The BlackJack (Mis)Adventures of Team Stompy

Now Hiring.

2006-10-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

Me and T.H said to each other at multiple times last night...

"We need another member on the team."

We would realyl like to get another member, not only would it allow us to cover all three squads and get the best scouting report on the people who play the seperate squads, it'd also be one more chance to get some money (we split our winnings, [winnings, ha!]). The problem is that you can't just exactly put an ad out in the paper: "Experienced tournament BlackJack player wanted." It's becoming obvious that we'll need to build up a player, but we're pretty short on human potential as well. I've thought about starting some sort of "gaming club" at my college and find/build people through that. Right now that seems to be the best course of action.

I also might as well use this place as an ad, too. If anyone out there who hits the double header tourneys at TS is interested on joining forces, let me know.

- Adios,
Scorcho.

Remember 10/2

2006-10-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today is not only a dark day in the world of gambling, but in the sense of freedom as well. Recently a law was piggy-backed on top of another law involving port security, that involved outlawing gambling online in the United States. What this now basically means is that you can no longer gamble online in the US, because it is illegal to fund those gambling sites, so no money, no gambling. The government, in a combination of their greed (unable to tax online casinos) and their alleged morality (gambling hurts babies!) have told you now what you can and can't do with your money. YOUR MONEY.

Now, will there be ways around this law? Probably, the blackjack community is insanely smart and if anyone can backdoor this law it's a blackjack player, but in my opionion the government is shooting itself in the foot here. This is gonna cause gambling to decrease altogether. Even though they can't tax the casinos themselves, people are making livings off of online gambling, and guess what? If you make so much of your income by gambling online, you have to state your profession on your tax forms as "professional gambler" and then guess what happens? THEY TAX YOUR WINNINGS!!! So instead of getting some money (an increasing amount) they stomp it out altogether in the hopes that people will pick up their shit and drive 4,5,7 hours to the nearest casino to spend their money. Guess what? They won't. I'm not gonna give the Turning Stone any more money now that I can only go to them, I'll just gamble less, which helps absolutly no one, not business, not the government, not myself, no one. This is a sad and in all seriousness tragic day in american history and let's hope this doesn't last long.

Speaking of the Turning Stone, I went out there for the monthly double header BlackJack tourney. I made the semis and came right down to the end, my biggest problem was that I needed to make a move on the 12th hand by betting half my bankroll so I could get a lead, unfortunatly, instead of getting that lead, or butsing out and getting to go home early, I went back and forth and back anf forth and back and forth with the dealer for TEN HANDS, and by the time I actually got some ground people were already betting high so the effect was dead and I ended up about $150 short, so close to the big prize, and I knew that I was doing well, better than everyone else based on pure strategy and playing ability, but still couldn't get it done. Oh well, always next month.

Well that's the end of my rant. I strongly urge everyone to call their congressmen and scream at them until this bill gets reversed, because this is going to have crippling effects on the gambling community. How many people do you think we'll see at the WSOP next year if this rule is still in effect?

- Adios,
Scorcho.

WTF Is a bankroll?!

2006-06-15T00:11:00.000-07:00

Well I started off the day with a modest semi-final finish at global player today. Winning back my entry and feeling alright (though I should have made the final table...)

I decided to try my luck at heads up today. So with my $45 bankroll I played the $10-$.50 games.....

Big....Freaking....Mistake....

You see, silly little me forgot about my Advantage Player roots and somehow additionally forgot that variance (aka LUCK) is involved in the game we call BlackJack, and much to my surprise even though just about every final hand was mathematically in my favor (gasp) I DIDN'T WIN EVERY ONE!!!! And since I was playing way above my bankroll I hit rock bottom fairly quick. I was doing just fine playing the $5, 5 player sit & gos with that sort of bankroll (although that was probably stretching it, too.) and I was doing fine. I thought that since there was only one other person and I have what I would consider an above-average skill level that as long as I won more than I lost I'd be good, especially since I only had to fight one other person.

