Every year for the past 10 years I have been invited to this very special event and every year I have written about it and published the test that is given at the BJ Ball on Henry Tamburin's monthly publication BJInsider.com
This was part one of my report that covered the annual Blackjack Ball. The answers to the following 21 questions can be found in the April edition of BJInsider.com
I offer a free sneak preview of this to all of the LVA forum peeps.
HOUSE OF PANE:
2012 BLACKJACK BALL
by Joe Pane
Joe Pane is a skilled advantage blackjack player and an experienced tournament player who has won over a million dollars in blackjack tournaments. Although most casinos have banned Joe from live blackjack play and blackjack tournaments, he still uses his tournament skills in both Poker and Dice Tournaments where he has recorded impressive wins in both games. Last year Joe took down two Poker Tournaments in the same week, winning Event #1 at The Mesquite Open at the Eureka Casino on Friday, and then he took down the Tuscany Monday Night Poker Tournament three days later (Las Vegas). His peers consider him one of the strongest and most feared blackjack tournament players on the circuit, and “All In Magazine” named him the #1 Blackjack Tournament Player.
“The Doctor Is In the House”
That’s what you would say when a person’s educational training and background goes something like this. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1958, and worked at M.I.T. from 1959 to 1961. He was a professor of mathematics from 1961-1965 at New Mexico State University, and then joined the University of California at Irvine where he was a professor of mathematics from 1965 to 1977, and a professor of mathematics and finance from 1977 to 1982. Not to shabby credentials, do you agree?
You would assume that this is a brilliant man, who dedicated his life to the ungrateful (and for the most part low paying) profession of education (which requires a dedicated person with a brilliant mind). Someone who is willing to share his secrets with his young students, who clamor for his willingness to share his bestowed brilliance. (And while this may be true of this professor, you certainly can say the same for the many dedicated teachers that have chosen to educate our young, and help them become the leaders of fortune 500 companies and the politicians in leadership positions with our federal government in Washington D.C.)
This professor, whom I’m talking about, is still teaching to this day without ever leaving his home. His students are a special breed that are not registered as full time or part time students at any university; for the most part, they travel alone, and have no set class schedule or final exams like most students. Nevertheless, once a year their class meets in a secret location to share homework and compare grades/results that they have endured and earned during the past 12 months. Attendance at the class (let’s call it a gathering) may be the only thing that represents a final exam to these special students of the “Professor.” Nevertheless, these students make the trek to Las Vegas, year after year, in the hope that their beloved and revered “Professor” will be there to look over their work, and make suggestions as to what they need to do to make sure their results are being maximized to its fullest. However, over the last 15 years they have gathered, THE PROFESSOR never showed up to administer their final exam. Until now.
To the delight of his students, this year THE PROFESSOR finally appeared after 16 years of invitations, phone calls, emails, and letters from the “Las Vegas Santa” (aka Max Rubin). It was a special evening for the attendees at this gathering that they will never forget as long as they live (and those who couldn’t make it will always regret). On this special night, the one and only Dr. Ed Thorp (“The Professor”) finally attended the Blackjack Ball.
For those that haven’t been on this planet the past 50 years, Dr. Thorp is the legend who wrote the NY Times best-selling book “Beat the Dealer,” which inspired many players to become semi- and professional-card counters. (His book, in fact, continues to be the bible for many professional blackjack players.)
They say, “What goes around comes around,” and such was the case with the professional blackjack players who attended the Blackjack Ball and finally got to meet and thank the man, who essentially created their careers as professional players.
The Blackjack Ball, as most of you know, is a party for a select, invited group of professional blackjack players and author/writers. Max Rubin is the host and the event is sponsored by Barona Casino. The Blackjack Ball has been held every year for the past 16 years at a secret location in Las Vegas.
You might be wondering why in the world a casino would sponsor a party consisting of the most feared blackjack/advantage players in the world. The reason is simple and it actually makes perfect business sense when you think about it. When a player receives and accepts the sought-after-invitation to the Ball, he or she solemnly promises to never use their blackjack skills at Barona’s Casino (meaning, they promise not to play there).
