Michalewicz's Travels

One of these four is my mother-in-law..., Poland, August 2011

Class Reunion - 37 years after graduating from university, Warsaw, Poland, 9 July 2011

Winning an international blackjack competition, Mariner of the Seas, somewhere at
the Mediterranean Sea, 27 June 2011. During the qualifying round, the competitors
were organised into separate tables; at each table there were 7 players and we played -
at each table - just 7 hands. Each of us got $500 in chips to start with. The
minimum bet was $25, and the maximum - $500. I qualified for the final round from all
qualifying tables with a style; my score was $1,525 and it was the highest from all
competitors. The best seven players were identified for the final round. As the player
with the highest score, I was the one to select the place at the final table. I
selected the middle seat, having 3 players on my left and 3 other players on the right.
Other players selected their places in order of their scores. Again, each of us got
$500 and the rules were the same (we would play 7 hands in total with the rotating
order of the first player to bet). The first three hands were miserable, I lost all
of them. I recovered in hands #4 and #5 - at this stage I was around the 5th place
(just my estimate, by looking at the chips of other players) with just $525. So on
second-to-last hand, hand #6, I bet $500 - almost everything I had and I won. At
this stage, before the last hand, the organisers made a count of chips for all players,
so all players can think about the optimal strategy for betting during the last
round. At that time the leading player was $1,450, the second player was $1,375,
I was the third with $1,025, and the fourth one was with $1,000 even. The other three
players had peanuts and they did not count at this stage. Now the last round has
started. Of course, I made a bet of $500 (maximum amount). My first card was 3 (and
I was upset). The dealer got ten, but my next card was 8. I had just enough to double
(so $1,000 was on the table) and I got King! The two leading players were playing
smaller amounts, trying to stay in the lead. The fourth player (who bet also $500)
had 8 on the first two cards and he doubled as well - he got 10, making the total of 18.
The dealer got 4 and 10 - bust! So, the first two players (after the first six hands)
finished with $1,600 or so, I finished with $2,025, and the player, who was 4th after
the first six hands, finished second with $2,000. I got an ovation, T-shirt, some
money (in casino chips) as a reward, and a nice trophy. The satisfaction was double -
not only because of the win, but also because I won just by $25 (the value of the smallest
chip on the table).