The Kid wasn't ready yet
28 July 2000
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
My spouse and I have a dinner riding on your
response. Because we live in a very small town
with limited video rentals, we need an answer
from you to the following question. I say the
Cincinnati Kid lost his final wager in the movie
of the same name. My husband believes he won and
became the reigning poker player of New Orleans.
Who is right? Lou J.
The Cincinnati Kid's (Steve McQueen) full house
of Aces and 10s was no match for the straight
flush, eight through queen of diamonds, that
Lancey (Edward G. Robinson) had.
The Kid: "I'll call your five thousand and raise
what I have in front of me."
Lancey: "Call your thirty-five hundred and raise
you five thousand."
Great dialog and suspense at the end but by
poker playing standards, Lancey, by raising,
then trying to draw to an inside straight flush,
would be ridiculed today by even the most
amateur poker player. He should have folded. But
as Lancey said, "It gets down to what it's all
about. Making the wrong move at the right time."
Incidentally, the final wager was not at the
poker table but pitching pennies with a local
shoe-shine boy. "The Kid" lost that bet also.
"You try too hard, man" said the shoe-shine boy.
"You just ain't ready for me yet."
Maybe you can squeeze two dinners out of your
husband. Enjoy your dinner, Lou.
Dear Mark,
For someone learning card counting strategies in
blackjack, what do you feel will be the greatest
obstacle I will encounter? Jan S.
As you didn't identify yourself coming from
either Wall Street or WalMart America, let's put
aside the pitfalls of being under-capitalized.
The greatest obstacle when making frequent,
multiple, table-limit bets is that your play
will be closely monitored. First, plan on the
eye-in-the-sky (observation) analyzing your
play. When casino security assesses that your
biggest wagers always correspond with higher
counts, believe me, you'll feel the heat of a
camera over your shoulder. If the trend
continues, the phone ringing in the pit will be
about you, not who the pit boss likes in
tonight's Red Wing/Flyer game. Finally, a
decision will be made about your play. Yes, the
death blow. A polite banishment to nickel slots.
It generally goes like this: "Hi, Jan. You're
just too good for us. You're welcome to play any
of the other games we offer but we don't want
your action in blackjack."
To avoid exile, Jan, you will need to learn how
to conceal your high-count bets without using so
much camouflage that you will counteract your
advantage.
Dear Mark,
I know you can bet on the horses, but can you
bet on motorsports in Nevada? I would really
have liked to place a bet on my favorite driver
in the recent Daytona 500. Dave D.
Quick rule of thumb, Dave. If a professional
sporting event is preceded by the national
anthem, by golly, you can get action on it in
the Silver State. Besides major racing events
like the Daytona or Indianapolis 500, many
sportsbooks will take wagers on the whole NASCAR
and CART season.
Dear Mark,
In Montreal, the dealer gets only one card on
the deal. Does this change
that delicate balance of the game, particularly
when you are on third base sitting with a hard
16 and looking at a dealer's up card of 10? Tom
M.
Nay, Tom. The main reason the dealer recieves
just one card is strictly for casino security.
Dealing one card averts both the unscrupulous
dealer from tipping off customers to their hole
card, or when checking the ten/ace,
inadvertently flashing what's hiding in the hole
to an over-observant card sharpie.
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