Every person in attendance at the Ball has some connection to Dr Thorp in some way, shape, or form. He has given all of them the building blocks on how to beat the game of blackjack. He proved to them (and all who would take the time to listen), that blackjack is a beatable game because the math doesn’t lie. Everyone at the Ball knows that to be true and accurate. In fact, the net worth in today’s dollars for each of the attendees is the result of the good Doctor. (In a nonprofessional’s way to look at this, Thorp has put a lot of bread on many tables of his students, many of whom he never set eyes on.)
In the last 10 years that I have attended the Blackjack Ball, I have never witnessed any one receive a standing ovation from this group. (May I remind you, this is a group of players who are deserving of their own standing ovation because of their accomplishments, and for being feared by every casino in the world.) They all have unique talents that provided them with many varied ways to beat the casino at their own game. Their accomplishments, both past and present, may not be well documented because they travel in a secret world, share very little information with the outside world, but trust me when I say that casinos know what potential damage they can and will do with Dr. Ed Thorp as their leader. Therefore, it was not surprising when Max introduced Dr. Thorp to the attendees; every blackjack practitioner in the room stood up and gave him a rousing and well-deserved round of applause, in respect and admiration of this brilliant man. It was a moving moment, well deserved, and a long time coming. I was grateful to be there and so were the other 70 advantage players present at this historic moment in the world of blackjack.
If you have read my previous articles on the Blackjack Ball in the BJI that I wrote over the past ten years for the Blackjack Insider Newsletter, you know that there is a test of 21 questions that is given to the Blackjack Ball attendees. As in past years, you, dear reader, will be able to take the same test that the most brilliant minds in blackjack had to take.
Here were the rules that host Max Rubin went over with the attendees. Each question is read once, repeated a second time, and you only have 10 seconds to write down your answer on the answer sheet. You are not allowed to go back and change your answer. You may use a scratch pad to do calculations but you are not allowed to use any electronic devices, including smart phones. (This group of 70 prides itself on playing by the rules but I will admit they always look for rules that are in their favor. Max makes sure by his rules to keep the boys in line.) The top five attendees with the most correct answers advanced to the Blackjack Ball Final.
How many questions will you get right? Remember if you really want to compare how you would have done against this group, be honest with yourself, and stay within the rules that we all had to follow. Good luck … you will need it because once again Max has gone to various corners of the world for gaming related topics and questions to stump us. You’ll see that this is not an easy test … but then we don’t want anything easy because we live for the challenge.
Here is the test 21 questions … will you make the cut for the final table?
(Note: I’ll publish the answers to the question in the next issue of BJI.)
(Editors Note: Newsweek sent a reporter to the Blackjack Ball. You can read his article at http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/02/12/at-the-blackjack-ball-card-counter-dr-edward-thorp-is-king.html.)
Blackjack Ball 2012
Round One Questions
To prevent, ahem, advantage play, or cheating, as you fill out your game card, you must mark every true or false question or multiple choice question and fill in the blank before we move on to the next question. You cannot change your answer once you have marked your card. If there are any blanks or changed answers on your card when it is graded or handed in, you will be disqualified
You may use the back of your card as a worksheet.
I will repeat each question twice. Ready?
1. True or False. When Blackjack Hall of Famer Keith Taft, completed building his famous “George” blackjack computer in 1972, he created the world’s first working “wearable computer.”
2. According to the man himself, how much net money did the infamous blackjack player Donald Johnson win playing blackjack in 2011?
a) Less than $3 million.
b) Between $3 million and $5 million.
c) Over $5 million.
d) He did not win anything. It was all a publicity stunt ginned up by the casinos in Atlantic City.
3. If you get this one wrong, you are disqualified. Casino Player Magazine awarded this casino the title of “Best Blackjack in America” in 2011. As the sponsor of the Blackjack Ball and home of the Blackjack Hall of Fame, this casino can offer their loose rules and high stakes games because everyone who attends the Blackjack Ball agrees not to play blackjack there. Name that casino.
