I've been studying Stanford Wong's 'Casino Tournament Strategy' in preparation for an upcoming Blackjack Tournament.
There's a section under 'Betting with Ten Hands to Go' on page 41. It saids 'If you are BR* and bet first, make it difficult for your opponents to bet contrary to you. Bet an amount just slightly smaller than your lead. If the maximum bet is small in relation to your bankroll and you bet first, bet half the maximum".
Does this mean you should bet the smaller of these two amounts or does it mean if the maximum bet is small in relation to your bankroll and you are BR* and you bet first, bet half the maximum even if this would be more than your lead. Let's say your lead is $2500 to $2315 with a max bet of $500. Your are BR* and your bet first, if you bet slightly less than your lead, you would bet $180. In this case, the max bet of $500 is small compared to your bankroll, so should you bet slightly less than your lead, meaning you should bet $180 or would you bet half the maximum, meaning you should bet $250?
The way I read this paragraph, if I were BR* and bet first, and if the maximum bet is small in relation to my bankroll, I would bet half the maximum even if this means I would bet more than my lead. Am I reading this correctly?