pace. However, this bet does him no good and exposes his position to a swing outcome without providing any value for the risk. I like either a $1000 bet, or a bet of $24,000 or more. Given the fact that he's last to act this hand, I prefer the $24K in a bid to retain the half-max-bet lead.

When the cards are dealt, Kevin ends up with a 16 "starter kit", then a real 16, then a bust. Charlene shouldn't surrender here, because she already has the low over Kami. By hitting instead of surrendering, she might swing or half-swing Kami on the hand instead.

-- continued in next post --
 
Show Recap part 3

Hand 24:
Charlene......$ 78,750.....$39000...5A77
Stanford......$126,000.....$10000...8K
Kevin.........$ 51,000.....$50000...6Q5
*Kami.........$114,000.....$22000...AAAA8

Dealer TK

Kami's bet here is exactly right. It covers a max bet win by Charlene with a single bet, and if Charlene looks like she can get all her money working, Kami can double to cover that as well. Charlene's splitting her bankroll is OK, but a max bet instead gives her a shot at a Stanford push, which the $39K alone does not.

Stanford could have improved his chances here with just an extra $500, going for outright first high instead of sharing it with Kami. Better yet, there are several chances to improve by betting even higher. For example, at least $17K would give him a half-max over Charlene if they both win. Generally, when you're already vulnerable to a swing, having excess chips unbet is a waste. Once you risk being swung, go ahead and bet a meaningful amount to get value if you win the hand.

This match looks like it could be all over after this hand anyway.

That's about as far as my confident analysis goes. After the cards are dealt, this hand gets very confusing.

Kami is dealt a pair of Aces, and her best decision is not an obvious one to me. I think splitting is still the best plan here. I figure Charlene is a very likely double here, and I'd like to have the money working to correlate with her. Kami can already be swung by Kevin whether she splits or not, so the extra $22K risk is not that big a deal. In fact, the only way it matters is if Charlene pushes while Kami loses both hands. I'd split the Aces.

When Kami does not split and instead draws to a twelve, what now? Stand on the twelve? It sounds right at first glance but then it gets more complicated. Standing on the twelve is a way to correlate with the poor hands of Charlene and Kevin. Those hands look like their best chance to get paid is a dealer bust, so Kami doesn't want to risk busting beforehand by hitting the twelve. So far so good. But, consider what a dealer bust really means. After Charlene doubles, a dealer bust means she'll lead, and Stanford and Kami will be tied for second and third! Does this mean Kami should hit the twelve instead?

If Kevin were to draw a miracle card and beat a made dealer hand, it sure would be helpful for Kami to at least push to stay ahead of him. Tough call. I say hit the twelve, but I don't know what total I'd stand on.

Ack. Now that I've fought that battle out, I press play and watch the hand continue, and Charlene doesn't double. A double would give her the lead and it's a winner 34% of the time. As the hand turns out, Charlene has a good shot of swinging Kami anyway when she draws a four-card 20.

Let's add some more pressure. Now Kevin hits his 16 and makes 21. Kami's world has gotten very dark indeed. A dealer 17,18 or 19 puts her in LAST place. Deanna's twenty instead puts Kami out of the critical top two, but she at least stays ahead of Charlene who pushes the hand.

Wow! I didn't see that coming.

Hand 25:
*Charlene.....$ 78,750.....$50000...95 Dbl $28000 8
Stanford......$116,000.....$20000...47 Dbl $20000 T
Kevin.........$101,000.....$4000....8T
Kami..........$ 92,000.....$43000...6J

Dealer 4KAJ

Charlene's bet is fine, though at this point splitting the bank looks better since that's enough to beat any push at the table. Stanford probably roughly used his excellent guidance for when two players advance. "Hold back second most unbet chips, and bet the rest." That would have been a bet of $23,500 instead of his $20,000. He may have just been rounding off, but the extra few chips could prove to be very important to cover a Charlene double. Instead, he's forced to concede first high to her when she doubles and his double can't cover it.

Kevin takes first low, which could become second low if Stanford surrenders. Kami's bet is off. Surely she intended to take first high instead of being short of Stanford's high by just $1000. Or, perhaps she was splitting her bank and got the amount wrong. If she gets a blackjack she edges out a double by Stanford, but I don't think that's the reason for this bet. When you're trailing but have last bet, you should take whatever's left. In Kami's case, what's up for grabs? Third low, which isn't worth anything, and, surprise, first high is available. Bet at least $44,500.

