Accumulation Tournament Question

Here’s the situation. I’d like to get ideas from others about. Hopefully all TBJ.com members can contribute and we can all learn:

Accumulation Format:

2 Rounds – players start with 5,000 per round. 25 hands each round. The total from each round is added together and the top 45 advance to TBJT. There is a little wrinkle in that in round 2, after hand 22, players are given the option of purchasing 2,500 in chip for an additional fee (1/2 of the entry fee). Min bets are 100 with a 10,000 max bet.

Other things to consider: If you make the “cut” you are in the semi-finals and get 500 cash (1/2 of the buy-in). There are 265 players.

Ok, here’s the dilemma: By your calculations you believe that you will need 30,000 in chips to make the cut and advance to the semi-finals, TBJT part.

It’s round 1, hand 25. Your chip stack is 13,700. Your choices:
1. Make a minimum bet 100, and carry a good size of your chips to round 2
2. Make a larger bet (1/2 BR) and hope to get 2/3 of the way to your goal of 30,000

Which option do you choose and why?

Second part:
You choose option 2 and bet 6,300. You get a 6/4 versus a dealer 9. At this point do you DD and put out 12,600, keeping 1,100 behind or do you just hit and keep 7,400 behind? Why?

P.S. I received some VERY good and useful information when in Tunica. I would appreciate it if those same individuals would repeat it here...

 

I can't speak for others so I'll just restrict my comments to what I told you and give a little extra advice.

Immediately after the 1st round was over I told you you did the right thing. I was not completely aware of your goal or chip count at that time but the principal was correct. When I talked to you later I became aware of your goal. At that point I told you it was too high. There was not enough time to get into the details of the calculation at that time. At that time I thought the goal should be 20,000. After watching the results of the 2nd from last round (the one you played in), I upped my estimate to 22,000 because I saw a lot of players hitting high totals in that round. The final cut off point turned out to be about 20,900. My total, because of a lucky BJ with an "all in" bet on the last hand, was 29,100.

The point I'm trying to make is that setting a goal is crucial to winning these type of tournaments. Too high of a goal forces one to take unnecessary chances which increase the likelihood of busting out. Setting too low of a goal and one will simply not advance.

The other comment I'd like to make is that playing in the last session and tracking the results of those that played before you is just as critical as setting the right goal. I had the benefit of BigFun37's tracking of the early rounds to help me keep up on what was going on. I wasn't sitting at a slot machine waiting for my turn to play - I was watching the play of my competitors.

So to summarize:
Set your goal
Know the best way to achieve your goal
Try to play last
Watch the competition
Readjust your goal as needed

PS: This is the 5th thread about the Horseshoe $250,000 tournament. Anyone care to go for #6 to make it an even 1/2 dozen??? :joker: :joker:

 

Congratulations to Toolman

If hard work is the way to win $, Toolman certainly deserves the $20,000 won at the Tunica Horseshoe tournament. Although many of disliked the format, Toolman really studied the game from arrival to finish and deserves to be a winner. Again, congratulations for the accomplishment.
I really enjoyed being with you and learning from you.

 

Springbac,

Don't cut yourself short. Since the cut off was 20,900, your original goal calculation of $22,500 turned out to be the best estimate I came across from all the players I talked to.