I'm thinking about learning about tournament play. Question: Is card counting useful in tournament play or not? Thanks!
I'm not an expert on tournament BJ but what I do know is that card counting is much less important during play. What's more important is adjusting your bets according to your position in the tourney, the rules (ie structure & payout) and also what your opponents are doing.
Let's say only x number of players advance each round, based on chip count. You mat start out counting to maximize profit but the limit on time and number of rounds makes this of limited value.
If you assess that you are behind toward the end of a round and may not advance, the playing strategy changes radically.
For example, and this is not uncommon, lets say there is one hand left to be dealt this round, and you are behind in chips and will be eliminated. It is correct to double on virtually any hand you are dealt, since you will be out if you don't. Survival, not profit, is the goal.
There are some good books on the topic. I don't play them personally.
