My friend, Bruce, told me a story which happened a few weeks ago at an Oklahoma casino. Bruce was sitting at a table with a rookie who was slow in making decisions and often deviated from basic strategy. (In my book, I call players like this, “blackjackally challenged.” ) During the game, the player was dealt a five and an ace. When he hit and received another five, the player turned over his cards and exclaimed, “BLACKJACK!”
Here is another short tale of short-sided thinking: Last week at the M Resort in Las Vegas, my son and I were sitting with an elderly gentleman who was playing $50 a hand. Usually, players betting that much know what the hell they are doing. Not this gentleman. Two hands into a double-deck shoe, there had already been seven aces in play. I asked the dealer for a re-shuffle. Before the dealer or pit boss could react to my request, the old man to my left pondered, “Why do you want a shuffle?” I responded, “Because there have already been seven aces played.” The old geezer replied, “That’s good…the dealer won’t get an aces.” He obviously did not know how important aces were to us players. Instead of getting a new shuffle, my son and I quit the shoe. The old man played head’s up against the dealer. Three or four hands passed. On the next hand, the old man doubled down with a ten against the dealer’s seven. He received a four and lost $100. I asked him, “Were you expecting an ace?”
Blackjack Stories 
i was sitting next to a women last year who creid everytime she got a black jack.