A time to unite...

I stopped posting about certain subjects here because it had started to become a negative instead of a positive for BJ tournaments as well as for this site.

Ken Smith started BJT.com so ALL the players could voice their opinions, solicit help and advice from other players, and post information on up coming events. Now it is starting to seem like certain subjects are dividing us as a community and causing problems.

Just because a player asks questions or has a different opinion doesn’t mean we still can’t get along. First off all, I would hope all the members here are over 21 years of age and therefore adults so this childish behavior is unnecessary.

In the past, Joep, Hollywood, and I would banter back and forth, but it was usually just good natured-ribbing. But then the name-calling started, and that is when I just stopped posting on these various threads. I have not, nor will I, resort to name-calling or purposely try to hurt another player’s feelings. And if I have, it was unintentional and I apologize.

As far as misinformation, I have at times posted wrong information. But in my defense, the information given to me, which I posted was wrong. If you go back and check my posts, once the mistake was brought to my attention, I corrected it and apologized. Hell, I’ve admitted on national TV I made a mistake. So admitting when I am wrong is not a hard thing for me to do.

Also, I have never told any player here that my way was the best way to play a certain hand. I would merely offer my opinion on the way I would have played the hand.

Now as far as asking questions that bring up negative issues, yes I damn sure do! Do I do it to intentionally cause trouble? NO! l do it out of the love for the game (YES PEOPLE, it is just a GAME), isn’t that why we are all log on here for the love of the game?

I enjoy Global-Player, and like the people who run it. But that didn't stop me from ragging on them for over a year to change their tournament format, (which by the they did: DD for less, Insurance for less, & flipping dealers BJ at once).

I have played on UB/Bet21 and UBT since they first opened. Do they have some tech issues? Yes. I have posted that any new site is going to have problems when it first opens. In fact, Global used to have problems all the time. But we gave them a chance. Partly because of Pumi, and other staff members who were in the chat room and could help us with an issue on the spot. They still have tech problems from time to time… their new one on one format froze up yesterday for about 30 minutes or so.

Just because I question something, doesn't mean I don't like it. It only means that I see a problem or a possible problem, and I point it out to them so the possible issue can be addressed.

As far as the cruise tournaments, I started them because I wanted to offer a nice player-friendly tournament, open to all with the best possible format and rules available at an affordable cost. Do I make a lot of money off of them? Hell no! I actually would have lost money both years had I not won in the casino on the ship. I do it because I am trying to get something started that will be good for all of us in the blackjack community.

Just like the new tour I am trying to start up, is it going to make money? I doubt it, at least in the beginning. But I love tournament blackjack, and I believe that there are enough players out there, which given the chance, will come play in these events.

Are they going to play in support of the TBT? Probably not (I’m not kidding myself). The players are coming to try and win money, because that’s really why all of us play in these events.

Whether my tour gets off the ground or not, my intentions are to offer fair, affordable tournaments as close to everybody as possible, in the hopes of letting casinos see that blackjack tournaments can be successful and profitable if operated properly. To do this, casinos need to allow ALL players to participate in the events. Let’s face it; most tournaments only draw an average of 150 players or less. But if they open them back up to all, we should be able to raise that average up to at least 200 players per event, which would give us a better prize pool.

I have turned down several casinos that were willing to host these TBT events because they want to be allowed to restrict certain players. I am sure that from location to location, there will be slight modifications made i.e. house rules, but the deal breakers for me are:

1. All players will be allowed to play in the tournaments.

2. Two players (min.) will advance from each table each round until the finals.

3. Discount/casino rates on hotel rooms for all tournament players.
(Of course, with adequate side action, they can be comp-ed)

4. All events use the TBJPA national tournament rules.
Some small modifications maybe made according to house rules at certain
casinos, but they will stay the same for the most part. Any changes that may
occur will be posted prior to the event so there will be no surprises.

5. Guaranteed re-buys (min. two per player).
Players coming in from out of town want more than one chance to make the travel worthwhile.

I will have a section on the TBJPA site forum for members to post their ideas and suggestion. I believe I cannot be any more fair than this.

I just hope that between the WSOB, UBT, and TBT, we will have more than enough OPEN tournament action for everybody to enjoy this game we love.

