Ultimate Blackjack Tour
Encyclopedia
The Ultimate Blackjack Tour was a televised series of Elimination Blackjack
tournaments that aired in syndication. It debuted on September 16, 2006. The show consists of a series of televised Elimination Blackjack tournaments. The winner of each weekly tournament returns for the final Tournament of Champions.
Along with professional blackjack
players and Internet qualifiers, the producers included a number of professional poker players not normally known for playing blackjack to draw attention to the poker elements inherent in the unique format of Elimination Blackjack tournaments.
The show was hosted by Max Rubin
and Mati Moralejo
, with Nikki Ziering and Shandi Finnessey
serving as sideline reporters. Nikki Ziering did not return for the second season.
Featured players of the Ultimate Blackjack Tour are members of Team UBT, which is made up of poker stars like Johnny Chan
, Robert Williamson III
, and Phil Laak
and professional blackjack players like world champions Ken Einiger and Anthony Curtis
, "Hollywood" Dave Stann and Monica Reeves
.
1 Not a qualifier tournament for the Season 1 Championship table
Elimination Blackjack
Elimination Blackjack is a tournament format of blackjack invented by Russ Hamilton, and is played on the Ultimate Blackjack Tour and in various casinos. It combines the game of blackjack with elements of No Limit Texas Hold'Em...
tournaments that aired in syndication. It debuted on September 16, 2006. The show consists of a series of televised Elimination Blackjack tournaments. The winner of each weekly tournament returns for the final Tournament of Champions.
Along with professional blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
players and Internet qualifiers, the producers included a number of professional poker players not normally known for playing blackjack to draw attention to the poker elements inherent in the unique format of Elimination Blackjack tournaments.
The show was hosted by Max Rubin
Max Rubin
Max Rubin is a gambling expert and author best known for his book Comp City: A Guide to Free Gambling Vacations. The book teaches players how to maximize casino perks with little actual wagering. Rubin is also a gambling analyst for television...
and Mati Moralejo
Mati Moralejo
Mati Moralejo is an actor and was a recurring personality on the Nickelodeon Games and Sports television network. He is regularly seen in 60 second featurettes highlighting lesser known sports from around the world called Global GAS.Mati was also a host of a remake of Nickelodeon's Wild and Crazy...
, with Nikki Ziering and Shandi Finnessey
Shandi Finnessey
Shandi Ren Finnessey is an American beauty queen, model, television hostess, and actress. She is best known for winning the Miss USA title, as Miss Missouri USA. She previously held the title of Miss Missouri 2002 and competed in Miss America where she won a preliminary award...
serving as sideline reporters. Nikki Ziering did not return for the second season.
Featured players of the Ultimate Blackjack Tour are members of Team UBT, which is made up of poker stars like Johnny Chan
Johnny Chan (poker player)
Johnny Chan rather than his Chinese birth name. born in Guangzhou, China in 1957) is a Chinese American professional poker player. He has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including 1987 and 1988 World Series of Poker main events consecutively....
, Robert Williamson III
Robert Williamson III
Robert Williamson III is an American poker player from Dallas, Texas.Williamson grew up with three sisters and his best friend, Chris Caywood in Granbury, Texas and received B.B.A. degrees in finance and real estate from Angelo State University in San Angelo.He began playing aged 10 or 11, after...
, and Phil Laak
Phil Laak
Philip "Phil" C. Laak is a professional poker player, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour title, a World Series of Poker bracelet and has appeared on numerous nationally-aired television shows.-Early life:...
and professional blackjack players like world champions Ken Einiger and Anthony Curtis
Anthony Curtis
Anthony Curtis is a blackjack player, gambling expert, and author. He is also the publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor, a popular newsletter first published in 1983, about getting good deals in Las Vegas. Curtis became interested in gambling at the age of 16 when he received a book about blackjack as...
, "Hollywood" Dave Stann and Monica Reeves
Monica Reeves
Monica Reeves is a professional poker and blackjack player from Oakville, Ontario.She is a former model who began her gambling career in 2005 under the tutelage of expert poker player Jim Worth. After nine months, Reeves was able to start playing professionally. She placed 8th in the St...
.
