Las Vegas - Blackjack Tournaments

I'm thinking of playing in some blackjack tournaments.

Any experience, tips, etc., with these?

d

I heard a story about a person who was playing in a tournament and down to the last hand and was in need of a big payout to win. She (I think it was a she) was dealt a natural 21 but refused the 3:2 payout and told the dealer to treat it as an 11 and doubled down!

Yes, the strategy for tournament play is different than normal BJ play. Craps and Blackjack tourneys are a great way to win big $$$ for little investment,

Yes, but I don't need any more competition. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

QL

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by QuietLion:
Yes, but I don't need any more competition. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

QL</font>

I accept your challenge.

d

Get this book :
"Casino Tournament Strategy" - by Stanford Wong

http://bj21.com/ads/cts1.html

hockeystl


[This message has been edited by hockeystl (edited 05-15-2003).]

Don't have a specific answer to your questions but can recommend a web site
www.lvol.com (http://www.lvol.com)
those people are nuts about Vegas and can either help or know where to go for it

Doppy,

One thing you'll learn from the tournaments is that your betting strategy is as important as your blackjack playing ability. The size of your bets per hand will make a large difference in your outcome. My suggestion (works for me) is to bet conservatively at first, and "go for it all" at the the last couple of hands, if you've made it that far. Be aware of your competitors stacks of chips, as that also may have to determine your bets.

bj-21.

Does anybody here (try to) count cards...?

Gaucho,

Not a good idea for several reasons. The most obvious, is that if you're caught counting cards, the casino will escort you off their premises, and ban you from playing there again.
Secondly, it's difficult to count cards when you are playing at a table with a six or eight deck shoe (not impossible, I've heard, just very difficult). Most card counters prefer to play at single or double deck games, but the casinos know this, and tend to watch more carefully.
I just try to play good "basic blackjack", knowing when to split, double, and increase my bets. It helps, of course, if the right cards come at the right times.

bj-21.

Counting cards is only marginally more difficult than counting a single or double deck game. The reason counters stay away from shoe games is because the more decks in the shoe, the higher the house edge.

If you're trying to grind out money with the small advantage that counting gives you, you want to play on the games with the most favorable house edge from the outset.

d

"Not a good idea for several reasons. The most obvious, is that if you're caught counting cards, the casino will escort you off their premises, and ban you from playing there again.
Secondly, it's difficult to count cards when you are playing at a table with a six or eight deck shoe (not impossible, I've heard, just very difficult)."

The casinos do not always escort you from the property. More than once, I have had a pitboss simply push my bet from the betting circle and inform me that I am welcome to play any game in the casino BUT blackjack. Their demeanor has ranged from polite to downright nasty. It all depends.

As far as SD/DD vs. 6D, the rules/penetration of the SD/DD games in LV are simply not conducive to playing a winning game. Sure, there are a few games in town that are beatable - but the proliferation of the 6:5 BJ crap on SD games has killed SD in most stores. Only downtown can a decent SD game be had.

In general the conditions of games throughout LV have deteriorated to the point where it really is tough to justify the effort and time to grind out decent wins.

My trips to LV now revolve around advantage VP (which is also shrinking), live poker and couponomy.

hockeystl