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Thread: BJ tournaments

  1. #1


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    BJ tournaments

    I have rarely played tournaments but wish to do so now

    What books/articles do you recommend for playing tourneys while counting cards?

    Thanks


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  2. #2


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    I know very little about tournaments, but from what I have heard it's not even worth counting cards in them, there are too many more important things to be considering

    Might be wrong though

  3. #3


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    There’s a Stanford wong book on tournament.


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  4. #4


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    Yes, Wong's "Casino Tournament Strategy", Ken Smith's two e-books "How to Win (Even) More Blackjack Tournaments". Also lots of articles and good discussion at blackjacktournaments.com.

    I would also like to concur that counting cards is a waste of your mental resources during most tournaments.

  5. #5


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    Quote Originally Posted by Gronbog View Post

    I would also like to concur that counting cards is a waste of your mental resources during most tournaments.
    I've been playing for so long I have no alternative but to count when I see any playing cards. I even find myself doing it when watching Poker on TV. Sad.....

  6. #6


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    Quote Originally Posted by Gronbog View Post
    Yes, Wong's "Casino Tournament Strategy", Ken Smith's two e-books "How to Win (Even) More Blackjack Tournaments". Also lots of articles and good discussion at blackjacktournaments.com.

    I would also like to concur that counting cards is a waste of your mental resources during most tournaments.
    I've never played in a tournament but it's something I am interested in. It's not even worth keeping a simple RC for 16v10 and insurance decisions? I get the logic as to why it's nearly meaningless, but those decisions are responsible for so much EV in the normal game.

  7. #7
    Senior Member BigJer's Avatar
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    First, my feeling is, if you know how to do it why not count? BTW, I've won two, BJ Tournaments before at my home casino in the S.F. Bay Area.

    Anyways, yeah, it's a totally different strategy. Sometimes you might have to DD on a hard 16, since it might be your last round: knock out round. But as far as books go, I would order Stanford Wong's Casino Tournament Strategy and Ken Smith's book, that I can't remember right now. The first book you read is Wong's.

    Shoot, I forgot what else I was going to say.

    I know what it was. Take a look at these two videos on YouTube. They're about six parts each.

    Here's the first on of the UBT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXa4aFM_cAE

    The first one from the World Series of BJ. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN9KvKD0qek
    Last edited by BigJer; 10-23-2018 at 09:23 AM.
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  8. #8


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    Small increases in EV will have no effect on your results in most tournaments. You advance and win based on strong strategic betting decisions and on playing deviations based on immediate goals and needs. These betting and playing decisions never have anything to do with what the count is.

    One thing you need to wrap your head around in order to understand this is that your goal is not to win as much as possible. Your goal is to end up with more chips than your opponents. The strategy is entirely different than normal table play.

  9. #9
    Senior Member BigJer's Avatar
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    Also, forget Kenny Einiger's books. Someone mentioned to me that it's laughable.
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by ummagumma View Post
    I've been playing for so long I have no alternative but to count when I see any playing cards. I even find myself doing it when watching Poker on TV. Sad.....
    Counting is about the long run. Tournament play is about beating your opponent on particular hands. Changing your goal from beating the house to beating other players changes much of the BJ strategy. Counting doesn't help you get to your tournament goals. We all know a monster count can kill you as easy as make your day when it comes to individual opportunities. In a tournament your goal is mohave the biggest swing as compared to your opponent. If he bets big you bet small if you are trying to catch him. If you are trying to stay ahead of him you bet similar to him. The count is irrelevant. When it comes to playing hands in a tournament you often hit more aggressively because you are not playing to beat the dealer. You may need to win when your opponent loses or you may need to have the same result as your opponent. If you base anything you do on counting you are probably not playing optimally for the tournament. When you are you would play things the same whether you were counting or using optimal tournament strategy.
    Quote Originally Posted by therefinery View Post
    I get the logic as to why it's nearly meaningless, but those decisions are responsible for so much EV in the normal game.
    EV is a long run concept. Tournament play is about the results against your opponents for a couple dozen hands in most cases. For example look at the strategies in this thread:

    https://www.blackjacktournaments.com...page-131.2544/

    See post number 5 for playing strategy when you need the same outcome as your opponent. As you can see BS and making your decisions based on counting will reduce your chances of winning compared to Ken's Optimal Play for this situation.

    Remember having a billion in chips is the same as busting out if you don't make the tournament cut for the next session or the cut for getting paid.

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