Season 1
The first season consisted of ten televised tournaments. The winner of each of seven preliminary tournaments returned for the final Tournament of Champions. Players competed for a share of over $1 million. Two of the episodes, "Ladies' Night" and the "UBT Legends Tournament," were not qualifiers for the Tournament of Champions.Tournament results
| Tournament | Winner | Runner-Up | Other Players in Finish Order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament 1 | Ken Smith | "Hollywood" Dave Stann |
|
| Tournament 2 | David Matthews David Matthews (blackjack player) David Matthews is an American professional blackjack player and writer. He has competed in the World Series of Blackjack and is the winner of the first season of the CBS elimination blackjack tournament series Ultimate Blackjack Tour... |
Joanna "Queen of Spades" W. |
James Grosjean James Grosjean is a gambling expert and author best known for his 2000 book Beyond Counting: Exploiting Casino Games from Blackjack to Video Poker. He became a professional player while studying as a graduate student at the University of Chicago's Department of Economics. Grosjean's book... Antonio Esfandiari Antonio Esfandiari is a professional poker player, known for his elaborate chip tricks.-Early life:When he was 9 years old his family moved to San Jose, California... |
| Tournament 3 | Tyrone Jackson Tyrone Jackson Tyrone Jackson is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. The role was portrayed by Phil Morris, son of actor Greg Morris from the 1966-1973 espionage television series Mission: Impossible. Phil Morris appeared as Tyrone from 1984 to 1986.-Fictional character... |
Lupe Sherman |
Erica Schoenberg Erica Schoenberg is an American professional blackjack and poker player. She is a former model, personal trainer, and professional volleyball player. Schoenberg received professional blackjack training from a member of the MIT Blackjack Team... Dave Ulliott David A. Ulliott , known by the nickname Devilfish, is an English professional gambler and poker player. Formerly, Ulliott was a minor figure in the Hull underworld, but went on to become a World Series of Poker bracelet-winner, and a mainstay of televised poker... |
| Tournament 4 | Monica Reeves Monica Reeves Monica Reeves is a professional poker and blackjack player from Oakville, Ontario.She is a former model who began her gambling career in 2005 under the tutelage of expert poker player Jim Worth. After nine months, Reeves was able to start playing professionally. She placed 8th in the St... |
Chuck Gorson |
|
| Tournament 5 | Adriana Jade | Blair Rodman Blair Rodman Blair Rodman is an American professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.Rodman has been playing poker professionally since 1985, when he quit his job dealing craps.... |
Patrick Taylor Patrick or Pat Taylor may refer to:* Patrick Taylor , an Irish-Canadian author and doctor* Patrick F. Taylor, founder of Taylor Energy* Patrick Gordon Taylor, author and aviator... Dewey Tomko Duane "Dewey" Tomko is an American former kindergarten teacher turned professional poker player, based in Winter Haven, Florida.... |
| "Ladies' Night"1 | Angie "Moneytaker" Hardy | Monica Reeves |
Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:... Erica Schoenberg Erica Schoenberg is an American professional blackjack and poker player. She is a former model, personal trainer, and professional volleyball player. Schoenberg received professional blackjack training from a member of the MIT Blackjack Team... Annie Duke Annie Duke is a professional poker player and author who won a bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Event and was the winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she earned the Winner-Take-All prize of $2,000,000... Clonie Gowen Cycalona Gowen is an American professional poker player, based in Dallas, Texas.-Early life:Gowen was born in Florida, and grew up in Kiowa, Oklahoma. She won Miss Teen McAlester, Oklahoma, at age 15, and as a teenager moved to Corsicana, Texas... |
| Tournament 6 | "Rock & Roll" Darrell Arnold | Gary "Debo" DeBernardi |
Kevin Blackwood Kevin Blackwood is a professional blackjack player, card counter and gambling author. He is best known for his novel, The Counter, and his instructional book, Play Blackjack Like the Pros.... Artie Cobb Artie Cobb is an American professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Originally from New York, Cobb began playing poker there and moved to Las Vegas in 1976.- Poker career :... |
| Tournament 7 | "Hollywood" Dave Stann | Erica Schoenberg |
Freddy Deeb Kassem Ibrahim "Freddy" Deeb is a professional poker player who emigrated from Lebanon to the United States at the age of 19.-Before poker:... |
| Season 1 Championship | David Matthews | Adrianna Jade |
|
| "UBT Legends Tournament" | Ken Einiger | Anthony Curtis |
Mike Aponte Mike Aponte also known as MIT Mike is a professional blackjack player and a former member of the MIT Blackjack Team. Aponte was one of the leaders of a team of MIT students that legally won millions at blackjack tables around the world by counting cards. He is one of the main characters, "Jason... Stanford Wong Stanford Wong is the pen name of John Ferguson, a gambling author who is best known for his book Professional Blackjack, which was first published in 1975 and is still in print. Wong's computer program "Blackjack Analyzer", initially created for personal use, was one of the first pieces of... |
1 Not a qualifier tournament for the Season 1 Championship table
Tournament results
| Tournament | Winner | Runner-Up | Other Players in Finish Order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament 1 | Cosimo Tripodl | James Nguyen |
|
| Tournament 2 | Erlinda Sotto | Brian Soper |
|
| Tournament 3 | Blair Rodman | Anthony Curtis |
Antonio Esfandiari Antonio Esfandiari is a professional poker player, known for his elaborate chip tricks.-Early life:When he was 9 years old his family moved to San Jose, California... |
| Tournament 4 | "Hollywood" Dave Stann | Annie Duke Annie Duke Annie Duke is a professional poker player and author who won a bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Event and was the winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she earned the Winner-Take-All prize of $2,000,000... |
|
| Tournament 5 | Adriana Jade | Ken Eineger |
Barry Shulman Barry Shulman is an American poker player who has enjoyed success in competitive poker tournaments over the past 15 years, and is the CEO of CardPlayer Magazine.-Life and career:... |
| Tournament 6 | James Grosjean | Robert Williamson III |
|
| "All-Stars Tournament" | Phil Hellmuth | René Angélil |
|