I'm new to this forum and have a Poker background (Texas Holdem) but I have qualified for the finals of a 64 person blackjack tournament with a pursue of ~$65,000 at my local casino and need advice on where to get strategies for the following style tournament (I'm very good with numbers and have been reading on basic stategy but nothing that I've read are geared towards this format (50% advance to next round) and the likely people that will be in it (not experienced blackjack tournament players) Format: 64 players start Each Round 50% of the players advance (it is not done by table but the group as a whole - i.e. an entire table could advance) 1st Round: 64 players 2nd Round: 32 Players 3rd Round: 16 Players 4th Round: 8 players 5th Round: 4 players Final Round: 2 players 20 hands per round Starting chips $2,000 Min Bet $100, Max $5,000 Blackjack pays 2:1 (No Insurance) Each round all players go back to the starting chip count Players Background - Because entry is based on a free roll promotional tournament based on player points for the month, I would assume there will be very few experienced tournament blackjack folks (assume only around 10% at most) with probably just as many folks that may have never played before (slot players who just got in by luck of the draw - 32 players qualified via free roll tournaments and then 32 by blind draw of the top player point folks) Prize Pool: ~$65,000 With this tournament format I would assume that there should be a pretty basic stategy to get through the first two rounds needing very little luck and if there is I'm hoping to find it and learn/master it. Any input or direction to material I should read would be appreciated, I have 1.5 weeks to prepare and I love numbers and strategy. Thanks, AKGOLFER
Search tool Use the search tool and look up "Wong Strategy". One of the first threads that comes up is "Hybrid Strategy". It is a pretty good discussion of how to figure a target to go for in an accumulation format. The number that computes is $2830. That seems low, but my guess in the first round a lot of people will go all in at some point (maybe even the last hand with a respectable chip balance since they won't know what the cutoff point is and fear that they might be to low) and bust out. Remember the $2830 is the estimate for 34th place, so it is always good to fudge that number up some just to be safe. As you move up the cutoff doesn't change, but that is probably because everyone will become more conservative in their approach. Eventually you should all be at one or two tables so you should be able to monitor more easily where you need to be at the end. Then the strategy changes completely for heads up play. Question: At what point are you in the money? Do you know how many will be at each table at each round? Looks like a fun format. Good luck and be sure to let everyone know how you did and what the cutoff was in the first couple of rounds.
Pay Table First off thanks ptaylor for the quick reply and I did the search and read the thread you noted. Couple questions I have from you experienced players, in a format like this is the fact that at least 50% of the field will be very uneducated in tournament play make the cutoff for the early rounds go up or down based on past tournament experience? I think that they are still working on the exact details as they told me the tables would have 6 people, but that doesn't really work good with the 64 person format as it gets down to the later rounds (16 & 8). As for in the money, I was told the pay table would be close to the following: 9th thru 16th: $500 8th: $1,000 7th: $2,000 6th: $3,000 5th: $4,000 4th: $5,000 3rd: $6,000 2nd: $11,000 1st: $31,000 I do think that the $2,800-$3,000 range would be a very safe spot to be for the first two round. After my reading/research the past day, I'm thinking I know what my strategy should be for the first two rounds to get to ~$2,800 with the best EV to advance to the "Sweet 16" but I will think it out more and then post my initial thought for a strategy and see what everybody's comments are. Thanks again, AKGOLFER
Another search Try searching on the word "cutoff". It brings up lots of good threads concerning accumulation format and strategy. How you get from your starting bankroll of $2000 to $3000 in 20 hands is another issue. You'll need to win one or two large bets at some point to get there.
