Mikeaber
Well-Known Member
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.
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.
