This week's lineup: Micky Rosa, Lorna Fox, Viktor Nacht, Chuck Gorson, Joe Maloof Friday Mar 18, 10 PM premiere, 1 AM encore Sat Mar 19, 8 PM Sun Mar 20, 7 PM Tue Mar 22, 10 PM Post your thoughts in this thread.
What count does Micky Rosa use? You could sure tell it was working for him, in the first half of the round anyway. I thougt this was a great show. Congradulations to Victor, he played an awesome game. Slim
Now THIS one was a game...just goes to show you why they call 'em "PRO" players. Wasn't familiar with Mickey Rosa much (haven't had the opportunity to see him live), but will never forget him now! BTW-I think this entire series has been VERY interesting, both for the pro and novice to watch. It just proves in tourneyment play, it will ALWAYS help to know the count and where everyone stands in chip count. One question-since there are so many pros playing in this tourneyment, is the brain considered a computer or device? It should be...btw, that's a HUGE compliment for every single player!!! Wish I had one!!! :laugh:
End Play Now I know Mickey is a very smart guy, but I sure coundn't figure out his bets in the final few hands ?? It looked like, he never gave himself a chance to win it......... While I liked his play on the last hand, he did get lucky and only had four outs to win the hand.
Still haven't seen it I'm looking forward to watching this show tonight while doing my recap via ReplayTV. Between the Beau Rivage tournament this weekend and other things, I haven't even watched it yet. I hope to post my recap late tonight.
Easy to mess up! Midnite, Mickey is a very good player, but I am not sure why he didn't bet more the last few hands. I can only imigine he had the wrong totals in his head. I did the same thing, I had over a max bet lead and last bet in my round and still DD on the last hand. I know what I was thinking at the time, but watching that goof on TV makes me thankful how lucky I was for the dealers bust! It is easier to mess up when your adding in your head in a press packed situation, mine was a no brianer and I still missed it. You get a figure in your head and run with it, but when it's wrong it can make you look really foolish. Both Mickey and I were very lucky to advance the way we played are last hands. I hate to admit it, but once I got seated at the table I started worrying more about messing up on TV then winning. Several players told me they felt the same way. It is easy to seat back at home watching on TV and replaying over and over again to fiqure out the best play, but once your out there and the lights are on you, you get humble real quick...lol God I hate saying this, but if you watch Joep's play (expecially at the end) he made some of the best bets in the entire tournament in presser situations (plus he had Hollywood rambling on while trying to fiqure out his bets). But even with his great bets he ended up losing, just going to show you that you have to have luck on your side.
Show Recap part 1 Our lineup: First up is Micky Rosa, last year's fourth place finisher, best known for leading the famous MIT blackjack team. Micky, on advantage gambling: "I'm like the casino when I play. I mean, I like luck, but I'm not relying on it." In seat two is Lorna Fox, a Jamaican high roller. Lorna: "The way I will affect my opponent's play is try to beat them." Next is Viktor Nacht, who runs the site AdvantagePlayer.com and publisher RGE. After arriving in Vegas to start an improv company, Viktor says "Instead, I bought a publishing company and have become a well-known publisher of blackjack books." Chuck Gorson is in seat four. This controversial tournament regular was also seen on the Fox show "The Casino". Big Chuck, on professional gambling: "This is a business for me. It's how I feed my ex-wifes, my children... If I'm not winning, I'm not playing." Joe Maloof rounds out tonight's roster. Joe is co-owner of the Palms Casino and the Sacramento Kings, and he recently picked up a million dollar first place prize in an invitational tournament held at Barona Casino near San Diego. After saying he'd like to win this event because he's a competitive person, Joe adds "I could use the money. It's a lot of money!" If everyone hangs around, the final hand button will be in front of Joe Maloof. Hand 1: *Micky.....