Just learned it is all Head to Head - Like NCAA Tournament Okay, I just learned they changed the rules and all play will be head to head like the NCAA March Madness. So I think this makes it easier from an approach standpoint and would appreciate any approaches/tips for me (this will be my first ever tournament although I've tired to read as much as I can). I see three major differences in this tournament than what appears to be most other tournaments so most of my reading into final hand theory doesn't apply (I think this format really simplifies it): **Blackjack pays 2 to 1 **No surrenders **No Insurance Again the other criteria is a starting stack of $2,000 (min bet $100 / no max bet) 20 hands. So my initial thought is bet the min until probably the last two hands assuming nothing crazy happens with the other player and then I would think the action/strategy would be in the last two hands and would depend if you were going to be last on the final hand or not. Assuming both of us would have around $2,000 after 18 hands what would be the best strategy for having the best chance to advance? Any last minute advice would be appreciated as I play tomorrow morning! Thanks again
Sorry for being late Didn't get back online till this morning so I missed getting to comment. How did the tournament go? Were you able to advance to the money rounds? Did you like the format and are you ready to play more tournaments now that you got your feet wet? I think you had the right strategy with minimum bets unless the other person got lucky and doubled up on you, then you would be forced to chase if they backed off. A lot depends on position on the last few hands. Always helps to bet last on the final hand and hopefully have chip lead at that point too.
Very Bad Format!!! Sorry for not getting back sooner, but I've been sick for the last few days! The format was as expected except one HUGE difference, they put 6 people at a table (so 3 head to head matches) and seating was already preset and I was to the right of my opponent which sucked and the way the order went, I would have to act first for the last 4 hands (so I knew this was a very bad start and I looked at the bracket and if I won the first round I would have been to the right again, so I was very bummed to start and tried to get them to at least switch off the last two hands to no avail). So already bummed, the tourament begins. My opponent didn't look like she knew too much and just looked like a heavy drinking slot/blackjack gambler. So the first hand she throws out $500 before it was her turn, so I put out $200 as $100 might have flashed alarms for her to slow down, but she won and I lost, then the second hand she shoves out $1000 (and I'm smiling very big inside) so I bet $200 again, but then she hits blackjack, so after two hands she has $4,500 to my $2,000. But she continues her gambling and bets $1,500 so I'm still thinking she will bust early still and just keep with the $200, and yes she wins again and then again bets $1,500 and finally loses and it is at this point she realizes she doesn’t need to bet anymore and dropped down to $100 so then I had to push and after losing two in a row I was down to $800 and when I went all in I hit blackjack and was back to $2,400 and she had dropped to about $3,800 and I got her scared again so she bet $1000 and I bet $200 and doubled down and after she lost and I won we were dead locked at $2,400. The very next hand she bets $500, splits 4’s and then double downed one of them and needless to say after the hand she was back up to $3,900 to my $2,100. After not being able to gain any ground and with only two hand left (oh yeah, tournament was changed from 20 hands to only 15 hands) I was at $2,500 (she verbally said out loud that she thought I had around $1,800) and she had $4,000 and she put her bet of $500 out early so I knew this was my chance so I went all-in. I knew that if we both won that hand I would show her I had the chip lead and she would push in all her chips on the last hand and then I would just hold back one chip and I would win the win-win and any loss by her, but as fate would have it I’m dealt a hard 13 with the dealer showing a 2 (she also had a hard 13) so I hit and got a T and busted That is the story….I wish I would have got more playing in, but the way they had the first to act button working is was just VERY bad for me. Thanks again all the great info on this VALUABLE info in this forum and now I will have to play in more tournaments in hopes of getting to use some of my newly gained knowledge. I didn’t stick around for the rest of the tourney as registration ran an hour late and then it took over an hour more just for the first round!
Too bad it wasn't a good experience- bummer! Usually one-on-one with 4 or 6 players at the table is done in manner to deal first and every odd round normally left to right, then second and every even round is dealt and played counter clockwise always starting with the third base. Amazingly it is not that difficult for dealers but organizers fear mistakes. You could try and explain it to some higher-ups, but often times they are hard nosed and don't like anybody to know better. Very good player has about 70% chance of advancing when betting last and short of 50% betting first on the last hand. It has to be considerable worse if one has to bet first on more than just the last hand. S. Yama
Hang in there Sorry to hear that your first tournament experience didn't go down well. I don't know exactly how the button rotation or lack thereof worked, but it sounds like you realized what you had to do and played well. Unfortunately the cards didn't fall for you when you needed it and lady luck was with the lady instead. Hope your next tournament goes much better for you.