4. True or False. There are now over 1,000 fewer blackjack games in Nevada than there were at the end of 2001.
5. This is for the battle-hardened Blackjack travelers, who know that they should scout every table game in the land to look for an advantage on every card game they see. The maximum bets allowed per spot on the double-deck games at the Harrah’s Casino in St. Louis is $2,500. What is their max bet on Mississippi Stud?
a) $5
b) $10
c) $250
d) $500
6. In the most recent issue of Cigar Aficionado Magazine, noted gambling writer Danny Sheridan said that over half of the people in America would make an illegal wager on the Super Bowl. Within one billion, how much did he say would be wagered illegally on this year’s big game?
7. True or False. For the basic strategy player, the Blackjack Switch game at the Bellagio Casino, which are dealt out of a continuous six-deck shuffler, have a lower house edge than the Bellagio’s best double-deck games.
8. This question is from (attorney) Bob Loeb regarding professional gamblers. In 2011 a United State Tax Court decision stated the following (which I am paraphrasing):
a) That the value of comps received are non-taxable.
b) That a professional gambler can declare a net loss for the year if non-wagering expenses such as travel and lodging exceed net wins.
c) That losses can be carried forward from the previous year.
d) That if a professional invests in a team bank and the bank is broken after six months, that all profits may be treated as capital gains and taxed at 15%.
9. In 2011, a professional golfer, who was formerly ranked number one in the world, purchased a copy of James Grosjean’s Beyond Counting, Exhibit CAA from the Beyond Counting website. Name that golfer.
10. True or False. Before Ed Thorp’s “Beat the Dealer” was first published, there was not a legal casino in America that dealt blackjack out of a shoe.
11. There is a trackable blackjack game south of the border that has the following conditions: You buy in with American Dollars and cash out for American dollars without being hit for currency conversions. Six decks. Hand shuffled. Strip Rules. Plus Resplit Aces, early surrender against a 10, double on three cards 9, 10 & 11, and any six-card hand of 21 or under is paid automatically. The max bet is $500. In what country will you find this game?
a) Ecuador
b) Aruba
c) Panama
d) Costa Rica
12. There are two casinos in the greater Minneapolis metropolitan area that offer blackjack. One of them is Canterbury Downs. Name the other one.
13. True or False. There is a casino in Tijuana called the Pulo Amigo that allows you to spread $5 to $100 on multiple hands with impunity, but you have to pay a 5% tax on anything you win.
14. According to Peter Griffin’s book, Theory of Blackjack, which of the following gives the player the greatest expectation of winning?
A. Player 19 versus a dealer 10
B. Player 9 versus a dealer 3
C. Player 18 versus a dealer 8
D. Player 8 versus a dealer 6
15. You come to Vegas for the weekend with a million dollars front money. Three casinos want that money bad, so you negotiate 15% loss rebate from each of them, plus some really swell RF&B, and you check in to all three joints. On Friday night, you get lucky at the first casino, win $175,000, and quit playing there. On Saturday, your luck is even better at the second joint, and you win $300,000 more and walk. On Sunday, you give the third casino a shot at your money and disaster strikes. You wind up blowing half a million and call it quits.
Forgetting about airfares and show up incentives, how much money will you have, including your front money, when you leave town?
16. True or False. Before Bob Griffin, the universally despised founder of the Griffin Detective Agency, started his company when he was an adagio dancer on the Las Vegas strip.
17. Which of these blackjack bets has the worst Expected Value for the player?
a) A $5 bet on the shoe game at Tulsa Hard Rock
b) A $25 bet on the Spanish 21 game the Seminole Hard Rock
c) A $15 bet on the single deck game at Biloxi Hard Rock.
d) A $100 bet on the $5,000 on high limit double deck game at the Las Vegas Hard Rock
18. Fill in the Blank. This is from Bob Nersesian. Name the Midwest state in which you are absolutely exempt from being trespassed or barred from a casino as the result of card counting.
