WINNER: Rock 'n' Roll Darrell

This raging metalhead rocked his cards and rolled over the competition.

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PLAYERS:

The players are Previn Mankodi, Artie Cobb, “Rock ‘n’ Roll” Darrell Arnold, Gary “Debo” DeBernardi, “Miami” John Cernuto, Kevin Blackwood, and Sean Rice.

The table is evenly split between blackjack and poker players, with Mankodi, Arnold, and Blackwood on the blackjack side and Cobb, DeBernardi, and Cernuto from poker. Kevin Blackwood is the author of the book Play Blackjack Like the Pros, but the blackjack-tournament standouts in this field are R ‘n’ R Darrell and Artie Cobb. In fact, Cobb is considered one of the best crossover players, having notched major-championship wins in both poker and blackjack tournaments. This is the second UBT-final appearance for both Miami John and Debo. The Internet qualifier is Shawn Rice.

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ELIMINATION:

Hand 8: Previn Mankodi finds himself in the unenviable spot of being near last in chips and betting first. His bet is a classic Elimination Blackjack play (see “Strategy Notes”), but he loses the hand and is first to be eliminated.

Hand 11: Crippled by a big loss on hand 8, Shawn Rice loses a third of his remaining bankroll on hand 10, then the remainder on 11. His early elimination continues the streak of low finishes (except for Spencer Mohler) for the Internet qualifiers.

Hand 16: It’s low man out on hand 16, as good betting leaves Artie Cobb needing a 4 or 5 to win, which he doesn’t get.

Hand 19: By hand 19, Kevin Blackwood is the low man. Though he still has chips and time before the next EH on hand 25, he elects not to wait and makes a big all-in bet for the lead. The dealer tops his 18 with a 19 and he’s gone.

Hand 23: Miami John is more than a max bet behind the leaders and properly goes all in, but he loses and the field is cut to two.

Last Hand
With Miami John going out on 23, the finalists have only two hands before the showdown. On hand 25, both have chips, but Rock ‘n’ Roll Darrell has a big advantage being in first place and betting after Debo, who has already used his secret bet. Debo fires the max and Rock ‘n’ Roll follows. The hand is complicated (see “Strategy Notes”) and Debo has a chance on the turn of the last card, needing a 4 or 5 to win. But the miracle doesn’t come, and it’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Darrell who wins his first UBT championship.

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SEASON ONE RECAP:
Episode 1: The final table is a powerhouse, featuring great play, a classic good-versus-evil scenario...

Episode 2: This is an emotion-packed contest, with tempers flaring (between Matthews and Pine) in later rounds...

Episode 3: If anything, this episode demonstrates that you're not out till you're out. Tyrone Jackson is down to just $15,000 on hand 9...

Episode 4: This is a strategy-packed match that provides plenty of fodder, as you'll see, for Strategy Notes...

Episode 5: The match is a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, featuring a couple of excellent strategic plays and the first playoff of the UBT series...

Episode 6: It's a shootout. At hand 25, the three remaining players—Monica, Jennifer, and Angie—have nearly $1 million among them...

Episode 7: As has been the case earlier in this season, the repeat players, Gary Debernardi and John Cernuto, fair much better the second time around...

Episode 8: Dave gets battered mid-match and has to climb back from a significant deficit to get to heads-up play with Erica Schoenberg...

Episode 9: All of the players obviously have tournament chops. Ken Smith is the consensus favorite, but David Matthews, Adriana Jade, and Hollywood Dave are all considered prominent...

Episode 10: With huge bragging rights on the line (not to mention the prize money), the players are dialed in for this one and there are loads of high-end...

SEASON TWO RECAP:
Episode 1: This wasn't a timid table, but the eliminations came slowly and there were three players all the way to the 30th hand...

Episode 2: As it often does, it came down to cards in the end—but rather than it being about who got them, it was more about who didn't...

Episode 3: With two seasoned blackjack-tournament pros (Anthony and Blair) and one poker-tournament superstar...

Episode 4: This match will go down as one of the strangest and best in UBT history...

Episode 5: The blackjack players excelled on this day, with Ken Einiger and Adriana Jade steadily pulling away from the field...

Episode 6: Chips flew early in this match and three players, including Ken Smith, were already gone by the end of hand 8...

Episode 7: The final table of the UBT's first Poker vs. Blackjack Superstar Showdown features an interesting mix of poker and blackjack luminaries...

Episode 8: The three "favorites" mentioned above go out before the third Elimination Hand and the All-Stars contest comes down to the unlikely trio...