Strategies and tools use to beat blackjack tournaments with 10 rounds.

[seriousplayer]

Some casinos been offering free blackjack tournament. How it work is we play ten rounds and the person with the highest score will be selected at the end of the tournament as the winner. $2000 in chips will be given. Blackjack tournaments are most about the short run rather than long run. With only 10 rounds luck will play a very important role in these tournaments and not that much could happen in 10 hands. Card counting don't seem to have to much of an effect on short tournaments like these. There will be no seat selections in the tournament.

Are there way to reduce the luck factor in blackjack tournaments so we could use our skill rather than luck? Where can I learn strategies and tools to beat these tournaments.

[Jabberwocky]

That format is a roll of the dice.

[Norm]

Card counting is generally useless in much longer tournys. Completely useless in short tournys. I started writing a long post and killed it as there is so much to talk about. You can try Ken Smith's site at: https://www.blackjacktournaments.com/. If you don't get an answer there, we can invite Ken to answer it here.

[code red]

All I can say is go all in on a high count.

[Three]

You are not playing against the dealer. The count isn't a big advantage. Your bet needs to be sized to get the job done. Some of the time your plays must be tailored to play for the swing with another player but not so much in this format. Most of these style tournaments are heads up. No shuffling between opponents. You don't know which dealer you will get. The shoe's count isn't going to do much in 10 hands (about 1 deck of pen) even if lots of low cards come out. Counting works in the long run. This is a very short run.

[Gronbog]

Are there way to reduce the luck factor in blackjack tournaments so we could use our skill rather than luck? Where can I learn strategies and tools to beat these tournaments.

It appears to me that this is the format where they run the tournament over some period of time and the best score from all participants is the winner. If so, then the following applies. If not (i.e. it's best score at your table), then Norm is right, there is far too much to talk about for one post and Ken Smith's site is your best resource.

By far, the most important factor in this format is in determining the proper goal. Sometimes the top scores are posted, making this easy. Otherwise:

• If this is a regular event, talk to the regulars who are usually more than willing to tell you what the typical scores are.
• Tournament officials and dealers are also usually very helpful in this regard.
• The more clueless you make yourself out to be, the more people will be willing to help you.
• Try to play near the end of the tournament so that your information is more likely to stand up. If you can play the last table, then it is almost guaranteed that someone who is playing or watching will know what the top score is.

Once you know what your goal is, the optimal strategy is to make max bets (all-in if no max) from the start until you either make it or bust out. Once you reach the goal, bet minimum. Variance is your friend here. You will still need some luck to make your goal, but you will have an advantage over those who do not play this way which, depending on the experience of your competition, could be a large percentage of the field. The more established the event, the more likely that others will be playing this way. In newer events, most will play on the conservative side, making the final goal lower and easier to reach with the strategy above. In all cases, at least 25% of the field will bet small enough that they have no chance of winning.

If there is no maximum or if you have less than a max bet remaining, then you are better off going all-in than saving your chips for a second chance or for doubliing/splitting.

End game:

• If you start to run out of hands and are more than 2 max bets from your goal, then start to double and split aggressively.
• With 2 hands remaining and more than a max bet from the goal, you are more likely to win 2 max bets by doubling or splitting almost anything than by winning 2 hands in a row. There is a chapter on this in Ken Smith's ebook (How to Win Even More Blackjack Tournaments) outlining which hands to double/split.
• On the final hand, if you have not reached the goal, bet max (all-in if no max).
• On the final hand, If you need to win 2 max bets to reach the goal, then double/split anything (even hard 19). While not entirely optimal you will do well to split any pair except 44, 55, and AA which you are better off doubling. Once you have split, do not split again, do not double and do not bust.
• On the final hand, if you need to win more than 2 max bets, you're in a tight spot, but the priority is to get the money on the table. You will need an initial split, so split anything. If you can split again, then do so (a pair of 10s never looked so good!). If not then you will have to make doubles to get the money down. Once you have enough money on the table, do not resplit, double or bust.

And finally -- forget counting. The winner will be someone with a very high score who made it by betting big from the start.

[seriousplayer]

Thank you for the reply. My goal is to score $200,000 in chips given $2000 chips to start with. I was thinking if I go all in I don't have money to double and split if need be. If I am unlucky and I bust out in the first hand than I will need to come back next week.

Would it be a good strategy if I bet 25% of the $2000 given to me at the first hand to allow for double downs and splits or would it lower my chances of winning by doing this?

[metronome]

Is this format dealt from a six deck shoe?

[Three]

Would it be a good strategy if I bet 25% of the $2000 given to me at the first hand to allow for double downs and splits or would it lower my chances of winning by doing this?

What sense does reserving money to double make. Splitting often pushes the round. If you already have your money out you are better off than if you doubled. What if you are better off drawing another card rather than standing after the double? Your goal is to win enough rounds from the start in a row to hit your goal within 10 hands (or whatever the number of hands you are going to play). Withholding money makes reaching the goal less likely.

[seriousplayer]

Is this format dealt from a six deck shoe?

yes

[Gronbog]

Thank you for the reply. My goal is to score $200,000 in chips given $2000 chips to start with. I was thinking if I go all in I don't have money to double and split if need be. If I am unlucky and I bust out in the first hand than I will need to come back next week.

Would it be a good strategy if I bet 25% of the $2000 given to me at the first hand to allow for double downs and splits or would it lower my chances of winning by doing this?

As I pointed out in my post and as Tthree has re-iterated, saving your chips for possible doubles/splits or for a second chance will hurt you. Starting from 25% of your 2000, or 500, you would have to win 9 all-in bets in a row to reach $200,000. Starting with an all-in bet of $2000, you would have to win 7 hands in a row. Betting less than max will therefore lower your chances. You want to reach the goal in as few hands as possible.

Did you perhaps mean $20,000, which seems like a more reasonable goal for an event like this? If the field is inexperienced, $10,000 might even suffice. Don't just guess at the goal. Getting it right is the most important factor. Do your research as I suggested in my first post. If this is a weekly event, keep your own records of the winning scores. Even so, the same principle applies. Get there with max bets using as few hands as possible.

It makes no difference whether you bust out on the first hand, or a later hand or simply don't make the goal, the result is the same -- you lose. Maximizing your chance of success is all that matters. The degree of failure is irrelevant.

Make no mistake -- winning any tournament is a long shot. But if you play this format in this way, you'll have a sizeable edge over those who do not.

[bigplayer]

Bet 1/3 to 1/2 of your stack on every round until around the 7th round, then either bet small or begin betting 1/2 to all of your stack until you're either the winner or busted out.

[Gronbog]

I have to disagree. By limiting your bet, all you do is increase the number of hands you need to win in order to hit whatever the winning threshold turns out to be.