19. True or False. Every standard blackjack game in the state of Pennsylvania stands on soft 17 and offers late surrender.
20. According to Stanford Wong’s December issue of Current Blackjack News, where would you find the most blackjack tables in December of 2011?
a) In the Greater Seattle Area
b) In Florida’s land based casinos
c) In Reno
d) At the Mohegan Sun
21. In the mid 50’s, Jim McDermott and the other Four Horsemen were stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds and in their spare time, with only the use of a simple adding machine, they somehow figured out the first Basic Strategy and the results were published in their book “Playing Blackjack to Win.” What was Jim’s rank in the Army when the Four Horsemen pulled off this miraculous feat?
So how do you think you did? Did you abide by the rules? You didn’t go back and change an answer did you? I am just checking because if one day you are invited to this party you need to know what to expect because Max has gotten grumpy over the last few years. (Except this year, because with Dr. Thorp in attendance, Max was all smiles. In fact, I have not seen Max smile like that since he threw a blackjack tournament player out of Barona for an inappropriate T-shirt he was wearing during a big invitational tournament there. Max politely asked the player numerous times to either cover the shirt up or take it off; however, the player decided to challenge Max and his alleged constitutional right to wear a vulgar shirt. Unfortunately, for the player, he must have forgotten he was on sovereign land.)
Even though the Blackjack Ball is not on sovereign land, it is on scared land that casinos have been searching for its exact location over the past 16 years. They fail to realize this is a stealth group, whose moves are not on anyone’s radar. However, thanks to the Blackjack Insider, we can bring you right into the secured compound where this gathering of blackjack professional takes place each year. I hope you enjoyed being part of this special group.
Each year at the Blackjack Ball, there is a list of five to six players that are considered for induction into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. In my article in next month’s issue of BJI, I will reveal the name of the newest member that was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. (You may be surprised at who it was.)
I will also share with you the names of the five top scorers on the above test, as well as the overall scores of the blackjack experts who took the test.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at [email protected]
Until Next month, may all of your Aces have a little paint on them.
Joe Pane
This was part one of my report that covered the annual Blackjack Ball. The answers to the following 21 questions can be found in the April edition of BJInsider.com
I offer a free sneak preview of this to all of the LVA forum peeps.
HOUSE OF PANE:
2012 BLACKJACK BALL
by Joe Pane
Joe Pane is a skilled advantage blackjack player and an experienced tournament player who has won over a million dollars in blackjack tournaments. Although most casinos have banned Joe from live blackjack play and blackjack tournaments, he still uses his tournament skills in both Poker and Dice Tournaments where he has recorded impressive wins in both games. Last year Joe took down two Poker Tournaments in the same week, winning Event #1 at The Mesquite Open at the Eureka Casino on Friday, and then he took down the Tuscany Monday Night Poker Tournament three days later (Las Vegas). His peers consider him one of the strongest and most feared blackjack tournament players on the circuit, and “All In Magazine” named him the #1 Blackjack Tournament Player.
“The Doctor Is In the House”
That’s what you would say when a person’s educational training and background goes something like this. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1958, and worked at M.I.T. from 1959 to 1961. He was a professor of mathematics from 1961-1965 at New Mexico State University, and then joined the University of California at Irvine where he was a professor of mathematics from 1965 to 1977, and a professor of mathematics and finance from 1977 to 1982. Not to shabby credentials, do you agree?
You would assume that this is a brilliant man, who dedicated his life to the ungrateful (and for the most part low paying) profession of education (which requires a dedicated person with a brilliant mind). Someone who is willing to share his secrets with his young students, who clamor for his willingness to share his bestowed brilliance. (And while this may be true of this professor, you certainly can say the same for the many dedicated teachers that have chosen to educate our young, and help them become the leaders of fortune 500 companies and the politicians in leadership positions with our federal government in Washington D.C.)