I have a feeling that Kami was still reeling from the last hand where her world fell apart. Her play this hand isn't up the standard she set with several excellent decisions earlier in the round. The pressure is a factor whose importance can't be overrated.

Once the cards are dealt, Charlene's double is an easy choice. Stanford though, really doesn't need the extra chips from his double at all. However, it's useful to double for some amount to conceal the double down card which will be dealt face down. Against a four, he shouldn't hit again anyway, so there's no reason to not double for at least some amount.

Kami's stand on 16 means that both the dealer and Charlene must bust for her to advance. Doubling 16v4 would have been a slightly better choice, but both are long shots. (It's about 18% to 24% if you're interested.) As it turns out, she would have advanced with either choice here.

Stanford Wong takes first place, and Kami Lis gets second place. Our finalists are Rick Jensen, Ken Einiger, Stanford Wong and Kami Lis.
 
No repeat miracle

I guess Kevin was hoping for one more dealer miracle on the last hand.Like he got in his first round against Hollywood and I. Br 2 attempt to take one of the lows there in my opinion is not a strong play.You have to assume that Kami will also bet to stay ahead of Charlene which she did.If Kevin were to bet there he may wind up with 1st high and 2nd low or 2nd high and a chance to surrender back into the 2nd low as opposed to only the low and no chance of the high.With 4 players still in the mix there 2nd low is not the optium play.Or maybe he was getting smoked in there and didn't see the bets clearly. ;)
 
chill out

Joe, it is good to see you are big enough to move on and forget about our earlier match. Chill out man! It is just a card game. It's not like I shot your dog.

Having said that, I am sure that my last bet was less than optimal. That was where my tournament inexperience showed. I think going for the low might have given me the best chance of winning the table, but the important thing was to finish in the top two, and there was a better bet to accomplish that purpose.

However, as the cards fell, if Kami played correctly, she could have covered any bet I made on the last hand and still beat me with a double down. But I am not sure if she would done so, considering how nervous she was on the previous rounds. Hopefully I will learn from my mistakes and next time I will heed Wong's sage advice of "When in doubt, push it out. "

My other regret was the comment about Anthony Curtis on the show. I don't know what the context was, but there is no way I would want to disparage him. I considered Curtis and Ken Smith the two favorites to win the tournament and I felt Anthony played better than anyone else in this year's World Series of Blackjack. So I apologize for the way it came across on TV.
 
Whats to chill out about

Kevin all I was pointing out was what I thought was the better bet there.There is nothing to chill out about.You bet was similar to your bet in Round #1 and left you few options that's all I was saying.If I dont refer to your first Round bet no one will know what I mean by you needing another miracle.Other than that I appreciate that you didn't shoot my dog .Next thing that we will hear is that you think that you finished 5th in the WSOB......
 
I plead the fifth

At the time my book went to print, I mistakenly thought that Anthony Curtis had lost on his last hand (when he doubled down on a hard 17). Once I saw his show on TV, I realized my mistake, as he actually pushed on his last hand (which still wasn't enough to advance and left him an unlucky third, but would have placed him fifth overall). So if my book gets to reprint, that error will be corrected.

Also, I wanted to clarify the comment I made about Charlene. She is a great gal and I liked her a lot. My "stupid" comment about her surrender decision was said in jest, not to rattle her. We both had a running dialogue of playful banter back and forth throughout the show. I think interesting characters like her and Rick Jensen are exactly the personality types that GSN needs to be successful and I hope to see her back next year.
 
Get my gun

KevinBlackwood said:
I think interesting characters like her and Rick Jensen are exactly the personality types that GSN needs to be successful and I hope to see her back next year.
Click to expand...

If Charlene is back again next year, I WILL PUT A BULLET IN MY HEAD.

-hd.
 
Hand 24 dilemma

I'd still like to see some opinions on Kami's situation on hand 24. I liked splitting the Aces, but once she just hit, what should she do with the twelve? I think hitting is better but I don't know what I'd do after that if she draws another stiff. What total is enough to stand here?