$100,000.....$1000....A47J Lorna......$100,000.....$1000....KQ Viktor.....$100,000.....$1000....788 Chuck......$100,000.....$1000....TA Joe........$100,000.....$15000...A37 Dealer 936 I don't think anyone was surprised to see Joe come out firing. Max tells us that Joe left the biggest tip in blackjack tournament history after winning a million at Barona. Meanwhile, Joe takes a nice lead by drawing to 21. Hand 2: Micky......$ 99,000.....$1000....QJ *Lorna.....$101,000.....$5000....4A4 Viktor.....$ 99,000.....$1000....948 Chuck......$101,500.....$1500....799 Joe........$115,000.....$15000...AJ Dealer 873 Chuck is starting his theatrics early, and Lorna just rolls her eyes when Chuck calls her by the wrong name, Mona. After the bets are placed, we get Joe's pop-in, explaining his aggressive strategy: "I'll be fearless, but I'll be smart about it. I'll do the exact opposite of what everybody else on the table is doing." I like it, and Max agrees. It sure pays off this hand with a blackjack. Hand 3: Micky......$100,000.....$1000....Q22Q Lorna......$106,000.....$10000...3J Surrender *Viktor....$100,000.....$1000....T7Q Chuck......$100,000.....$1000....T5 Surrender Joe........$137,500.....$15000...5264 Dealer J7 This hand we see an interesting play by Viktor that draws a response from the crowd, Chuck at the table, and Matt in the booth. In chat at his site this week, Viktor explained hitting the seventeen. He and Micky had been watching the earlier rounds tape, and on this hand he applied some of what he thought he learned about Deanna the dealer. Since she peeks under ten cards, he thought he picked up a tell on her revealing that she had a made hand. He's since pointed out that a better play would have been surrender, but it turns out his read on Deanna was wrong anyway. But that gives you an idea of how many different angles are at work at tonight's table. Skip to Hand 6: *Micky.....$ 98,000.....$22000...36T Lorna......$ 91,000.....$3000....4TAT Viktor.....$ 97,000.....$1000....59A3 Chuck......$100,500.....$1000....T5 Surrender Joe........$138,500.....$15000...KJ Dealer 98 Although Max attributes Micky's big bet here to a desire to catch up rather than a big plus count, we get to see Micky's pop-in talking about the general decline in profitability of card counting due to increased casino countermeasures. I don't know what Joe had been betting during the break, but based on his little-changed bankroll, I assume he had been more conservative. Micky's bet would allow him to take the lead with a double down if Joe bets $3000 or less. However, Joe picks up another $15K this hand. Hand 7: Micky......$120,000.....$19000...A6 Dbl K *Lorna.....$ 88,000.....$10000...K5 Surrender Viktor.....$ 98,000.....$1000....Q4Q Chuck......$100,000.....$1000....6Q Joe........$153,500.....$15000...6A9 Dealer 2J26 Micky's double isn't basic strategy, but it could easily be correct depending on the count here. However, I like it regardless. Although he can take the lead without it by swinging Joe (and if Joe wins, even the double doesn't give him the lead), the extra money gives him a good shot at really outpacing the rest of the field. But, it doesn't work. Seeing $38K of Micky's chips along with $15K of Joe's hit the tray provokes a high five between minimum-betting Viktor and Chuck. Hand 8: Micky......$ 82,000.....$18500...795 Lorna......$ 83,000.....$6000....3KJ *Viktor....$ 97,000.....$1000....JQ Chuck......$ 99,000.....$1000....77 Split -> 7Q / 74 Dbl A Joe........$138,500.....$2000....T4A3 Dealer 75A5 We get a pop-in from Viktor explaining some of his unusual plays. He says he's likely to be at a disadvantage to seasoned tournament players, and he may make some plays that throw them off a bit. I'm not buying his premise, as I understand he played a lot of Vegas mini-tournaments in the weeks leading up to the filming, where he put together a nice winning percentage. So far, he and Chuck are preserving chips and waiting for the fun to start later. Skip to Hand 11: *Micky.....$100,500.....$4000....JJ Lorna......$ 79,500.....$2000....J2 Viktor.....$100,000.....$7500....AQ Chuck......$104,500.....$3000....25Q Joe........$137,500.....$15000...Q5 Dealer 293A6 Viktor comes off the $1000 bets just in time to pick up a blackjack with a $7500 bet, and it looks particularly sweet when Deanna makes a five-card 21. Hand 12: Micky......