Tournament BJ

Mikeaber

Well-Known Member
#1
There is an interesting "Question of the Day" to be answered tomorrow on the Las Vegas Advisor forum. In essence, it is a question from a person who was watching World Series of BJ. They couldn't understand why strategy deviated so much from standard Basic Strategy, especially toward the end of the tournament round.

It should be interesting to see how "in a nut shell" this question is fielded <grin>. Even among the experienced players, strategy is not cut and dried...especially when it comes to the amount to bet!

Folks, if you haven't watched tournament Blackjack, you should! It's a whole nuther world! There is a sister forum to this one that is devoted to tournament Blackjack and the information there is just mind boggling!

I've played in only one Blackjack tournament and you pretty much toss everything you know as a cash player <LOL> Not really, but it sure is different!

It was a "free" tournament. There were three days to qualifying. You are given $500 in chips I believe. Minimum bet was $25 and maximum was $250 up until the final hand and at that point, it was unlimited I believe.

The hard part of this tournament however was that to qualify, you had to be in the top 23 in winnings for one round for all qualifying rounds. At the time I attempted to qualify, the 23rd position was sitting on $3,100 in chips.

In my strategy, I was thinking that I had to have at least $1,800 in chips going into the final hand and then go all-in to get enough to qualify in the top 23. Obviously, I couldn't "slow play" and wait till the end to make my move! I believe I bet the max on the first hand and won. Then lost a double down on the second or third hand that cleaned me out <LOL>

I reentered for another round and basically, kept the same strategy. I bet the max a couple of times in the beginning and was well toward my goal of accumulating that $1,800 I thought I would need. I lasted this time to the 18th hand.....only 3 hands from the final if I won. However, my stack had dwindled and I busted out on the 18th.

This format is not the same as WSOBJ in which qualification is by table. The winner and in some cases the 1st and 2nd place at each table progress to the next round. That format is much more interesting and demanding of skills than was the "free" tournament.
 

KenSmith

Administrator
Staff member
#2
2006 is going to a banner year for blackjack tournaments.
Next week in Vegas, a series of shows called Ultimate Blackjack Tour is being filmed, and once it hits the air in 2006 there will be events open to everyone for the second year of the series.

GSN is currently planning their WSOB shows for 2006, and it appears that there will be satellite events to earn entry into it around the country.

As well, I hear that a new $2 Million prizepool event similar to the Las Vegas Hilton events of years past will begin in January. Details forthcoming.

It's going to be a great year to be a tourney player. Get out there and get some practice!

If you're looking for a place to practice online, (Dead link: http://bh3.net/l.php/715) _Global Player_ is the only game in town at the moment, with real-time multi-player tournaments available whenever you want. I play there as 'Ken21'.
 

Mikeaber

Well-Known Member
#3
I do look forward to the 2006 season Ken. I usually pick one player and try to second guess their bets during the round. That's definitely not the same as sitting at the table. No pressure and the subtitles continually show you what each player has in chip count. In real tournament play, you have to know what each player has in front of them at all times pretty much for that dictates what you are going to bet.
 

Joep

Active Member
#4
Banner Year

If 2006 is not a "Banner Year" for Blackjack Tournaments than I give up.There is at least three major TV blackjack tournaments scheduled for 2006 in addition to the new 2 Million Dollar Tournament. along with 4 live money tournaments that will piggy-back the 2 Million Dollar tournament.All of these events require no casino rated play or jumping through hoops for your caino host to put you in to the latest casino invite tournament.All of the upcoming major tournaments require only a paid entry fee or winning your seat on line in a blackjack tournament with entry fee starting as low as $3 dollars.
 

Mikeaber

Well-Known Member
#5
Hard for me to believe, Joe, how popular the game has gotten. I really never thought there would be that much TV exposure! For two years, there have really only been two options...WSOBJ and the show Hollywood deals, "Celebrity BJ"....hey, I saw that he has a book coming out next year!

Anyway, in 2006, my wife will have to watch the damned Reality Shows in some other room!!!
 
#6
Tounament BJ Strategy

I have been invited to my first ever BJ tournament and have been practicing BS and card counting daily. How can I learn tournament strategies for playing and betting? How do they differ from basic strategy in regular (casino) play? Thanks,
Cliph
 
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