The Journey

Today at the Golden Nugget I was fortunate enough to make the final table after winning all 4 of my rounds against some pretty good players.In round 2 Kenny Einiger my radio partner drew the same table and we both advanced out of that round and drew a pretty big crowd around our table.

In that round going into the final hand I was Br 4 with 5,000 betting first

Kenny was Br 1 with 5,850
Br 2 Had 5,600 Tied
Br 2 Had 5,600 Tied

I colored down some chips and made a large all black chip bet of 1,300 max bet was 2,000. The chips at the Nugget have no markings on them at all and for a non chip counter they are hard to read.So my bet of 1,300 was to try to induce a max bet out of Br 2 & 3 giving me the low.Not to my surprise Kenny made a bet to keep the high on me and also the low which I expected from him . But it was the 2 non pros who I was trying to steal either the high or low from.

They obliged as one of the Br 2 bet only 100 and the other Br2 bet 300

I was dealt a 20
Kenny had a 19

Both Br 2 had stiffs against a dealer up card of a 7

The dealer made a 19 and Kenny and I advanced off that table to the quarter finals

In my semi final round going into the last hand I had a 100 lead over Br2 and Br 2 was betting first

Br 2 had 5,500
I had 5,600
Br 3 had 4,600

I really wanted Br 2 to make a max bet but he only bet 1,000 and I followed with a 1,000 bet also.Br 3 bet 2,000 which now only gives me a tie for the pure high

The hands are dealt

BR 2 has A-7
I have 4-3
BR 3 has a hard 18 dealer has a 4 up

Br 2 DD and catches a 10 for 18

I have no choice here by to DD on my hand and I will have 19-20-21 and the bust. If I catch and Ace I will have everything 17-18-19-20-21 and Bust. A ten gives me it all except 17. I caught a 10

But wait one moment

Br 3 DD on his hard 18 and takes every thing away from me if he doesn't break. He breaks wheee and now I have it it all except 17. The dealer broke and I went to the 100,000 Final Table.

Joep

 

Now the 45,000 Hand

My $45,000 hand

Final table and here are the bankrolls going into the final hand

betting first Br 5 2100 bets 1400
betting 2nd Br 2 8100 bets 1100
betting 3rd Br 1 9000 bets 1200
betting 4th Joep 6750 bets 2000
betting 5th Br 3 8050 bets 1200
betting 6th Br 6 300 bets 300

Hands to the best of my recollection

Br 5 15 Stands
Br 2 19 Stands
Br 1 ? Breaks
Joep 10-10
Br 3 18 I believe
Br 6 ? Dealers up card 8

Once Br 1 didn't bet enough which would have been 1800 to cover my DD I knew i could have the high with a DD win.When she breaks in front of me my thinking process has to now change. If BR 2 had an 18 instead of a 19 My 20 straight win might just be enough but with his 19 he stood a chance to go to 9,200. Br 3 bet took away the push from me if I pushed and he lost.Since first place was $50,000 and second payed $25,000 and 3rd $15,000 I decided to split my 10-10 and have the pure high from all the players. I wanted the $50,000!!!!

On my first split I received a 5 for 15 and stood
On my second split I receive a 10 for 20 since I didn't have the push which is a potential outcome of my hand I decide to re-split to a 3rd hand the second split I receive a 3 for 13 and stand.This allows me to still hold back 750 which will be 50 more than Br 5 if all goes to hell and not lose a spot.On my 3rd hand I receive another 10 for a 20.So I have a 15 -13 & 20.

The dealer has a 6 in the hole for a 2 card total of 14 and $50,000 is in my sight as 6 cards break her right there and the ace and 2 force her to re hit with now up to 8 cards to break her out of 13 over (61.5%)

The 7 was the next card out and my $50,000 turned into $5,000 for a 4th place finish. My $45,000 hand that will rival my WSOB hand where I had a 20 vs a dealer 3 and that hand turned into a 3 card 21 for the dealer, where first prize on that table was $10,000 and a seat in GSN semi-finals where the eventual winner (Kenny Einiger won $250,000)

But I'm elated to have made another Major Final table which is a feat in itself especially as I really do not play in any live blackjack tournament's anymore other than the 2 first UBT Tour stops and the one Circuit event at Barona. You just can't win any if you are not playing in any and I thank the Golden Nugget for giving me the opportunity to play in their last 4 tournaments, one final table and two semi finals in my 4 attempts. The GN tournaments have been really my only live casino tournaments is a long time.Its nice to compete with the "Big Boys" once again.I love the challenge as a large number of members from here and Bet 21 were in attendance.Every player competing acted like a true professional and there were no side show antics to deal with. :joker: A refreshing change, its a pleasure to play without clowns jumping up and down on hand 5 of a 20 hand tournament talking to the cards.


Joep

 

From now on, anytime I play you, I'll take the low on the final hand since you have the uncanny ability to induce a dealer 21 every time. :joker:

All kidding aside, congrats on the final table. Sounds like you had quite a 'journey'.

 

Well done Joep,

Thanks for posting all the reasoning/strategy behind each of your bets/decisions.It really helps us "learners" to understand the game a lot more.

To be honest,what really impresses me is the memory you have to recall all those hands/bets/plays listed above.

Thanks again and congrats on the finish.