Any Tournament Strategy Input?

Okay, I checked out the weekly tournament at an area casino. It's a "battle of the sexes" format w/ men's bracket and women's bracket with top 3 men and top 3 women going to final table. I asked several regulars what bankroll (BR) is needed to advance to final, answer was $800 to $1000 (starting at $500). Trick is that it's only 15 hands.

I've been reading Wong's book on tournaments but am uncertain about what bet sizing strategy to use. Initial BR is $500. Bets are $5 to $500 (with no limit on final hand). 15 hands. Goal BR is $1000.

Going into the tournament blind, I did min bets until the end when I switched to 1/7, 1/3 and all-in progression (but busted out).

To double my BR in 15 hands, does anyone have suggestions for better bet sizing strategy?

Thanks for any help!

Click on "Home" at the top of this page.

Click on "Links".

You will find three columns of links in the middle of the page. Scroll down, and you will find three links about tournaments at the bottom of the left column.

1) Thanks for the reply.

2) Only one of those three links is valid for my question. I've already been to the 1st. The 2nd is only for playing online. And the 3rd is a dead link.

There are a few tournament players here but Blackjacktournaments.com is your best bet. It is run by Ken Smith, an excellent blackjack tournament player, and you will more than likely find the answer to your question there. Ask on the forums on that site if the answer hasn't been posted already. BJ21 is geared to cash game players. There is very little in common between the strategy of casino blackjack and tournament blackjack.

Cherokee, right?

15 hands is a luck fest .. good luck. :)

I played a tournament there about a year ago and it was 6D hand shuffled and cut about 75%. At that rate they are gonna shuffle probably after hand #12. That leaves 3 hands after the shuffle.

I know most think it is of limited value, and it is, but I count during the early rounds -especially in a luck fest. In the late hands of the first shoe you'll have some information as to if it might be a good time to make a move. I'd also try and segment track a little so after the shuffle you might have a better idea of what is coming at you on hands 13, 14, and 15. Adjust your play accordingly.

Start out very slowly .. there is always at least one guy, maybe more, that will bust out mid-way.

Generally early on I bet the minimum, watch the others, and try to bet the count and the players (which generally turns out to be the minimum.) My last time there I bet the minimum as was most everyone else and we were all experiencing about the same luck. I decided to go all in on hand #12, last one of the shoe. The TC was plus 2/3. Better now, than never! I was second to last to bet, the guy after me bet small also and I doubled up on everyone. Lucky me. But if the count would have been negative, I would have watched the shuffle, estimated what was getting ready to come out, hope it was favorable to what I needed, then make a determination on the last three hands on what I should do.

Good luck but see it for what it is .. a lucky shot to win. With a little game plan you might get a little luckier than the others.

Actually, Million Dollar Elm in Sand Springs, but same diff.

Thanks for the input, I feel better about how I played it. Only 16 guys signed up, so small tables... we actually went the full shoe w/out reshuffle, so count was very useful for the last few hands. Luck with added value from counting, I figure to hit the final table about 25% of the time. Over time, I should win double my entry fees.

By the way, MDE in Sand Springs has no ante on Sun, Mon and Weds (house pays ante for the player). A couple other casinos are doing same at various times/days. Depending on penetration, can actually find a decent game in OK. Unfortunately Creek has started 6:5 tables; it's just sad watching ploppies play on those.

> Unfortunately Creek has started 6:5 tables; it's just sad watching ploppies play on those.

6:5, and most of those ploppies are paying upwards of 10% per hand just to get dealt one. How pathetic.

What kind of penetration are they giving the 6:5? Is it dealt during the off-rake hours?

Does MDE use CSM, ASM, or shuffle?

> A couple other casinos are doing same at various times/days.

I've noticed that .. Firelake in Shawnee is doing that between 2AM and 10AM. It's a start! Maybe the ploppies will lose enough on the 6:5 SD to fund a non-rake in all the other games.

> .. only 16 guys signed up .. we actually went the full shoe w/out reshuffle .. so count was very useful for the last few hands.

Good. Don't forget it is a tourney. You can't let the count override bets you need to make. When it's time to move it's time to move and you may have no choice.

> Depending on penetration, can actually find a decent game in OK.

About time, no?

Good luck and take care.

If anyone is interested:

http://www.blackjacktournaments.com/bb/showthread.php?t=3486

> Creek: What kind of penetration are they giving the 6:5? Is it dealt during the off-rake hours?

Hate to admit that I didn't even spend the time to check the 6:5 penetration. The table with real 3:2 double deck was 70-75%.

> Does MDE use CSM, ASM, or shuffle?

6-deck ASM at MDE-Sand Springs. It's a small casino. Dealers and pit both seemed more pre-occupied watching for dealer errors. Rule variations I know of are S18 and RSA. No-mid shoe entry seems to vary (probably based on table limit, but hard to be sure based on two visits).

> Good. Don't forget it is a tourney. You can't let the count override bets you need to make. When it's time to move it's time to move and you may have no choice.

This weekend was my first time to try new strategy. The good news is that when the time came, I knew the bad count was good for hitting my stiff hand (but in sterotypical form, it was good for the dealer too).