$ 96,500.....$1000....45A *Lorna.....$ 77,500.....$10000...38 Dbl 4 Viktor.....$111,250.....$5000....826 Chuck......$101,500.....$3000....537A6 Joe........$122,500.....$3000....2A929 Dealer K246 Chuck's pop-in interview is critical of players who amass a big lead but keep betting, and Matt and Max apply it to Joe's situation. In this case though, I happen to like Joe's continued big bets, although they certainly didn't work out as his lead has dwindled from $33,500 down to just $11,000 going into this hand. Hand 13: Micky......$ 97,500.....$27000...QQ Split -> QK / QT Lorna......$ 97,500.....$1000....KT *Viktor....$116,250.....$18000...T4 Chuck......$ 98,500.....$1000....KK Joe........$119,500.....$5000....JA Dealer 636K Boy, what a card counter's dream this hand. Just as Matt is noting that we've seen lots of small cards coming out, Viktor and Micky fire up big bets and the paint hits the table. Micky splits tens and makes two twenties. We have a new leader. Skip to Hand 16: *Micky.....$154,000.....$15000...Q4 Lorna......$116,500.....$5000....KT Viktor.....$146,500.....$15500...AK Chuck......$ 99,500.....$1000....A4 Dbl K Joe........$108,000.....$1000....9A Dbl 3 Dealer 58J Viktor's self-described Feng Shui bet brings a very nice blackjack. Maybe he's on to something there. The extra $500 on his bet ends up being exactly his lead over Micky when the whole table is paid. -- continued in next post --
Show Recap part 2 Hand 17: Micky......$169,000.....$3000....4AJA8 *Lorna.....$121,500.....$10000...67 Surrender Viktor.....$169,750.....$5000....776 Chuck......$101,500.....$20000...5A3 Joe........$110,000.....$1000....226Q Dealer 939 Matt and Max give Micky some grief over his $3000 bet, but I don't see anything wrong with it at all. In fact, it is the smallest bet he can make that still takes the low with an option to double for the high. Looks pretty savvy to me. It works too, when Deanna draws out to 21, delivering him the lead. Meanwhile, Chuck's first foray into the big-bet world doesn't work out, despite a pretty good hit. Hand 18: Micky......$166,000.....$18000...2JQ Lorna......$116,500.....$5000....7Q *Viktor....$164,750.....$20000...A46 Chuck......$ 81,500.....$40000...3KK Joe........$109,000.....$3000....4TQ Dealer 87T Chuck gets some pop-in air time for his ego: "If there was a tote board up there, I'd probably be the favorite. I wouldn't want to be at my table." Max gets in a retaliatory one-liner: "Nobody wants to play at his table, just because he's Chuck." Viktor is drawing some good-looking cards, and his bet gives him the lead. This time, Micky's bet doesn't look so good. Betting after with the lead, he should have covered Viktor high and low. This is probably a chip-counting error. Chuck pulls out all his jewelry on this hand, and when he busts, Deanna collects both chips and bling. Hand 19: Micky......$148,000.....$20000...QJ Lorna......$121,500.....$10000...KT Viktor.....$184,750.....$12500...K6 Surrender *Chuck.....$ 41,500.....$21000...33T9 Joe........$106,000.....$31000...33QA Dealer 99 Max points out a goof by Chuck, who bet $500 too much to be able to split. I think Chuck should be all-in here anyway. But definitely either bet $20500 or $41500. I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other on Viktor's surrender here. It's basic strategy, and probably not a bad idea. Hand 20: Micky......$168,000.....$15000...98 Lorna......$131,500.....$5000....Q2 Viktor.....$178,500.....$15000...6J Chuck......$ 62,500.....$31000...98 *Joe.......$ 75,000.....$15000...74 Dbl 5 Dealer 54Q In Viktor's seat, I'd be pushing the envelope a little, hoping to stretch my $10K lead. While bet matching isn't bad here, consider the value of a bet like $20000 to $25000. More good things can happen than bad, and he would be working toward a more valuable half-max lead. With last bet this hand, Chuck is looking at $15K as the biggest bet on the table. He didn't overbet half his bank like last hand, but I like a max bet here better. He needs opposition betting, and the $31K just isn't a big enough difference from the rest of the table for my taste. Hand 21: *Micky.....$153,000.....$15000...T7 Lorna......$126,500.....$10000...8A Viktor.....