Anthony Curtis posts insights into WSOB

I like Anthony's behind-the-scenes info and analysis- very enlightening! I was puzzled throughout the series about the jumps and the cutaways where they skipped crucial action. I'm sure Anthony is a little burned that they chopped out his winning hands! Without the commentary here and on LVA, I would have never guessed the game averaged something like an excruciatingly slow 10 hands an hour.

Given the enormous talent present for the tournament, it was incredible that there was so little said of their skills and abilities. There must have been some editorial mandate not to discuss advantage play. The only technique mentioned was picking up a tell on the dealer when she is checking her hole card. They mentioned counting only by giving the title of James Grosjean's book. When Max Rubin explained Wonging, he referred only to some unspecified "favorable conditions". When they mentioned pros being banned from casinos, no reason why was given. The general public might be left with the impression that casinos are hostile towards winners!

By the way- Congratulations Ken on the consolation prize of being the only contestant not to be ridiculed by Matt and Max!


Sentry

 

the coverup runs deeper than you think

You're right. There was an "editorial mandate" not to discuss card counting. None of us were forbidden to speak about it (or any subject), but any references to the dreaded act of card counting were going to be edited right out, per Mohegan Sun mandate. (it was the only way GSN could get permission to shoot there). I am sure Matt and Max were instructed not to say anything in this regard, which is why on a few occassions when asked by Matt why a certain player had made a particularly unusual move, Max could only respond something like "If he's paying attention, it was the right thing to do" or some other non-sequitor. I made a point to make several blatant references to counting throughout the taping of inteviews and during actual gameplay, none of which survived intact. You can hear the end of one such rant during the broadcast version of the final episode, where the cameras come back to the players just as I'm finishing a thought -- clearly relating to advantage play but after I've actually said the 'offensive' words. Joe Public would not know what I was talking about, but a keen-eared AP could put 2 and 2 together and have a silent chuckle to him/herself.

Another interesting tidbit is that all 25 of us were run through the Griffin book before Mohegan Sun would 'sign off' on GSN's choices (MS had final veto power). Obviously they knew the large majority of us were already in the book (and definately are now if we weren't before, unfortuneately) for counting and advantage play, but wanted to make sure none of us were in as actual card CHEATS. I was really nervous that I'd get a red flag -- I've never cheated the game in my life, but who knows what some pissed off floor manager tells Griffin after they've just 86'd you. Luckily karma was on my side and I was allowed to play!

yet another blatant omission -- yet again by Mohegan Sun standards -- is that there was no mention as to which players were in disguise or using false names to protect their AP identities. For instance, if you think that was Joanna "Queen of Spades" real hair, think again. Or James Grosjean's, for that matter. (A funny side-note -- they didn't want him to wear a skull-cap, so instead he just shaved the day before!)

More intrigue lies in the fact that several of the 25 contestants are members of the infamous Greeks, a currently active card counting team that surely rivals the now-PC exploits of the MIT gang. And I'm sure there are many, many more interesting & important facts that not only Mohegan Sun wouldn't allow on the air, but the players themselves. In fact, at the end of our contracts there was a blank page that GSN swore to us would never end up in anybody's office but GSN's, upon which we could write sensitive material that under no circumstances was to be made public or used for broadcast purposes. I bet someone from Griffin would absolutely KILL to have access to that information, eh?

-hollywood dave.

 

Thanks, Ken. TV Tome's not working right now, but I definitely intend to get it up once things are working okay again.

 

Hollywood Dave,
Although I confess I wasn't your biggest fan, I would like to thank you for mentioning something several of my fellow DoubleDowners have been asking me about. They,too,thought it was highly odd that no one heard any mention of what the count might be with all the other stuff being aired. And I know it was also pointed out that it would have been nice for us viewers to know which hand the cut card had come out on- which would really give blackjack players at home and new eyes a learning opportunity. I don't know if you guys have done it here during the series, but I watched some episodes with friends who don't count or play blackjack very often but showed them how the card movement and count works as Tiki dealt. The annoying thing was not seeing every hand of course, but they found it interesting to see how you really can use just your mind to make adjustments as cards change. We all know there's no guaranteed win, but seeing friends of mine react like that did make me glad WSOBJ was being aired, despite some of my own misgivings about what was being shown.
Hope you and others here have checked out our site over at DDE. It's a little slow right now, but we've been around for almost 4 years now and love sharing our thoughts on the world of casino blackjack and more just like you all do here. We're probably nowhere as math intensive as some other sites, but our members do make sure others know what they're seeing and experiencing.