So you don't have to go hunting the situation, I'll post it again here. Remember, Kami is on the button:
Hand 24:
Charlene......$ 78,750.....$39000...5A77
Stanford......$126,000.....$10000...8K
Kevin.........$ 51,000.....$50000...6Q5
*Kami.........$114,000.....$22000...AAAA8

Dealer TK

Kami is dealt a pair of Aces, and her best decision is not an obvious one to me. I think splitting is still the best plan here. I figure Charlene is a very likely double here, and I'd like to have the money working to correlate with her. Kami can already be swung by Kevin whether she splits or not, so the extra $22K risk is not that big a deal. In fact, the only way it matters is if Charlene pushes while Kami loses both hands. I'd split the Aces.

When Kami does not split and instead draws to a twelve, what now? Stand on the twelve? It sounds right at first glance but then it gets more complicated. Standing on the twelve is a way to correlate with the poor hands of Charlene and Kevin. Those hands look like their best chance to get paid is a dealer bust, so Kami doesn't want to risk busting beforehand by hitting the twelve. So far so good. But, consider what a dealer bust really means. After Charlene doubles, a dealer bust means she'll lead, and Stanford and Kami will be tied for second and third! Does this mean Kami should hit the twelve instead?

If Kevin were to draw a miracle card and beat a made dealer hand, it sure would be helpful for Kami to at least push to stay ahead of him. Tough call. I say hit the twelve, but I don't know what total I'd stand on.
Click to expand...
 
well...

I think simply that Kami was worried about getting more money out there than she needed to, she was BR2 at the time which was enough for her to advance, and if her split turned out poorly (which it would have) then being down to 70k would put her in a very undesirable position, whereas if she just lost the 22k she would either be BR* or at least very close to it. Also, seeing Charlene's soft 16 against the dealer 10 probably makes her think that Charlene is an underdog to win the hand, so if she just hits and risks only the 22k she's a pretty decent candidate to stay in BR*, couple this along with Kevin's all in bet on a 16, and you have a tough decision to make, but ultimatly, I think she made the right one. The standing on twelve on the other hand after all of the hitting was a little strange, maybe she got a tell on the dealer that was just off?
 
Don't fall for the sarcasm trap!

Joep said:
I'm just not use to Hollywood being so nice.At least he finally realized how good of a player Charlene really is.I admire his change of heart....
Click to expand...
Hollywood is still p....ed off that he got blown away early. :joker: :joker: :joker:
 
Here we go again!

:joker:
Hollywood said:
If Charlene is back again next year, I WILL PUT A BULLET IN MY HEAD.

-hd.
Click to expand...
Go ahead, make my day. ( quoting Clint Eastwood )
Anyways, there is a lot of empty space up there so you are not likely to do any damage. :joker: :joker: :joker:
 
Tough Call for a Rookie

I got to know Kami in the weeks prior to the taping of the WSOB as she along with a number of players who were invited to play in the WSOB were out playing in every tournament they could find to work on their tournament game as some of them had not really played in many tournaments.I commend them in their efforts as their work paid off. Kami,Viktor,Michelle all had very little or no tournament experience and their showings were a lot better than some of us "Pros".I will tell you that while I watched the show my first reaction was not to split there also,that was soly based upon looking at the other players hands.The other hands were all losers against the up card of a 10.Splitting the aces there is a defensive move as the push seems to happen more than a 2 bet win or a 2 bet loss vs 10.The WSOB is one of the few tournaments that allow you to re-split aces so that has to factor into your decision and as it turned out the next 2 cards were aces which meant she would have wound up with 88,000 of her 114,000 bankroll on the table.I remind you that she would be last to act on the last hand .Most new players play their hand only with no regards to whats on the table.A excellent tournament player will always look at the hands on the table and determine what the likely outcome of these hands are I give Kami credit here because I believe that was what she did.Most rookies would have had that additional money in the circle before the dealer got to them.Charlene's A-5 is a loser vs 10 Kevin's 10-6 loser vs 10 Stanfords 10-8 loser vs 10.Now lets get to the meat of the question when she choses not to split what does she stop at,Kenny believes she should take at leat one more card off the deck as she is a 9-4 favorite not to break but when you really look deeper at it if she were to hit the 12 again the A-2-3-4 do her no good and the 5 is not much help either so now she is a 9-4 underdog not to improve her hand.Based upon these figures I like the play because even if Kevin swings her she is only 9,000 behind and betting after him.Stanford was a little short on his bet as his bet gets him to 136,000 as does Kami's he could have bet a little more with no risk and stayed ahead of Kami going into the last hand. Position is very important in tournaments and I believe this was a huge factor in Kami's choice not to split.
 
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