Here is one to put in the toolbag, lesson learned from the Fitz tourney this past weekend. Last hand, only two players going head to head. BR1 has slight lead over BR2 and bets and plays last. One player advances. BR2 puts out bet, BR1 matches bet. BR2 draws hand, BR1 gets a blackjack which pays 3:2. BR2 Doubles down and gets small card, but total less than 17. What should BR1 do? BR1 needs to match BR2 play to lock win. BR1 can't bust so DD for same amount as BR2 gives the high and low automatically. BR1 stood on BJ and got paid. Dealer broke, so BR2 won his DD. Final result was with the DD BR2 passed BR1 due to difference in payouts. If BR1 had DD then it was a lock for a win. In the excitement of getting the BJ on the final hand everyone overlooked the possibility of BR2 having a chance to still win. Talk about going from the high of thinking you won to being deflated when the final chipcount reveals what actually happened. Unfortunately it happened to one of our TBJ players, but it is a tough lesson that maybe all of us can learn from. Pat
Ouch! That's a tough lesson, overlooking a lock and failing to advance as a result. I don't know who was involved, but I bet the same player would've quickly doubled on any other non-busting hand without a second thought. The excitement of getting a blackjack was deadly! This serves as a good reminder to always consider your situation carefully.
I actually had this exact same situation in a tournament a few months ago. I was BR1 and got the BJ. Had to do some quick math because it wasn't as cut and dried as "match bet" etc. But I quickly realized that I needed to DD (acting last). BR2 had DD to 17 so I won unless I got <17 and dealer made exactly 17. But I definitely had to DD for almost full amount to cover him hi and low exactly. I got so excited when I saw the BJ though -- not even realizing that it was functionally an 11 (my opponent was a good player and was surely going to DD). I thought I had locked in a win.