The thing that I was forgetting is that the odds were deceiving, at least somewhat. More or less whenever I go into a final hand and don't bust out I have either a 44% chance or 42% chance of winning generally by taking the high or the low. This doesn't change much when you're playing against less people. Sure you don't have to worry about as many doubles or swings but the number still stays around that mark. So that was my big lesson of the day. I may put some more money back in tomorrow and start playing like a sane person again. Perhaps I was just getting too big for my breeches...

The article I wrote at the blackjacktournaments.com forums has been well received, and I'm quite happy about that. I'm glad that not only do I have experience worth sharing now to the people but they were also appreciative and took it as good advice. I really hope to write more things like that in the future, and in addition start to earn some credentials to back it up. I'm out for now, I have some game boy to play and then I suppose I'll sleep. You can catch me calling into Be In Action radio tomorrow at 6PDT 9EDT with some questions/comments for Kenny E. and Joe P, I'll probably put up another post after I do that marking out over the experience, so until then, adios!

- Scorcho.

WSOB week 2 = Muuuch better..

2006-06-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

After a day of card playing (working the Sit&Gos at Global Player, then poker with my pop after dinner) and a couple hours of poker watching me and TH settled down for the second week of the WSOB and were much happier with the show. Having two people to really cheer for this week in Kami and Darrell. This weeks show felt much less like a circus and more like a blackjack tournament including some great strategy (including a perfect surrender trap by the lovely Kami.) We weren't too bothered by the cowboy moving on to the next round and Kami making the wild card. (By the way, is it GSN policy to have a cowboy on EVERY show? That's two for two now.) However, still some of the plays we see make us wonder how some of those people got there. When we're pointing out obvious mistakes to people who are supposed to be the "best in the world" there's a problem (You hear that GSN? Get in touch with us!)

Moving on, I'm extremely excited about the UBT, I wasn't hot on the flashy presentation at first because my knee-jerk reaction was to think that they're just trying to jazz it up and will kill the credibility but now I'm excited if for no other reason than this will give tournament BJ tons more exposure and in turn the prizes are bound to go up. Will blackjack become as big as poker? Who knows, one can only hope.

Thursday, per orders of my "sugah daddy" Joe Pane I will be calling into Kenny Einiger's radio show ("Be In Action" is the formal name, if I recall.) I'm looking forward to that, as I'm always a sucker for hearing my own voice.

That's all for tonight folks. Please feel free to leave comments so I know that we're not just typing to ourselves here, and you will be hearing from me again soon. Adios.

- Scorcho

Victory!!!

2006-06-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

Evening all, well, morning I guess....

Today marks the first time that I have won any amount of money from a blackjack tourney.

I won a Sit&Go at Global player for $25!!! WOOHOOOO!!!

It was especially sweet because I really thought I was screwed going into the final hand. I was down and in second and the leader matched my bet. I doubled my 12 for a 19 (better result than the TS earlier this week) hoping for the high. However, after the leader split and doubled one hand for totals of 16 and 14, I was hoping big time for the dealer to make something. He flips over that ten and I've never been happier to lose 1k in chips.

With the win I won back my entries from the tourney I entered on wednesday, so I'm quite happy. I'm planning on working some more low level S&Gs tomorrow to get some more experience under my belt and maybe make a buck or two in the process, as I feel confident enough in myself that in the long run I'll win one in four at least and that'll keep me in the black. Let's hope This small victory doesn't get me too confident.

Also listened to Joe and Kenny's radio show, anyone who hasn't checked it out I suggest you do. Every thursday from 9-10 EST, 6-7 PST. You can get the feed online at www.worldblackjackchampion.com and it's a great listen for anyone interested in blackjack and the world of gambling as it is.

Well that's all for now, I'm gonna go roll in my newfound riches, you will more than likely hear me cursing my loss tomorrow, and boy do I ever look forward to it!

