Elimination Blackjack question

[Skipbidder]

Last hand, heads up.
UB Elimination Blackjack.
Both spots pay, but first obviously plays more.

Villian has the button.
He's got 108,500
I've got 107,000
Max bet is 25,000.
We both have our secret bets left.
He's been playing quite well.

1) What's my bet?















2) He has hard 16, I have hard 13, dealer has an ace. Insurance?

























3) How do I play the hand? (Surrender is allowed)

[grando]

1. you have to play the guessing game - he thinks that he has to bet $1 more than is possible for you to bet, so he'll be betting the max - or near it

I'd bet like 2,000 to cover garbage 500 bets, just in case

2. no

3. hit, as it adds a little deception to your bet amount

[Skipbidder]

To clarify,
we both have our secret cards yet, so I won't be able to see his bet or his actions.
He has the button, which in this case means he'll be acting first (not that this means anything with the secret action cards).

[Toonces]

The key to question 1 is to not be predictible. If his bet is within $1500 of your bet, your odds of winning go down dramatically. I would avoid max bets, min bets and 1/2 stack bets. Perhaps bet an unusual number of chips.

2. I don't see the value of insurance here, given that both bets are in the dark.

3. You said he had the button. What did he do? The standard play for him given that he is first is to surrender or stay. If he hits 16, I would assume he bet $1000, and I would assume I need to win to advance. The "must win" strategy here is to hit to 14. If he does anything else, I probably just do the standard thing and hit to 17.