Most likely a soft 20

Most commonly I see people stay on a hand like A 5 6 because it appears to look like 21.

I had to hit a hard 20 once. Hard to believe the miracle story but I pulled the Ace. Why would I do that? you may ask. I was on the last hand of a tournament and the guy who was in the lead of me bet the same thing I bet so if we got the same result he would have maintained his lead. He got dealt a 20 and I got dealt 14. Dealer has a 4 showing. Well I had to get 21, only way for me to have a chance, I hit got a 6 making 20, and the dealer was about to pass me when I motioned for another hit. Here came the Ace. Dealer flips over a 7 making 11 and pulls 21. So I got a Push and the other guy lost giving me the win for the round. Unfortuneatly it was only the Quarterfinal, and I didn't make it to the final table. :(

I was in vegas this summer playing at the grand. Two kids from Japan walk up to the table, hardly able to say more than hit, stick and double. They play a few hands at $100 per bet, and suddenly they get a pair of 10's with the dealer showing a 6. One of the kids says "double". Dealer says "you don't really mean that right"? They confer in Japanese, then the kid again says "double". After a couple more attempts, the dealer calls the pit boss over and he also tries to talk them out of it. After a 5 min delay in the game, the kids agree to stand. Next player takes a hit. Guess what card? Ace. Dealer calls pit boss back over and he comps them a meal at any restaurant of their choice. :)

goes to show that strange things happen in casinos. A dealer could probably write a good book here and there... :)

I played in a tournament last night. I was the chip leader all the way through. Could do no wrong. My timing was perfect. Doubling down on 12 to pull 21, splitting tens for two 21's etc.

Came down to the final hand. I had both the high and the low, absolutly no reason for me to loose. The only way I could loose was if one of them (there were two players within striking distance) got a double down on their max bet and I lost... or so I thought.

First player busted. I got so excited about my 10 (pair of 5's) against the dealers 6 that I pushed out a double down. Unfortunantly, the other guy hadn't finished playing his hand yet (I jumped the gun) so seeing that I had, he didn't. Dealer pulls a 5 card 21 to beat us both and he went on to the final table. : (

Boy do/did I feel like a bone-head.

The only thing that eased my pain was my luck moved with me to the regular tables and I trippled my session bankroll.