Tournament Baccarat: To Last Ten Hands

Casino games tournaments are fun, and they can be profitable too. In upcoming articles, we will continue to publish a series of excerpts from Stanford Wong’s book, Casino Tournament Strategy.

If the Maximum Bet is Low

If the max is low compared to your bankroll, get the BR* position early; if you are knocked out of the BR* spot, immediately try to regain it.

If the Maximum is High

If the max bet is high in relation to your bankroll, you have the luxury of waiting until the last five or ten hands to become BR*. If you are BR*, stick with optimal proportional betting. An exception is in a two-person game when you can match your opponent’s bet. Another exception is a no-commission game with only one winner; you can be fairly confident that your initial bankroll will will not hold up as BR1, so you might make slightly larger bets.

If you are not BR*, bet for a swing if you know your present bankroll will be inadequate or if a good opportunity presents itself. An example of when you know your present bankroll will be inadequate is when there will be but one winner per table. In that case it is best to bet aggressively at the start.

A good opportunity is what Blair Rodman had with about two dozen hands to go in the final round of a Las Vegas no-limit tournament. Rodman had been making minimum bets; his $25,000 bankroll was virtually unchanged from what he started with. Several players were ahead of him. The two leaders, with $75,000 and $70,000, were betting wildly. Then BR2 bet $20,000 on bank, and BR1 followed with a bet of $25,000 also on bank. Rodman could have bet small, and he would have had a 44.6% chance of having half as much as the leaders, and a 45.9% chance of having one fourth as much as the leaders. Instead, he went all in on player. That gave him a 44.6% chance of being virtually tied for the lead with two other players and a 45.9% chance of busting out. His probability of winning the tournament was considerably higher by going all-in when he did.

Betting Strategy: Ten Hands To Last Hand

You want to be BR* or better going into the last hand. If there are many contestants and few advancing to the next round, your opponents probably will be betting aggressively and you can feel confident that your initial bankroll will not hold up as BR*. Bet aggressively yourself, starting about five hands from the end.

If there is no secret bet, figure out your last-hand betting position. If you will be betting early on the last hand, you must be more solid going into that last hand than if you will be betting late.

If You Are BR* or Better

If you bet first, bet small on bank (meaning 1.4% or less of your bankroll if no commission, and the minimum if the casino takes a commission). If you bet after the people vying for the BR* spot, bet with the flow in a conservative manner.

If You Are Not BR*

If you do not have the bankroll position you want, and if you do not have to bet ahead of all the people you are trying to catch, make a bet that will give you a chance to catch up. It is best to bet bank, but if the people you are trying to catch have already bet bank, then bet on player.

This article is part of a series, to be continued…

Excerpted with permission from Casino Tournament Strategy by Stanford Wong, edited for this format.