Right now everybody is a little edgy with the new laws, so we don’t need to be attacking each other. We are not a big enough community that we can afford to lose members over petty differences. The more we unite, the better tournaments will be for all of us in the long run.


Once again this is just my opinion....

 

I"m Not Totally Drunk Yet:

But. TX I love you man!

For my brief four years in this madness, I've seen you the same.

Cept, I don't recall seeing you on TV! Oh well. Missed that one.

Anyhow, I tried to dis you the first time I saw you and you good naturedly laughed it off, maybe not knowing what I was attempting. But, I gained some insight into tournament play from you(others more so), but still, I got something from you. And while to first, second, third oh hell, even fourth time acquaintances you might seem like the MUSIC MAN, I (for whatever it's worth to youse udders out there) agree that what you're doin is ultimately in the best interest of THE GAME and oh god dare I say, the average player.

I applaud your efforts and your many attempts at various endeavors.


Now, as far as love of the game. Naw. I'm not here, or there for love of the game. I'm here and there for THE MONEY! I could be wrong. That's not a rare thing. But the number of people who made really big money playing call it open tables is weenie. But tourneys! Your investment to payout is phenomenol. I scoffed when I first heard of the crazy things tourney players did, but in a short time from reading the Olsen's, McKelvey, Yama, Yoda, YOU and good o'l Norm I learned why the ridiculous was sublime.

And now maybe ambition as well as money eecks its way into my madness.

But, I would have been gone a long time ago, if not for meeting you.(and a few others who really know who they are.)

But there are a lot on this site that know what I state to follow as true:

TX's attitude towards you never changes. I've talked with him(okay less than 10 times.) But have always been treated as an equal even in some Haute taute events, where when others didn't know who I was, but thought I was one of "THE NEVER SEEN, UNKNOWN GREATS in disguise quickly changed their attitude when they realized I wasn't who they hoped I'd be.

TX never cared. TX understood, if you were a tournament player, you were his people. Well, so call it one of those "man" moments or something, but you gotta give TX credit for standing up for the regular player(whom I think comprise most tourneys) and for being a human being.

Now, let's not let this in anyway suggest a disssing of other fine "pros" etc. I already acknowledged others. I'm not a side taker or a clique joiner. I try to state what I see and feel. It's kinda fun knowing folks from opposite points of view who can never come together. I can sometimes agree with one and sometimes with the other.

And so the paradox:

What is it called if SEVEN PROS sit at a final table and the favored catches 14's, 15's, yadda. Doubles his/her ten's and elevens for A's and 2s while the dealer hits out, gets his one BJ on a minimum bet and is 25,000 down going into the first elemination round of EBT. Some would call it variance. Some would call it karma. Some would say voodoo. some would say misplay of your hits. And some would call it LUCK.

Well to TX Good Luck: Good Fortune:

As to you all.

 

Once again a great voice of reason and wisdom. For my part I promise to refrain from anything other than BJ for the upcoming week. It will be hard but I'm sure I can do it.

I would also like to apologize to anyone if I had written anything they found offensive or insulting. Moving onward and upward. Thanks for letting me see the light TX and Ken

 

Lennon

"All we are saying...

Is give peace a chance..."

I must admit though Ken, I find your All In magazine cover shot a little scary. You look a little possessed. You're not the devil are you?

Cheers

Reachy

 

Put me down, united

Im sorry about offending anyone. Its hard for me but will stick with BJT. I think it could be a good thread to think tank a remedy for online competition play. There must be a way to pay into a pool that would earn credits or drawing tickets etc to get to a UBT or whatever. I wonder if game players, x box or pc2 etc, have a competition system?

Barney:angel:

 

Agreed. Time for me to switch threads.

 

The season for reason

TX and Ken. I applaud your spirit and your actions. Let's all get behind this and have a peaceful week.

 

Me too

I agree with Honeybee. Thanks to Tex and Ken for their attempt to bring some sense and sensibility to the site. It's been pretty raw lately and it's time to unite.

 

Nicely put, Tex and Ken.

I don't get any demonic vibes from Ken's picture, but don't you think there's a certain similarity to two British sporting legends? ....