This professor, whom I’m talking about, is still teaching to this day without ever leaving his home. His students are a special breed that are not registered as full time or part time students at any university; for the most part, they travel alone, and have no set class schedule or final exams like most students. Nevertheless, once a year their class meets in a secret location to share homework and compare grades/results that they have endured and earned during the past 12 months. Attendance at the class (let’s call it a gathering) may be the only thing that represents a final exam to these special students of the “Professor.” Nevertheless, these students make the trek to Las Vegas, year after year, in the hope that their beloved and revered “Professor” will be there to look over their work, and make suggestions as to what they need to do to make sure their results are being maximized to its fullest. However, over the last 15 years they have gathered, THE PROFESSOR never showed up to administer their final exam. Until now.
To the delight of his students, this year THE PROFESSOR finally appeared after 16 years of invitations, phone calls, emails, and letters from the “Las Vegas Santa” (aka Max Rubin). It was a special evening for the attendees at this gathering that they will never forget as long as they live (and those who couldn’t make it will always regret). On this special night, the one and only Dr. Ed Thorp (“The Professor”) finally attended the Blackjack Ball.
For those that haven’t been on this planet the past 50 years, Dr. Thorp is the legend who wrote the NY Times best-selling book “Beat the Dealer,” which inspired many players to become semi- and professional-card counters. (His book, in fact, continues to be the bible for many professional blackjack players.)
They say, “What goes around comes around,” and such was the case with the professional blackjack players who attended the Blackjack Ball and finally got to meet and thank the man, who essentially created their careers as professional players.
The Blackjack Ball, as most of you know, is a party for a select, invited group of professional blackjack players and author/writers. Max Rubin is the host and the event is sponsored by Barona Casino. The Blackjack Ball has been held every year for the past 16 years at a secret location in Las Vegas.
You might be wondering why in the world a casino would sponsor a party consisting of the most feared blackjack/advantage players in the world. The reason is simple and it actually makes perfect business sense when you think about it. When a player receives and accepts the sought-after-invitation to the Ball, he or she solemnly promises to never use their blackjack skills at Barona’s Casino (meaning, they promise not to play there).
Every person in attendance at the Ball has some connection to Dr Thorp in some way, shape, or form. He has given all of them the building blocks on how to beat the game of blackjack. He proved to them (and all who would take the time to listen), that blackjack is a beatable game because the math doesn’t lie. Everyone at the Ball knows that to be true and accurate. In fact, the net worth in today’s dollars for each of the attendees is the result of the good Doctor. (In a nonprofessional’s way to look at this, Thorp has put a lot of bread on many tables of his students, many of whom he never set eyes on.)
In the last 10 years that I have attended the Blackjack Ball, I have never witnessed any one receive a standing ovation from this group. (May I remind you, this is a group of players who are deserving of their own standing ovation because of their accomplishments, and for being feared by every casino in the world.) They all have unique talents that provided them with many varied ways to beat the casino at their own game. Their accomplishments, both past and present, may not be well documented because they travel in a secret world, share very little information with the outside world, but trust me when I say that casinos know what potential damage they can and will do with Dr. Ed Thorp as their leader. Therefore, it was not surprising when Max introduced Dr. Thorp to the attendees; every blackjack practitioner in the room stood up and gave him a rousing and well-deserved round of applause, in respect and admiration of this brilliant man. It was a moving moment, well deserved, and a long time coming. I was grateful to be there and so were the other 70 advantage players present at this historic moment in the world of blackjack.
If you have read my previous articles on the Blackjack Ball in the BJI that I wrote over the past ten years for the Blackjack Insider Newsletter, you know that there is a test of 21 questions that is given to the Blackjack Ball attendees. As in past years, you, dear reader, will be able to take the same test that the most brilliant minds in blackjack had to take.
Here were the rules that host Max Rubin went over with the attendees. Each question is read once, repeated a second time, and you only have 10 seconds to write down your answer on the answer sheet. You are not allowed to go back and change your answer. You may use a scratch pad to do calculations but you are not allowed to use any electronic devices, including smart phones. (This group of 70 prides itself on playing by the rules but I will admit they always look for rules that are in their favor. Max makes sure by his rules to keep the boys in line.) The top five attendees with the most correct answers advanced to the Blackjack Ball Final.