$163,500.....$15000...K29 Chuck......$ 31,500.....$30500...3K5 Joe........$ 45,000.....$45000...K39 Dealer 74J This was one of the highlights of watching this round from the green room, when Joe pulls out a wad of cash for 'Money plays', Chuck decides to flash his cash as well. But of course, you should never get into a flash-the-cash fight with a Maloof. Joe calls into the audience for some cash, and $10K bricks of hundred dollar bills start flying to him from the audience. By the time he's done, he probably has $50K in cash on the table. Big Chuck just can't keep up. Back to the action: From the button, Micky bets to take the lead, and may have even factored in Lorna's propensity for betting either $5K or $10K. Lorna really needs to be moving by now, although her small bet last hand sure paid off. Viktor matches up again. Chuck held back $1000 to move up to fourth place if things go badly. He correctly read Joe to be all-in this hand. I like Viktor's attitude here, even though a swing would have been more valuable. After he drew to 21 and Deanna has turned up an 11, Viktor says "Paint it.", and she does. That produces the game's first casualty in Joe, and Chuck is down to a minimum bet bankroll as well. Hand 22: Micky......$138,000.....$21000...2J Dbl ($5000) J *Lorna.....$116,500.....$3000....44 Split -> 4J / 47 Dbl 3 Viktor.....$163,500.....$1000....5K Chuck......$ 1,000.....$1000....79 Dealer 657 Max doesn't like Lorna's bet. I on the other hand don't mind it, though I'd bet $1000 if I wanted to wait any longer instead of her $3000. Since she'll get last bet next hand, there's an argument to made to wait a hand before taking a big risk. She'll still have three hands left, to make up less than a max bet deficit. Micky is definitely falling victim to an inaccurate chip count here. I'm not sure what his initial bet was about, but his double for less is $1000 short to take the lead back from Viktor. Micky should have bet enough to take the high (and also an extra thousand to cover a Viktor double). However, once he realized he needed more money, I like the 12v6 double here. However, wrong chip-count or not, he busted the 12. Once the hand is over, it's worth noting that if Lorna had indeed bet only $1000, she'd still be within a max bet of the lead. Instead, she's down by $55,000. Hand 23: Micky......$112,000.....$20000...K2 Dbl ($500) 7 Lorna......$107,500.....$20000...T2 *Viktor....$162,500.....$20000...Q8 Dealer 3QAT Viktor has a $50,500 lead from the button. I'd like to hear some opinions about his best bet in this spot. Here are a few alternatives with merit: $1000, $4500, $9K, $25K, $33.5K, $50K. Lots of good choices here, and really no bad ones. $20K is OK too. Realizing Viktor will be betting behind him on the next hand, Micky should make this hand count, and his $20K is awful here. The first thing that comes to mind for me is to figure like this... Viktor goes to $182,500 with a win... I'd need to win $71000 to beat that. I could bet $35500... That way I can take the lead if I win a double... Wait, I'm only $4500 ahead of Lorna, so I need to bet almost a max bet to cover her. Never mind, I'll bet the max. Micky's $20K instead doesn't even open the door to swing into the lead. Lorna should be happy to see Micky's bet, and make a max bet of her own. She doesn't. Micky's double is a cheap way to hide his card (remember, they're dealt face down, even on busting hands), but it basically pointless here. But, if you're going to double, make it for $1000 instead of $500. (Again, I don't think Micky has anything close to an accurate chip count here.) From Micky and Lorna, one hand wasted, two more to go. --continued in next post --
