Rules:
7 qualifying rounds
1 final table

8 players at each table(qualifying)
10 dollar buy in
500 dollar prize

and you can buy extra chips if you choose to

min bet: 50 cents
max bet: unlimitted

exactly 12 rounds are played

black jack pays 1:1
no surrender
dealer stands on soft 17

single shoe
6 decks
dealer cuts very shallow about half a deck

so my local casino is hosting a bj tournament, and i want to play strategically.
the other players are absolutley horrible.
lets not even talk about basic strategy they dont know basic logic
doubling on 13
not splittling 8's
just really obvious stuff that doesnt require more than 2 neurons

I have watched all the players at this casino i know everyone of them.
they are all ridiculously bad.

here is where i need help.

the tournament starts with 7 tables and the winner of each table qualifies for the finals
during the qualifying rounds there are unlimitted buy ins each costs 10 bucks
the prize money is 500 dollars, plus you get back all your buy ins.

in the finals there are no buy ins.
everyone starts with the same fixed amount.

Questions:
1. Should i just pay the 10 dollar buy in and then buy extra chips, bet the min 50 cents. wait for everyone else to loose there money and qualify?
2. Say an opponent bets randomly what are the odds they beat me based on standard deviations?
3. exactly how much money is it worth spending on buying extra chips to qualify for the finals. based on expected value of me winnign the final vs another player.
4. do i need to make modifications to my playing strategy
5. do i need to make modifications to my betting strategy

my plan was just bet the min 50 cents and hope to loose less money than the other players.
but what if they win money?
do i then have to make a bet larger than the min,
there are exactly 12 rounds so i can bet the min untill the last round check how much my opponent has buy chips and beat him?


I guess some extra info, card counting isnt allowed, but since this casino normally uses automatic shufflers niether the dealers nor the pit boss have been trained on card counting so basically its a free for all. the table for the tournament isnt even under a camera. i know its crazy.

this is a small town. the casino doesnt really know what they are doing.

about me: 5 years counting cards, I use a basic hi lo. and i want to win this tournament.

thanks in advance!

Lawrence Wellsbourne