Sammy won a million at blackjack

9 January 2016

By Henry Tamburin

In May of 2005, the late Sammy Vaughn made history when he won a lump sum of one million dollars in the first ever million-dollar blackjack tournament (at the Las Vegas Hilton). I interviewed Sam after the tournament and he shared with me some of the strategy he used to win the million dollars.

HENRY: What was your game plan going into the finals?

SAMMY: I’m a basic strategy player who bets conservatively in the early rounds because I generally lose more hands than I win. I try to read my fellow players as the round progresses and use “cause and effect” – namely, I say to myself, “If I bet this amount what do I expect my opponent(s) will bet?” After I go through different betting and sometimes playing options in my head, I make what hopefully is the best bet and play.

For example, I went through this process on hand #24 following the countdown. I was on the button in fourth place and had to bet first. I could have either bet large or small. After thinking about my options and what other players would bet, I decided to bet the minimum. It turned out this was a good play because the dealer beat me but I only lost $100 and I had plenty of bankroll left to make one last run at the leaders where I bet after them.

HENRY: In the championship round, you were one of seven finalists playing only 28 hands of blackjack with the winner getting 1 million bucks. What do you remember most about that round?

SAMMY:In hand 23, just before the countdown, I bet big and got 20. Then the dealer went and got a 21 and I thought I was done. I also remember hand 26 where I made a max bet of $2,500, got dealt a 12 and doubled down for another $2,500 and won $5,000 when the dealer broke.

HENRY: Doubling down on 12 is not a normal play that blackjack players should make. Why did you do it?

SAMMY: With only three hands left, I was in sixth place and behind the leader by more than a max bet. It was desperation time. I caught a lousy deuce on my double down but managed to win the hand when the dealer had 16, drew a 10, and broke. Winning that hand catapulted me from sixth to first place with only two hands left.

HENRY: After that $5,000 win, you had less than a max bet lead over four opponents going into the next to the last hand. Three of them made max $2,500 bets and so did you. You were dealt a 4-5 with the dealer showing a 10 and you shoved out another $2,500 and doubled down. Why did you double?

SAMMY: One of my closest opponents, who acted before me, bet $2,500 and was dealt a blackjack. In order to maintain my lead going into the last hand, I had to double down. I drew a 10 for 19 and, fortunately, the dealer broke again. So even though my opponent got a blackjack and 3 to 2 payoff, I maintained the lead because I won my double down bet.

HENRY: On the final hand, you and three other players had a shot at winning the million dollars depending on how everyone bet and played their hand. Can you describe what happened?

SAMMY: I was fourth to bet and my opponents who bet ahead of me all made a max bet of $2,500 so with my slim lead I had no choice but to match their bets. The player who acted first had an ace-5 and the dealer showed a 7 face card. He doubled down for another $2,500 and caught a 10 for 16. The next player bet $2,500 and doubled down on his 12. He caught a 5 for 17. I was dealt a 10-8 and I stood. Fortunately for me, the dealer flipped up a 10 in the hole for a 17 and my 18 beat her and I won the million dollars.

Henry Tamburin is the editor of the Blackjack Insider e-Newsletter (www.bjinsider.com)and host of smartgaming.com.