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).