- Adios

Scorcho.

Enter The Hobbit

2006-06-08T00:19:00.000-07:00

Hello, I am The Hobbit, as I was forcibly named by my compatriot Scorcho here. It fits me though, considering my short stature and largish hairy feet. As will become evident, I am the smarter, funnier, and sexier of the duo.

If you can't tell by now, I have no idea what to write about here. When I play tournaments, I come out at the end in a haze, with only vague memories of what transpired. Makes it a bit difficult to pinpoint exactly what I need to improve on. Only thing I'm sure about is that my chip counting skills are abysmal. I have to play on estimates with a range of about a 50 chip margin of error.

One last thing. If you happen to be in the same room as Scorcho when he's playing a Global Player tournament, make sure to dodge the flying mice.

-The Hobbit.

The king of near misses.

2006-06-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well I had my run at the Global Player tourney today. After the buy in and a rebuy (finishing third place both times on the last hand) I got to the second round on the third try. Due to the people in the tournament the top three people at the table advanced. I though I was in good shape, and I was until the last hand....

I'm in third place by $2.50, one person has been eliminated and better yet I'm the last to act, so I do what I thought was best, match 4th place's bet exactly, nabbing both the high and the low, I felt in pretty good shape.

Then come the cards, I have a 15, 4th place has a 20, and the dealer shows a 5.

Feeling a little nervous but still okay I stand. If the dealer busts I still win.

Dealer flips a 9 for a 14, great.

Then hits a 6, for a 20..... Not so great

4th place pushes and pulls ahead and I lose my bet and fall out. All in all a very frustrating day seeing as how I was literally one hand away from advancing three times. Luckily the entry fee was small. I'm contemplating coming back next week when the entry is $20 and rebuys $10, I'm also toying with the idea of playing some low level sit and gos to get my experience up, but right now I feel I can do that relativly accuratly at CVBJ and for free to boot....

In other news I recently found out that someone I know has gotten a job as a graveyard shift dealer at the TS. I'm pretty pleased to hear about this now because I have some inside information at my fingertips now, so I'll be able to find out about things like the hole card mirrors, upcoming tourneys, and good times to play should I consider hitting the tables again.

That's it for tonight, short post. Maybe The Hobbit will have something up later, until tommorow folks, adios.

- Scorcho.

Shifting Gears.

2006-06-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well just a short day after my last Tournament I am working towards another one that will take place later in the day. This time in the world of online play.

For a while I've been hearing about Global Player's tourneys. Global player is one of the only casino sites online that caters to the tournament player (though JoeP says that's going to change, even though he never told me WHERE ELSE would have them). I was planning on practicing the different rules for a couple weeks or so before making the plunge into the online world, but since I can get in their wednesday tourney on the cheap in the first week (ten bucks) I figured I'd give it a shot now....

So I spent the day running CVBJ and getting used to the different bankroll, max bet, and number of hands I'm used to, not to mention the addition of surrender (though it hasn't effected me too much yet.) I'm fairly confident in my results thusfar and think that I'll be able to adapt well.

I'm looking forward to this tourney, not only because I think it's a little easier format than the TS ones I'm used to but it also may give me a chance to play with some real big shots in the BlackJack world. I kow that alot of the luminaries are quite fond of Global Player and have talked to a couple on ther as I was scouting the game. I know that you're never supposed to want to play the best in reality, especially when money is on the line, but my competitive nature is coming out. If I can hold my own with the big boys then my confidence will get a big boost.

In addition to working on the new rules I have been engaged in a discussion all day at the BJinfo boards about whether or not TS has a beatable BlackJack game. They have recently removed the hole card mirrors, adding the element of warping to an otherwise dismal game (8 decks shoe, blah...) However there is someone who is claiming that with a bit of shuffle tracking and paying attention to the warping it has become a very beatable game. I'm surprised to hear this, but if it's true it's good news, well it's good news as long as they're warping the cards. It's good to hear of a decent game that I can actually get to. Unfortunatly the point is moot, I don't have anywhere near the bankroll to put this theory to the test and am focusing most of my efforts on tourneys and have gotten rusty on my counting, and I never even started working on shuffle tracking...

