tournament blackjack

[sagefr0g]

looks like pretty soon (too soon to read Ken's book) i'm gonna play in a blackjack tournament.
howsa bout a nice quick and dirty general sort of run down on how to go about it.

[mrbill]

Probably best to ask on the sister blackjacktournaments.com web site.

Couple questions you'll need answer to before you'll get an answer

1. What Type of tournament is it, Elimination, Accumulation or a combination.
2. What is your starting bankroll and betting limits
3. How many hands
4. How many rounds

Elimination usually means the top 1 or 2 at each table move on to the next round. 2 is better.

Accumulation means the top x bankrolls move on. There are formulas to calculate the target bankroll as a guide.

A combination will usually be Accumulation in the early rounds and Elimination in the later rounds.

[jack,jackson]

The best place to play tourney blackjack is at http://bet21.com/

Im pickle juice and I challenge anyone to some tournament blackjack, except for Ken Smith That means you MR. frog

[KenSmith]

One very simple idea that will give you a good shot:

If it is an elimination style event (competing against only your table), then bet minimum for most of the round. Late in the round, hopefully you can use one big bet to pass the leaders. After that, match their bets.

If it is an accumulation style event (competing against all chip totals), bet the max from the first hand. Switch to minimum bets when you feel your total is enough to win, or you bust out trying.

As Jack Jackson says, we talk about this stuff endlessly over at www.BlackjackTournaments.com
You can find plenty of threads about general advice.

[Mr. T]

Having played in a few tournaments and getting into the final in the last tournament I would second Ken's advice here.
You want to use your big guns (bets) for the last few rounds and only if you need to catch up with leader.
Your make or break last bet is usually the mark of a good tournament player.

[sagefr0g]

Originally Posted by KenSmith

One very simple idea that will give you a good shot:

If it is an elimination style event (competing against only your table), then bet minimum for most of the round. Late in the round, hopefully you can use one big bet to pass the leaders. After that, match their bets.

If it is an accumulation style event (competing against all chip totals), bet the max from the first hand. Switch to minimum bets when you feel your total is enough to win, or you bust out trying.

As Jack Jackson says, we talk about this stuff endlessly over at www.BlackjackTournaments.com
You can find plenty of threads about general advice.

by bet the max from the first hand for an accumulation style event does that mean the table max?
oh and what if you lose that bet, still try again with a max bet?
oh and don't even try and wait to see if you get a countwise favorable situation, just bet the max on the first hand?

[KenSmith]

Originally Posted by sagefr0g

by bet the max from the first hand for an accumulation style event does that mean the table max?
oh and what if you lose that bet, still try again with a max bet?
oh and don't even try and wait to see if you get a countwise favorable situation, just bet the max on the first hand?

Yes, max bet from the first hand. If you lose it (and have any chips left!) then make a max bet again.

Why not wait for a good count? Even the very slight chance that you'll win/lose/win/lose all round long make any wasted hands at the beginning more costly than waiting for a good count. Really. I've run tons of sims on this. If you are targeting a goal of multiple max bets won, you are better off firing away starting at hand one than waiting for a good count.

Reminder: This ONLY applies to accumulation style events.

[creeping panther]

Wise One,

The tourney is a 3 rounder, the first 2 rounds take 2 off each table with one spot going to high chip count of the losers. BJ pays 2to 1, 4 deck or 2 deck, max bet $500, doa,das, es against ace, no surrender, no insurance.

CP

[sagefr0g]

Originally Posted by creeping panther

Wise One,

The tourney is a 3 rounder, the first 2 rounds take 2 off each table with one spot going to high chip count of the losers. BJ pays 2to 1, 4 deck or 2 deck, max bet $500, doa,das, es against ace, no surrender, no insurance.

CP

thank you stealthy one, lol.
so i guess Ken would call this an elimination style tourney?

[KenSmith]

Yes, this is an accumulation style event. Therefore, my advice of making minimum bets for much of the round is appropriate. That's true even though blackjacks pay 2:1 making the game a positive return for all players.

Why not bet more aggressively early in the round since you have an edge? The value of big bets is asymmetrical. If you lose your big bets, the damage is severe. If you win the big bets that's good but not to the same degree.

Consider the simplest example... Say you go all-in early in the round. If you lose the bet, you're out of the tournament. If you win the bet, you have improved your position but you aren't guaranteed to win the round because your opponents still have time to catch you.

Waiting until later in the round to make your catch-up bets is more valuable for that reason. The key is to wait, but not too long. As long as you are only one bet away from the leaders you can be very patient. if they stretch to a multiple bet lead you'll need to make a decision about when to move.