EPISODE 1

NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR

What follows is a televised-hand-by-televised-hand account.  Obviously, since it's only a one-hour show, most hands are not televised so you're going to see a lot of jumping of the dealer button.

From the Mohegan Sun Casino in beautiful southeastern Connecticut, 25 of the greatest blackjack players in the world have converged for a shot at part of the $250,000 prize pool offered.  Forget the World Poker Tour, forget the celebrities, forget ESPN!  This is the WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK!

Much like Celebrity Poker Showdown, the WSoBJ will be contested in five-player single-table matches with the winners advancing to the Final Table for a crack at the $100,000 first prize.  But those who come THIS CLOSE to winning will have a second chance before the finals in their OWN table.

Before we begin, though, a brief explanation about the game of blackjack and how this tournament will be contested:

Blackjack is one of the easiest casino games to win at...IF you get the basic idea of strategy.  The object is to get as close to 21 points with your hand without going over and to beat the dealer's hand.

First, you make a bet, then you are dealt two cards face up.  The dealer gets two cards as well, but only ONE of them is face up.  The two basic decisions to make at this point is to hit, meaning you'll take another card, or stand, meaning you'll keep the hand you have.  You may also surrender the hand, meaning you don't think you can win and you'll lose half your bet.  There are also special things you can do before your first hit.  You can double down, meaning you double your bet but only get dealt one more card.  And, if the two cards are of the same value, you can split them, making two separate hands to work with (though you'll have to double your original bet to do it).

Scoring in blackjack is simple.  10s and face-cards are worth 10 points, the other cards are worth what they say (a deuce is 2 points, a 7 is 7 points, etc.).  Aces are special, since they can count as either 1 or 11 points.  The closer you get to 21 points, the better.  But, if you go OVER 21 points, you bust and you lose your bet.

Once all players either stand or bust, the dealer flips his face-down card over.  Unlike the players, the dealer can't decide whether to hit or stand.  If he has 17 points or more, he MUST stand.  If he has 16 points or less, he MUST hit until he HAS 17 points or more.  Once the dealer stands, whoever is still in gets their hand evaluated against the dealer's.  If the player's hand is higher, he wins the amount of his bet.  If the dealer's is higher, the player loses his bet.  If they are the SAME, though, it's a push and the player neither wins nor loses anything.  Of course, if the dealer goes over 21, everyone still in the hand wins.

So what about this "blackjack"?  Well, if a player or the dealer has an Ace and a 10-point card in the first two hands, it is called "blackjack" and is an automatic winner.  Here, any player getting blackjack wins 1.5 times his bet, so a $100 bet would get him $250 back (his original bet and $150 from the dealer).  If the DEALER has blackjack, however, all the players lose!  So when an Ace is the dealer's face-up card, the dealer offers insurance to the players at a cost equal to one-half their initial bets.  If a player takes insurance and the dealer DOES have blackjack, the player loses the bet BUT wins double his insurance back...so he's lost nothing.  If the dealer DOESN'T have blackjack, however, they lose their insurance bets and the hand continues.

Tournament blackjack is played until a set amount of hands are played (in this case, the amount is 30).  If a player runs out of the $10,000 worth of chips he starts with (or has less than the minimum bet), he's out of the game.  The bets for each hand must be between $100 and $5,000.  After the set amount of hands are played, whoever has the most money will advance to the Final Table.  Tournament blackjack also introduces a "dealer button".  Unlike poker, this shows who can bet and play first, not where the first card is dealt.  In tournament blackjack, betting is VERY important, since you want to have the most chips by the end of the game.  So the player with the dealer button bets first, then everyone else bets in order.  Seeing what your OPPONENTS bet can help you decide on what YOU will bet.  The one with the "button" also plays his/her hand first.

Lets meet the five competing for the Final Table spot tonight:

James Gorsjean
Pro blackjack player, math degrees from Harvard and U. of Chicago, Author of "Beyond Counting"

Connie DeSimone
Housewife and mother, has played blackjack for 3 years, a promising rookie on tournament circuit

Regina Cuzion
One of the best players in the country, blind (husband, John, acts as her eyes)

Anthony Curtis
Blackjack tournament expert, publisher of "Huntington Press", founder of "Las Vegas Advisor"

Michael Konik
Pro gambler, blackjack tournament vet, authored two successful gambling books

We have veteran game show host Matt Vasgersian and gaming expert Max Rubin giving us the play-by-play.  Our deal tonight is Tiki...so let's get to it!  James will always be "first base", where the dealer starts dealing the cards.  But the order shown, left to right, will be the betting and playing order starting with the "button".

The final few hands of a blackjack tournament is where the most strategy is used.  You have to figure out just how much to bet and when to bet it so that you'll in position to take the lead and the win with the final hand.  It is also when the largest wagers are made.  It's sort of like any horse race.  For the most part, you jockey for the right position...but, down the stretch, you go for the whip and hope the horse doesn't collapse under you.

It all comes down to one last hand.  Whoever is in the lead at the end of this hand wins $10,000 and a spot at the Final Table.  Runner-up gets $5000 and a seat at the Wild Card table for a SHOT at the Final Table.

So the money flows as follows: Anthony, the first one out, gets $500.  Connie, 4th place, gets $1000.  James, 3rd place, gets $2500.  Michael, the runner-up, gets $5000 and the Wild Card seat...and Regina Cuzion, the blind blackjack expert, gets the 10 grand and the seat at the $100,000 Final Table!