Episode recap (part 2)
Hand 20:
Russ: $94,000
Marshall: $91,500
Ken: $124,000
Charlene: $127,000
Leann: $112,500
Leann bets $5000, Russ $1000 (Ken to Russ: You are a very patient man.), Marshall $6000, Ken $10,000, Charlene $12,000. Nice bet by Charlene, keeping the low over Ken by $1000. Against a dealer 8, Leann makes a four-card 20, Russ stands with 18. Marshall doubles a 10, saying "I believe." Ken hits 4-A-2-T, and Charlene doubles another 11. Deanna draws 8-2-2-2-5 for 19, and Charlene's double-down luck has ended as well. Leann takes the lead, Ken is second, and for the first time all game, third-place Charlene has given up the lead.
Hand 21:
Russ: $93,000
Marshall: $91,500
Ken: $114,000
Charlene: $103,000
Leann: $117,500
Russ leads off $1000. Marshall steps up to the plate with $10,000, Ken $7000. Max notes that Ken stays ahead of Marshall with a loss/win but also bets enough to challenge Leann. Charlene makes a questionable bet of $8000, which seems simultaneously risky and ineffective. Leann bets $15,000, an amount which has its own set of problems. However, her bet looks just fine when she draws a blackjack on it. Russ busts, Marshall draws to 17, and Ken debates for a bit and then doubles his 9v7. Max likes it, and I'll discuss it in a later post. Charlene busts, Deanna draws to 19, and Ken gives a sigh of relief when his double card yields a push.
Hand 22:
Russ: $92,000
Marshall: $81,500
Ken: $114,000
Charlene: $95,000
Leann: $140,000
The button is on Marshall who bets $30,000. Max and Matt don't like it, but I do. A double for him will take the lead if Leann pushes or loses, and he can surrender and regroup next hand if needed. Ken bets $28,000, a straight attempt to take the lead (and $500 over that possible Marshall double.) Charlene chooses to coast again with a $5000 bet. If you're pulling for the dealer, why risk more than the minimum here? Leann's $11000 is fairly benign, and actually offers a few benefits that aren't immediately obvious. The big news this hand is that the button has finally passed Russ for the last time, and it's time to get in the game. I think he's been far too patient, and he now finds that the whole table has significant bets working which dilutes his efforts. Still, he's got to get going, and he bets half his bank: $46K.
Everyone's cards are ugly except Leann's. She gets a second consecutive blackjack. Charlene has 13, everyone else has 15. Deanna shows a Jack, and takes a long time looking underneath. Marshall busts, Ken surrenders, Charlene draws to 20, and Russ stands with 15. When Deanna flips over a pat 20, Russ sees he was fooled by Deanna's long look underneath the Jack.
More filler, with another cheating move demonstrated by George Joseph.
Hand 23:
Russ: $46,000
Marshall: $51,500
Ken: $100,000
Charlene: $95,000
Leann: $156,500
Ken bets a surprising $1000 (more fodder for a follow-up post), Charlene $5000, Leann $1500, Russ all-in $46,000, Marshall $45,000 (what's up with that extra $5000 held back?). Russ gets his second consecutive $46K hand of 15. Marshall is in the same fix with 15. Ken has 12, Charlene blackjack, Leann 13. A face card up for Deanna. Ken busts, Leann busts, Russ busts and is out of chips. Marshall busts and is effectively finished as well.
In his exit interview, Russ defends his patient approach, and reveals more details about Deanna's peek-fake on hand 22. We see a replay of Deanna looking under the face card 3 times, only to later reveal a pat 20. Quite a sly move by Deanna. Could this be the effect of Max whispering hints in her ear before she looks? (Note to self: If I'm in WSOB3, ignore any possible dealer tells.)
Hand 24:
Marshall: $6500
Ken: $99,000
Charlene: $102,500
Leann: $155,000
The button is on Charlene, but with only two hands to go, I think she needs to make something happen in a hurry. She apparently disagrees, betting $7500. Leann takes a catch-me-if-you-can attitude with $1000. Marshall's all-in, and Ken takes his plunge with a $40,000 bet. The $40K does a lot. He takes the lead with a blackjack or a winning double, yet he can surrender and still have at least half the chipstack of Leann. While surrender would be a desperate move, it's not out of the question since Leann will be playing first on the final hand.
The cards come out, and Ken gets what he was hoping for, a basic strategy double of 9v3. Charlene has soft 19, Leann has 14, Marshall 12. Charlene doubles, Leann busts, Marshall stands, and Ken doubles for the full $40,000. A win gives him exactly a half-max-bet lead plus position over Leann in the final hand. Deanna has a different plan though. Her 3 up has a ten in the hole, but she finds an 8 to make a devastating 21 against Ken's now meaningless double-down card. (It was a four anyway.)
Going into the final hand, all the chips are on the ladies' end of the table.
Hand 25:
Ken: $19,000
Charlene: $87,500
Leann: $154,000
Leann leads off with a bet of $2000, which Max accurately identifies as a mistake. A $21,500 or more bet instead would cover Charlene if she gets all her money working. It opens up the possibility of a swing (She could lose $21,500+ while Charlene wins $50K), but it's worth it. Ken goes all-in for $19K, and Charlene bets $40,000. Leann gets a 12, and both Ken and Charlene have 20s, against a Deanna face-card.
Max points out that Charlene must split to have a chance at first place. Leann's play is meaningless, Ken stands with 20, and it's all up to Charlene. She waves off her twenty, locking herself into a guaranteed second place.
Leann advances into the semifinals, and Charlene earns a spot in the wild-card round. Casino Night? How about Ladies Night!
(While Charlene's final hand play blindsided me and ended any chance of me advancing on a long-shot, I think it was the correct decision for her after all. Just in case, after the round, we had Deanna expose the next two cards. The outcome would have been the same if Charlene had split the tens.)
That's it for this week's episode. Unfortunately this will be the last episode I get to experiment with this funky third-person/first-person thing.
Leann :1st:
Charlene :2nd:
Ken :3rd:
Blast away!