WSOB IV: Episode 13 (The Final!)

KenSmith

KenSmith

Administrator
Staff member
Another season of GSN's World Series of Blackjack wraps up on Monday (August 27, 2007), with the final table of 5 players competing for the $500,000 first place prize.

The players are:

Rick Fortin
Kristine Johnson
Alice Walker
Marlin Horseman

and a fifth player chosen from the non-advancing semifinalists.
(If you watched the promo clip for this show, you may already know who that player is.)

Tune in at 11 PM Eastern on GSN. Check your local cable listings.
Satellite users: DirecTV channel 309, DishNetwork channel 116.
 
Wsob 2007

I really enjoyed the final table. It was pretty exciting. Just don't know way Kristine did what she did with her 66. It was fun.
 
Not nearly as exciding as you know what

First off I'd like to congratulate Alice on her win. She's not afraid to put that big bet out. She hung in there like a true trooper.

But you know, as I was watching this final table my mind kept flashing back to a replay of an event in the WSOP that I saw a couple of nights ago. It was 2005, not the big $10,000 entry fee event, but I don't remember exactly which event it was. Anyway, it was full of drama, well edited, exciting, and just plain interesting to watch. I bring this up because, in my mind, I was comparing the WSOP event to the WSOB event. And guess what! There was no comparison. Watching the WSOP won hands down. What I concluded from this experience is, I'm sorry to say, that Blackjack will never reach the heights that poker has attained :( . And it will never even come close. Just my thoughts.
 
I just finished watching the final. Congrats Alice! What a year for her, huh? $1.5 million in tournament wins in just a few months.

I found the final to be exciting to watch, but the play again left something to be desired. I was disappointed when the entire table just starting firing $50K bets for the final few hands, no matter whether they were ahead or behind. This, on hands where even a $48K bet offered benefits over $50K. Of course, playing for a $500K prize can rattle almost anyone.

In particular, Marlin and Rick have shown better play in other matches. I think Alice may have played the best on the final table.

Whatever the case, there's no doubt that it was Alice's night. Wow, what a great time to find yourself on the receiving end of so many blackjacks. You go girl!
 
Just Sick Stuff

I would have to say if you look at my post from the beginning of this season I was pulling for Alice. When she made the final three with about five hands to go, I said she has it. One of these guys is going to fold. Alice was my pick from the beginning of the tournament. The thing I enjoyed about this final table is the excitement of the crowd in the background from the likes of "paint a picture for me baby", "show a ten on that bad puppy", "go ahead and doulbe, it's your time baby." I love this type of atmosphere. This is the type of play I've been looking for since I've started really getting into the show. They should all be happy with their perspective finishes. That's some money by Alice. $1.5 million dollars for two tournament wins is great. How many of us can say that? Just a sick audience and that is what hypes me up. I have it on tape and will record that final episode to DVD. Even my wife was screaming for Alice. It was that exciting. We'll put it this way. She screams like the lady does for Christine when she hits a ten. Jubs plain old sick strategy in the end. Alice was really lucky to get what she did that second last hand. Peace....
 
Sooooo, TX:

Do we revive luck vs skill debate?

Or how about this. When someone is on a roll. They are on a roll. How many past tourney's saw a winner or final table finisher do the same in the very next tourney. Lazy me. I won't do the research, but for the three years of the original Hilton, the monthly winner seemed to hit at Stardust, Frontier, Riv, or one of the then many other tournies going on in proximity.
 
Lets not...LOL

I'll be the first to admit the better players advance more consistantly over all in tournament play, but that doesn't mean the best player or players win consistantly. I'd still take luck over skill on the final table most of the time.

And yes I agree that when a player gets on a roll they tend to do so for multiple events.

I'll finish this reply with my congradulations to all the finalist for this year WSOB, regardless how they got there, everyone of them made it father then I did...LOL
 
Fallacy

winning one tourney by luck doesn't make it more likely you'll win the next - its just when that does happen - rarely - you notice it - and don't notice all the tourney winners that don't win anything for the next year -

I firmly believe:

Winning is luck, losing is lack of skill
 
Which gambling writer uses the line "Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity"? I can't recall.....
but it's a perfect description of what happened at both mine and Deb's UBT final tables.

Huge kudos to Alice! :celebrate
 
Luck/skill/preperation for opportunity, yadda.....

Just so there's no misunderstanding. anyone who wins, deserves it. And 12 foot tall Alice is no exception. The interesting thing about her BJ win is tied to her 3 card poker win. She had to make the "big" bets at the right time in 3 card and that experience carried over to making the bets when they counted in the bj. Knowing to make the "big" bet when you have to is as important as anything else in any kind of tourney, tiddley winks or mumbly peg included.
 
no mistake

I think it is obvious that Alice was not a particularly skilled bj tournament player - especially compared to someone like Ken Smith - but skill has nothing to do with winning tournaments - even if Ken had won - it would not have been his skillfull play which produced the win - it would have been because he 'got lucky', the same as with Alice

reality is - there is no 'skill component' which controls - or can affect - the fall of the cards - which card the dealer turns up is luck - pure and simple - and the player has no control over that - and it is the fall of the cards that determnes which player wins - and knowing the 'probabilities' doesn't do it either - as each turn of the cards is an unique event - and probability does not deal with unique events -

what skill can affect - is that lack of skill can cause you to lose - you can control your bets, etc. - even if you can not control the cards - bad betting can cause you to lose, even if the luck runs in your favor -

so - what 'skillfull play' does - is not 'make you win' - nor does 'playing the probabilities' mean you will win - - but - skillfull play is playing to give yourself the 'most outs' in terms of giving yourself the most opportunity to get lucky -

Alice did not play 'skillfully' in many respects - but - as noman says (if I interpret him right) - she did make bets which gave her opportunities to win - she gave herself 'outs' - and luck ran her way - that is sufficently skillful play - and she does indeed deserve her win - and our respect for knowing to give herself chances to be sucessful -
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top