Before I knew of a Zengrifter there was the Zen Master
Or, remembering a hand where the bad player was my hero
Many years ago I was playing a shoe game on the strip, sitting at first base, high count, max bet and two other players on the table. I get a pair 9's, one other player has a pat hand and an elderly man who spoke no English and used a Japaneese passport to get a players card was at 3rd base with a 4,2.
The dealer had a 5 showing.
I split 9's to 4 hands, get a 2 on two of those hands and double. Result; I have 6 max bets on the table and no total above a 15. The elderly gent, known to me now as the Zen Master looks straight at me and signals to stay on 4,2. The dealer and the pit are trying to explain to him that he can not bust and that he should at least take one card. Me, I am starring at the ceiling hoping for or praying for a dealer bust. The Zen Master stays, the dealer hits and busts and I win 6 max bets and the Zen Master looks at me and gives me a smile and a slight bow. As the cards come out on the next hand, I quickly do see that had the Zen Master played basic strategy, the dealer would have made a hand. Not only that, the play of the Zen Master somehow corrected the Mystical Flow of the cards as suddenly all the big cards began coming out and the dealer busted 4 of the last 5 hands of the shoe, while the players were getting naturals and 20's.
Unfortunately for the Zen Master his unique playing style only seemed to help me as he landed up losing quite a bit, but the legend of the Zen Master is a story that I sometimes tell folks who only remember the times bad players hurt them.
ihate17