World Series of Blackjack on GSN, Finals

No one wants someone rude or crude at their table.

I have played with almost every type of player in tournaments. The talkers I just laugh and have funny with, the ones that try and hide chips are funny, trying to hide them behind smaller chips or ash trays, drink holders, ect...(this is usually in just mini tournaments). These players don't bother me.

Only twice have I lost my temper in a tournament, once I was in the finals and a guy keeps "Bitching" about everything and everybody. We were the only men playing and the ladies were getting upset, after another colorful comment directed at the dealer (another female) I stop play and told him to shut up or I would drag him outside and whip his -ss! The ladies all applauded me and to make it better I won the tournament.

The other time I wasn't even playing, I was reading for Regina (WSOB fame). After 15 hands of garbage Regina hit a hard 14 vs dealers 5 (out of frustration), she busted and the man to her left call her an -umb -ss! I went nuts, I ask him what he said and he popped off. Then I jump across the table to stop play and call the person in charge and told them to straighten him out or I would, he didn't say another word the rest of the game.

Don't get me wrong, I Hate to fight but I was raised you don't disrespect women and if my parents were still around and I didn't do something about it they would have whipped my -ss...LOL! Several of the players at the Vegas tournaments feel this way and we are a pretty close one another, you can try to jack with the guys, but you don't try to pick on the women.

 

Trash talk

wow, this one is getting outta hand. i may be the bad boy of blackjack, but even i have limits! there is most definately a fundamental difference in saying crazy things that try and distract or throw your competition, and things that are hateful/hurtful/mean-spirited. i think the major distinguishing feature of what i do is that it is always good-natured & players know that i am not attacking them personally. Beyond that, baby, its all fair game!

Of course, the WSoBJ enabled me to do this much more -- like I said, I'm primarily a poker player at this point in my gambling career, which embraces hard math & tactical money-management strategy, but also relies heavily on the human element & interpersonal relations between players. Blackjack tournaments, of course, frown on just about any sort of verbalization between contestants & so the camera presence at Mohegan Sun gave me a liberty that is just not typical. But I'll tell you what -- as televised blackjack tourneys become more and more common (GSN alone has two more shows in development), we may see a kind of satellite culture emerging for these big events all over the USA (a la World Poker Tour) & the addition of much more 'dead money' -- players who have seen it on TV and think they can do it too! "I saw Micky Rosa split 10's, so I'M gonna split tens!!" This can only be good for the rest of us who actually DO know what we're doing (knock on wood), but I'll tellya what -- i predict a much more permissive attitude towards table talk and the psychology of BJ tourneys in general, as more and more ploppies get involved & the media/camera culture strives to pick up any interesting piece of action/soundbites. And again, I think the line will be drawn on whether the "table talk" in question is hateful/hurtful/mean-spirited (like someone calling someone a name, as in the examples TX posted above) or just off-the-cuff, disarming, and maybe a little but funny...

goutman my friend, bring it on. i have no doubt that you are an accomplished player -- but if all you got from watching my betting/strategy decisions at the WSoBJ was that of some loud punk who got lucky with the cards, then you're in for a rude awakening!

-hollywood dave.

 

Not at all, Ken! You rock and you just don't stop, daddy-o. Personally, I get a big laugh out of some people's perceptions of my playing style... all it tells me is that it's WORKING.

 

Not directed to you Hollywood

My comments were just about my experiences, like I said if someone is loud I just go with the flow. I think you would be the first to take up for Regina had you been in my spot about the name calling (to a women).

 

Hollywood Dave,
Actually I don't think we saw a whole lot of the "real" from most of the players on that show, yourself included. I'm sure part of that was editing, and part of that was the format: like you said, this tournament actually seemed to encourage verbal interplay and jousting. And maybe more will in the future. If they do that's ok with me as long as it's known upfront- off the tables my friends know me to be one of the easiest going, fun loving, gout ridden jokers around. That's why they're always busting my chops at DDE. Time and a place for everything.

I can only speak for myself, but I'd like to face you on the final table because personally I think it'd be a blast seeing how each of us "copes" with the other's stuff. My wife made a funny comment that you're almost like the "villain" of those reality shows she loves so much- you don't really hate them at all, but you'd sure love to beat them at their game! Usually I'm the "villain" so it'd be fun seeing if we raised one another's games to another level. I hope you didn't think I wouldn't buy you a cold one if we were at a bar in Vegas at the sametime, or anything like that, from my previous comments.

After all, like I said before, you're more than welcome to also make your thoughts known over at DoubleDown Enterprises:BlackjackUnlimited

 

Villain

Very perceptive take -- you sure you're not a Hollywood insider? You've hit the nail right on the head. In any drama -- whether it be Shakespeare or reality TV -- you need the protagonist & the antagonist. Without them, the stakes aren't as high & interest level not as gripping. As an actor with years of training in script analysis, theater history, and different acting styles, I definately know the value of creating these levels of action so that the audience responds a little more viscerally to what's being presented.

But who wants to play the 'good guy'? Boring. All the best roles in drama are the bad guys -- they've got all the cool lines, the neatest outfits, and of course, the hottest babes. And except for that unfortunate part about having to lose at the end of the day, playing the villain is so much more fun -- and hopefully, once people get to know you, they realize its just that: an act. What's even funnier -- I shot something for the Travel Channel called "Vegas Challenge" a month or two after we did the WSoBJ (Anthony Curtis hosted, and the likes of Ken Einiger & Skip Samad also participated) & I REALLY played the villain there, this time actually at the bidding of the producers who I'm sure will cut and edit all the interesting soundbites together to make me look particularly evil. Yup, whether you've got Omarosa on "the Apprentice" or "Hollywood Dave" on the Gambling Channel, America loves a good villain.

"I'll get you next time, MIT Mike... NEXT TIME" (insert evil laugh here)

-dave.