(From Blackjack Forum<\/em> Volume XVII #3, Fall 1997) [Note from Arnold Snyder: Since the writing of this article, Darryl Purpose has been elected to the Blackjack Hall of Fame. He is also a successful folk singer and songwriter. To check out his latest musical release, see DarrylPurpose.com.]<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m playing some blackjack around St. Louis. Scouting and playing small stakes, trying to dig out this 50k bank that is now 10k. They have some special gambling law in Missouri designed to protect the players \u2013 you can only buy in $500 on any one \u201ccruise.\u201d Before I learned to be careful about that I had to walk away from a +20 shoe for lack of chips. Arghh.<\/p>\n At one point the dealer was a tad sloppy and exposed the card on top of the pack just before the cut. Clear as day, it was a big ol\u2019 ACE. Also clear as day was a big ol\u2019 Queen of Diamonds on the bottom of the pack.<\/p>\n There was one other player on the table and she cut the cards about 1 \u00be decks from the top. I\u2019m thinking \u2013 if that Queen of Diamonds comes out as the last card of a round, this could be real interesting\u2026<\/p>\n It\u2019s a quarter game, and my strategy to this point, on a quarter game, has been to leave the table at any negative, but when this one goes negative, I stay. The woman sitting in the #2 spot is large, taking up a little of the #1 & #3 spots as well. This doesn\u2019t leave much room for me to squeeze into first base, so I wait to grab the spot, because, after all, it\u2019s a long shot that I\u2019ll need it.<\/p>\n I\u2019m hoping this woman leaves the table because that would increase the chances of the Queen of Diamonds falling as the last card of the round. Sure enough, my prayers are answered. She taps out, gets up\u2026 then with a grunt and a mumble reaches between her sizeable breasts and pulls out two sweaty hundred dollar bills, and the game continues. As we get to the middle of the deck, she says, \u201cMind if I play two hands?\u201d That would certainly reduce the chances of the Queen falling on the last card!<\/p>\n I conjure up a sincere confidence and say emphatically, as if I know that this would bring us all kinds of bad luck, \u201cPlay one.\u201d<\/p>\n The deck is down to about the two-deck level. I bet $50. I figure, that Queen might come out in the hit cards leaving me with the option of doing something really interesting and really profitable, like\u2026 doubling on a hard 20?! Maybe not, but certainly an A,9.<\/p>\n The possibilities are swimming through my head. I don\u2019t bet too big because I only have $250 in chips and the chance to buy only $500 more, and if that Queen of Diamonds comes out as the last card of the round, I\u2019d like to have some money to bet the ACE!<\/p>\n The dealer has a 6 up, 5 in the hole, hits it with a little card and Boom, the QUEEN OF DIAMONDS! Exactly what I was looking for! Exactly the place in the deck expected!<\/p>\n But\u2026I didn\u2019t really plan this whole thing out\u2026 I\u2019ve got to get over to first base!!! I\u2019ve got to buy some more chips!!! I\u2019ve got to figure out how much to bet!!!<\/p>\n I say to the dealer, \u201cHold it up!\u201d Then, turning to the other player, I say, \u201cMind if I play first base on this one?!\u201d I speak confidently, just a little like a crazy person, a superstitious person, like a person who doesn\u2019t care what the world thinks, but has a notion that this or that will bring him luck and is hell-bent on carrying that out. (Like your average casino-goer, maybe?)<\/p>\n I give the dealer $200 and announce, \u201cI\u2019m going to play first base!\u201d<\/p>\n As I move over I\u2019m quite relieved to see that the large woman isn\u2019t miffed. She thinks it\u2019s kind of amusing. I think she even feels a little sorry for me. The whole thing must seem a tad pathetic at this point.<\/p>\n How much to bet?! I\u2019m thinking\u2014save enough to double down. Bet half of what I have available (about $350). But as the dealer is changing my $200, I realize that the advantage from doubling (8%??) is nothing compared to the 50+% that I have for getting the ace, besides, since I\u2019m getting the ace, it\u2019s only soft doubles that we\u2019re missing anyway.<\/p>\n Right?!<\/p>\n 1\/3 Kelly would call for a $3,000+ bet.<\/p>\n Right?<\/p>\n I bet everything.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a big stack \u2019cause it\u2019s got lots of $1 and 50 cent chips in it.<\/p>\n The floorman comes over and asks, \u201cIs this a bet?!\u201d<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t bet over $100 in this place to this point\u2026 I figure the whole scene is already over the top, so I say with conviction, \u201cYes! I\u2019m going to get a blackjack!! Give me my blackjack!\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m thinking hard about the appropriate reaction on my part when I do get my blackjack. I hadn\u2019t really figured it out when the first card was dealt\u2026 the ace\u2026 but what\u2019s this?!\u2026 it\u2019s not the ace\u2026 It\u2019s the FIVE of CLUBS!<\/p>\n In that crack in time between worlds when everything is in slow motion, you have all the time in the world to understand.<\/p>\n I fully understand that I\u2019ve got 7% of the bankroll out there, I can\u2019t double down, and I\u2019ve got the FIVE of CLUBS! The next card falls\u2026<\/p>\n QUEEN of DIAMONDS to the player next to me!\u2026 and even before the next card comes out I understand even more\u2026 I\u2019ve got 7% of the bankroll on the table and I\u2019ve got the Five of Clubs and the dealer has the big ol\u2019 ACE\u2026<\/p>\n Of course, y\u2019all being professional and all, you know that it doesn\u2019t really matter how the hand turned out\u2026 \u2660<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An Ace Tracker’s Lament By Darryl Purpose (From Blackjack Forum Volume XVII #3, Fall 1997) \u00a9 Blackjack Forum 1997 [Note from Arnold Snyder: Since the writing of this article, Darryl Purpose has been elected to the Blackjack Hall of Fame. He is also a successful folk singer and songwriter. To check out his latest musical release, see DarrylPurpose.com.] I\u2019m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[631,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122404"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122404\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u00a9 Blackjack Forum 1997<\/p>\nTracking the Ace: Strategy<\/h5>\n
A Bad Time for a Sad Lesson in Ace Location Technique<\/h5>\n