How many questions will you get right? Remember if you really want to compare how you would have done against this group, be honest with yourself, and stay within the rules that we all had to follow. Good luck … you will need it because once again Max has gone to various corners of the world for gaming related topics and questions to stump us. You’ll see that this is not an easy test … but then we don’t want anything easy because we live for the challenge.
Here is the test 21 questions … will you make the cut for the final table?
(Note: I’ll publish the answers to the question in the next issue of BJI.)
(Editors Note: Newsweek sent a reporter to the Blackjack Ball. You can read his article at http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/02/12/at-the-blackjack-ball-card-counter-dr-edward-thorp-is-king.html.)
Blackjack Ball 2012
Round One Questions
To prevent, ahem, advantage play, or cheating, as you fill out your game card, you must mark every true or false question or multiple choice question and fill in the blank before we move on to the next question. You cannot change your answer once you have marked your card. If there are any blanks or changed answers on your card when it is graded or handed in, you will be disqualified
You may use the back of your card as a worksheet.
I will repeat each question twice. Ready?
1. True or False. When Blackjack Hall of Famer Keith Taft, completed building his famous “George” blackjack computer in 1972, he created the world’s first working “wearable computer.”
2. According to the man himself, how much net money did the infamous blackjack player Donald Johnson win playing blackjack in 2011?
a) Less than $3 million.
b) Between $3 million and $5 million.
c) Over $5 million.
d) He did not win anything. It was all a publicity stunt ginned up by the casinos in Atlantic City.
3. If you get this one wrong, you are disqualified. Casino Player Magazine awarded this casino the title of “Best Blackjack in America” in 2011. As the sponsor of the Blackjack Ball and home of the Blackjack Hall of Fame, this casino can offer their loose rules and high stakes games because everyone who attends the Blackjack Ball agrees not to play blackjack there. Name that casino.
4. True or False. There are now over 1,000 fewer blackjack games in Nevada than there were at the end of 2001.
5. This is for the battle-hardened Blackjack travelers, who know that they should scout every table game in the land to look for an advantage on every card game they see. The maximum bets allowed per spot on the double-deck games at the Harrah’s Casino in St. Louis is $2,500. What is their max bet on Mississippi Stud?
a) $5
b) $10
c) $250
d) $500
6. In the most recent issue of Cigar Aficionado Magazine, noted gambling writer Danny Sheridan said that over half of the people in America would make an illegal wager on the Super Bowl. Within one billion, how much did he say would be wagered illegally on this year’s big game?
7. True or False. For the basic strategy player, the Blackjack Switch game at the Bellagio Casino, which are dealt out of a continuous six-deck shuffler, have a lower house edge than the Bellagio’s best double-deck games.
8. This question is from (attorney) Bob Loeb regarding professional gamblers. In 2011 a United State Tax Court decision stated the following (which I am paraphrasing):
a) That the value of comps received are non-taxable.
b) That a professional gambler can declare a net loss for the year if non-wagering expenses such as travel and lodging exceed net wins.
c) That losses can be carried forward from the previous year.
d) That if a professional invests in a team bank and the bank is broken after six months, that all profits may be treated as capital gains and taxed at 15%.
9. In 2011, a professional golfer, who was formerly ranked number one in the world, purchased a copy of James Grosjean’s Beyond Counting, Exhibit CAA from the Beyond Counting website. Name that golfer.
10. True or False. Before Ed Thorp’s “Beat the Dealer” was first published, there was not a legal casino in America that dealt blackjack out of a shoe.
11. There is a trackable blackjack game south of the border that has the following conditions: You buy in with American Dollars and cash out for American dollars without being hit for currency conversions. Six decks. Hand shuffled. Strip Rules. Plus Resplit Aces, early surrender against a 10, double on three cards 9, 10 & 11, and any six-card hand of 21 or under is paid automatically. The max bet is $500. In what country will you find this game?
a) Ecuador
b) Aruba
c) Panama
d) Costa Rica
12. There are two casinos in the greater Minneapolis metropolitan area that offer blackjack. One of them is Canterbury Downs. Name the other one.