 

Bet21 is already a pretty good site. Nice software, nice design, not perfect but working very well everything considered. My surprise after a week of play is how few people are enjoying the games and the competition.

There are technical glitches and they do have a role to play. But once it happens, I think we should adopt the attitude of taking note of it, inform CS, describe the problem, then forget about it and let their technicians look after it.

A nice thread, would be one where we could all get together, share information and help CS find the solutions to glitches they can't see at our end or can't fix at this point in time.

I sent another request to CS yesterday where I could not act on a bet (the set up at the bottom was not a final's set up, but a prelimnary round set up. It happened on one hand, then everything came back to normal. Fortunately for me, this time, it did'nt influence the hand or the result (I was ready to stand on a 20 but the option, or anyother option for that matter, did not appear on the screen and I was declared absent). When it has consequences, then tough luck. The player or players unknowingling benefitting form these glitches, should not be penalized in any way, in my mind, when they don't know what's going on from their end and the game is working perfectly from their perspective.

I did not get any answer yet from Customer Support for that one. As soon as I get it, I'll post it.

I trust the UBT industry and the whole community. Here's my reason why we should unite.

 

Got an answer from CS. They suggested that I reinstall the software, showed me the procedure and told me to send them a print of the screen nexte time around. Here's how to do it and I quote from their e-mail :

"...if this situation happens again, please send us a screenshot;as it will help us determine what happened and provide more accurate assistance.

To take a screen shot, you should have the problem in the screen and find the "PrintScreen" button (next to F12) and type it (you will probably have to hold down your Fn key at the same time). Then, you should open up Paint, and paste the image (Ctrl + V) there. After doing that, save the picture in your desktop and attach it in your next email.

Let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with"

Anybody knows what the Fn button is? Anybody tried this function before in live play?

 

A few keyboards actually have an Fn button. It is just like any other button except that it is labled Fn. In the absence of that, try Alt and Print Screen keys. Alternatively, try Ctrl and Print Screen keys.

 

positive thinking rules

Thanks for all the previous posts; I agree. Also, I believe that positive "brainstorming" can solve our problems. As I have stated previously, it's not good for this site, to get into politics, religion, or personnal attacks. You can state an opinion about an issue without attacking people, parties or religions. These areas are just too passionate. Everyone gets divided over politics and religion, even families. Lets put our collective heads together and enjoy BJT. It is the best site on the net. Keep it up Ken.

tgun

 

Archie,

I got the same message about the screen shot...I couldnt make it work either but how a picture of the word "absent" will help solve this problem...I dont know.

However....I have solved this problem myself !...

My game now works perfectly. There was no problem with my connection or system...and I am not a programmer ...but I found a solution....


If you are still having any issues, send me a PM, and I will explain the fix.

It was nice chatting with you yesterday....how did you end up doing? I got second in the big game...Walt cleaned house ...he was a powerhouse.

 

Why not explain this miracle fix in public ?

Isn't that what this board is for


Joep

 

I guess I have missed a good bit of the mean-spirited posts that this thread is about. We got new filters at work and I can't get to this site from there now. So I guess missing the arguments was the silver lining of that dark cloud. I would hope that any group of civil adults could find a way to discuss topics even when they have opposing viewpoints without resorting to the sort of tactics we have to try and prevent the children in our elementary school from using in their arguments.

The advancement and proliferation of tournament blackjack is a desirable goal for almost everyone here. We will go much further toward accomplishing that goal with a spirit of cooperation than we will with endless bickering. There are some true tournament experts here who are willing to share their thoughts and I know that I for one, appreciate their generosity.

 

To my second request to CS about the meaning of the Fn button (none on my keyboard), they sent meanother procedure and I quote :

"Actually, all you need to do in order to take a screenshot is as simple as this:

Press on "PrintScreen" on your keyboard (this is the button next to F12). Nothing will appear at this moment.

Then, open up Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint and paste the image (Ctrl + V) there.
After doing that, save the picture in your desktop as JPG file type and attach it to your next email."

Is there anyone technical enough to make a test in live play and tell all of us how it goes and how easy it really is?

 

Stop please

 

Joe,

Acording to you there is no problem.

Now will you please stop bothering me and also stop PM'ing me...and harassing me while Im trying to play.

Thank You