Well that's it for me for tonight, the prospect of a new tournament world opened to me, and a little heads up on a now seemingly (supposedly) profitable game springing up out of junk. If any of you run into me at the tables on Global Player tomorrow give me a hello, and I should be back soon with another post.

Adios

- Scorcho.

Bad cards + Loudmouth jackass = bad day for Team Stompy

2006-06-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

Evening all, and welcome to our blog-type deal. I won't go into a big background thing as that is available elsewhere. I'll just get right to the good stuff:

Tonight was the first double-header BlackJack tourney at the Turning Stone I've been to in quite a while. Eight months, to be exact. I had moved away last year and just recently moved back to my hometown, which allowed me and The Hobbit to start going to tourneys again.

We were pumped for tonight, we've been practicing for the last month. Training our asses off. Mainly because we had to re-learn everything. So we drilled everything, basic strategy, tons of tournament simulations (about four tournaments a day for me, a little less for TH, that equates to about three hours a day) and we were very confident in what we learned. We wanted to wanted to walk in there, come in first and second (1st place 3K, 2nd 1K, since we chop our winnings that's a cool 2 grand each) and show everyone there how the game was played. I felt very confident that we trained, and were more prepared for that tourney than anyone else there. Far and away.

Unfortunatly there is a bit of luck involved.....

Luck which we did not have. Hobbit made a small error on the 22nd (of 25) hand that ended up costing him a spot in the semis. He took it pretty hard on himself for making a mistake like that, and I was there with my "what the hell were you thinking?" speech which probably didn't help....

Then came my turn, my round was a classic roller coaster case. Both me and Hobbit play conservativly until there's ten hands left and that's around when we make our moves, by hand 15 there was a few people who were betting big that pulled out into a big lead. So this lead to a series of max bets to try to catch the lead. I say "series" because on more than one occasion I threw a max bet out here (and doubled) to get a 21, then a push from there. Always fun...

So it comes down to the last hand and I'm about a hundred or so out of BR* position (BR* being enough to get you to advance, which was second place in this case) and the entire table max bet. I put out a max bet myself, seeing as how there were over me and I felt that either hitting a swing or pulling out a double was the only way to get me in front. Dealer gives me a 12 to her 5, I double it, thinking I'm okay shape, bang, ten... I started thinking again about being in good shape.....

So we come home with our tails between our legs (though confident in the fact that for the most part we played well and there was nothing we could do.) To watch the first episode of the 2006 WSOB. I had been looking forward to this since the last one ended, and what do I get?

Paul.......freaking........Haas......

For those who didn't have the "luxury" of watching the episode. In addition to the campy additions they've made to the gameplay itself (the "KO" Card, the "Burger King Power Chip") They had a boy by the name of Paul Haas, a loud, obnoxious, seemingly mindless goof who seemed like he was only there to irritate everyone, because he didn't seem to know what the hell he was doing. His nonsensical bets and heckling (for no apparent reason) of Ken Eininger I wanted nothing more than to see this joker get stomped all over by people who actually knew what the hell they were doing. Much to my dismay, not only did I see Kenny get knocked out due to a terrible, terrible break, thus eliminating one of the only true and undoubtedly qualified people in the tournament. I also saw Paul Haas yodel his way into a first place win. My heart sank. Me and TH don't drink but I was seriously thinking of starting after tonight. I can only hope to see a swift defeat of the guy in the future so we can get back to good card playing, instead of a sideshow.

Well, this has gone of for long enough as it is. I hope you all enjoyed and we'll be back in to report soon. Adios.

- Scorcho.