13. True or False. There is a casino in Tijuana called the Pulo Amigo that allows you to spread $5 to $100 on multiple hands with impunity, but you have to pay a 5% tax on anything you win.
14. According to Peter Griffin’s book, Theory of Blackjack, which of the following gives the player the greatest expectation of winning?
A. Player 19 versus a dealer 10
B. Player 9 versus a dealer 3
C. Player 18 versus a dealer 8
D. Player 8 versus a dealer 6
15. You come to Vegas for the weekend with a million dollars front money. Three casinos want that money bad, so you negotiate 15% loss rebate from each of them, plus some really swell RF&B, and you check in to all three joints. On Friday night, you get lucky at the first casino, win $175,000, and quit playing there. On Saturday, your luck is even better at the second joint, and you win $300,000 more and walk. On Sunday, you give the third casino a shot at your money and disaster strikes. You wind up blowing half a million and call it quits.
Forgetting about airfares and show up incentives, how much money will you have, including your front money, when you leave town?
16. True or False. Before Bob Griffin, the universally despised founder of the Griffin Detective Agency, started his company when he was an adagio dancer on the Las Vegas strip.
17. Which of these blackjack bets has the worst Expected Value for the player?
a) A $5 bet on the shoe game at Tulsa Hard Rock
b) A $25 bet on the Spanish 21 game the Seminole Hard Rock
c) A $15 bet on the single deck game at Biloxi Hard Rock.
d) A $100 bet on the $5,000 on high limit double deck game at the Las Vegas Hard Rock
18. Fill in the Blank. This is from Bob Nersesian. Name the Midwest state in which you are absolutely exempt from being trespassed or barred from a casino as the result of card counting.
19. True or False. Every standard blackjack game in the state of Pennsylvania stands on soft 17 and offers late surrender.
20. According to Stanford Wong’s December issue of Current Blackjack News, where would you find the most blackjack tables in December of 2011?
a) In the Greater Seattle Area
b) In Florida’s land based casinos
c) In Reno
d) At the Mohegan Sun
21. In the mid 50’s, Jim McDermott and the other Four Horsemen were stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds and in their spare time, with only the use of a simple adding machine, they somehow figured out the first Basic Strategy and the results were published in their book “Playing Blackjack to Win.” What was Jim’s rank in the Army when the Four Horsemen pulled off this miraculous feat?
So how do you think you did? Did you abide by the rules? You didn’t go back and change an answer did you? I am just checking because if one day you are invited to this party you need to know what to expect because Max has gotten grumpy over the last few years. (Except this year, because with Dr. Thorp in attendance, Max was all smiles. In fact, I have not seen Max smile like that since he threw a blackjack tournament player out of Barona for an inappropriate T-shirt he was wearing during a big invitational tournament there. Max politely asked the player numerous times to either cover the shirt up or take it off; however, the player decided to challenge Max and his alleged constitutional right to wear a vulgar shirt. Unfortunately, for the player, he must have forgotten he was on sovereign land.)
Even though the Blackjack Ball is not on sovereign land, it is on scared land that casinos have been searching for its exact location over the past 16 years. They fail to realize this is a stealth group, whose moves are not on anyone’s radar. However, thanks to the Blackjack Insider, we can bring you right into the secured compound where this gathering of blackjack professional takes place each year. I hope you enjoyed being part of this special group.
Each year at the Blackjack Ball, there is a list of five to six players that are considered for induction into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. In my article in next month’s issue of BJI, I will reveal the name of the newest member that was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. (You may be surprised at who it was.)
I will also share with you the names of the five top scorers on the above test, as well as the overall scores of the blackjack experts who took the test.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at [email protected]
Until Next month, may all of your Aces have a little paint on them.
Joe Pane