Show Recap part 3 Hand 24: *Micky.....$132,500.....$20000...3T Lorna......$127,500.....$29000...Q3 Viktor.....$182,500.....$20500...J4 Dealer 4576 Aarghh. Nothing good can happen with Micky's bet. While I realize Micky has last bet next hand, it's not going to be worth much if he's still down by a max bet. Once Micky has bet, Lorna's bet isn't as bad. It gives her a double for the high, and at least she didn't match Micky again, so she has a shot at passing him this hand. Still, she's in serious trouble if she loses this $29K. Whenever you're betting enough to endanger your survival, why not bet the max? It also brings a Lorna blackjack into the mix to take the lead. Viktor bets an extra $500 here to stretch his lead over Micky to just over a max bet if both win. That's a slick move. There's an alternative bet here which is a true powerhouse. I don't think I would have seen it at the time, but consider a bet of $24,500 here. If everyone wins, you have over a max bet lead over BOTH opponents. And, if they look like losing hands, you can surrender and accomplish the same thing on the low side! Once the cards come out, Micky and Lorna could both have doubled to create a swing. They don't. Viktor has to be loving this hand. Hand 25: Micky......$152,500.....$25000...2T Dbl 9 *Lorna.....$156,500.....$30000...QA Viktor.....$203,000.....$25000...47T Dealer 953 Earth to players, this is the last hand. What the heck are Micky and Lorna thinking? Lorna needs to bet enough to beat a push by Viktor, and hope for either that or a double. When she doesn't, Viktor has a choice to make. I like his solution. He can surrender to beat out a win by Lorna, or double to cover a max-bet double by Micky. When Micky matches his bet, it looks even better. Now Micky can't even swing him without a double! Is Micky playing for second and taking the low over Lorna? Who knows? Lorna gets a blackjack, which would be great if she had bet more, even a little more. She still can't even beat a push by Viktor. Viktor knows exactly what's up here. If he pushes or wins, neither player can touch him. Doubling never even crosses his mind. Once he draws a ten, this match is over. Well, almost over. We still get to see which of our other players backed into second place. Micky must double, and when Deanna makes 17, he's a 4 to 9 underdog. He beats those odds and makes a 21 to take second place. If only he had bet enough...
Rick I watched you play Rick and I was pulling for you. Glad you made it. I know Mickey is a very good player and I do know what you mean about the cameras and not wanting to "mess up" on T V. Mickey didn't look nervous and has been there before..... It is easy to be a Monday morning quaterback, but that was not my intention. I was just trying to understand his betting ? (and some others) <g> I have to say I was glad that Chuck didn't win it......... A jerk with money is still just a jerk, in my book.
How's this for a show? What if next year Hollywood and Big Chuck were on the same table for WSOB III? It would be entertaining unless you were on the table with them...LOL Midnite thanks for the support.
Who Would I Crack First ? A Double KO would be in store.I'm just not sure who I would crack first :laugh:
Can't resist........ :laugh: :laugh: A couple of young girls would really add spice to the table. In the case of Chuck, a young anything would work. :laugh: :laugh:
In Real Time For those who don't play the tournament circuit you need to know that in real time Chuck goes around trying to find out who is at what table trying his best to avoid us.So when he says people don't want to play at his table its not because of his skill level it because of his moves that he tries to pull at the table.It's enough trying to keep track of bankrolls and bets,to have to keep an extra eye on him is just not worth it.Actually of all the tournament players invited to WSOB he may well have been the worst of the group skill wise.Did you see him let all the players bet big and he just put out a min. bet and when he did bet it wasn't enough to take the lead,and then he didnt even split his bank in half properly.So I don't think he will be invited back to play they can easily find better tournament players than him.But a KO is not a bad idea
LVA Recap Anthony Curtis has posted his article on episode 8: http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/referenceguide-tournaments-wsob2.cfm#episode8
Did I hear this right I didn't even think to replay this at the time, maybe my Tivo will pick it up a again. On Hand 3 when Victor hit his 17, Matt and Max were talking. Matt asked if that was a basic stragety hit, Max said not with a dealer 7. Problem was Deanna had a J up, not the 7. Am I remembering this correctly?
Deer in headlights Judging by the look on Victor's face (I.E., Stunned) after he hit that 17, I don't think it was some sort of super-play on his part.
