Hi, I was wondering if there is any meaning in counting cards when you play tournaments, i have never been playing one so i have no idea of how many hand that are played and so on. Do the casinos ban player that count in tournaments or do they allow it now when they cant loose money?
No In my humble opinion, counting doesn't help. With that said, I will defer to Joep2 or Ken opinions. In short, there are too many variables to deal with in Tourney BJ to focus on the count and if you should hit, split, etc. The key is to play the players not the count. Sidekick
The only benefit I see lies in helping to make your decision whether to go high or low at the end, but I'll defer to the more seasoned tourney vets as well.
counting in tourneys With most of the older structured tourney's, the casino personel have their hands so full with other details, they are not conscious of what a particular player maybe doing to enhance the edge. At he end, just ask Norm and K. E. they compare notes and see WHO seems to stand above all their invitee high rollers and start excluding those who demonstrate a higher skill level. Now as to actually counting. From Wong, to Cerritos, to K.E. to K S. most of the top experts don't put much on the count. As Side posted, there is so much more to worry about. Homever, given all the other factors to consider, if one can factor a reliable count into their arsenal, without befuddling some more important considerations, it could only help, in more than one or two crucial situations. As kind of a back up to that statement, I liken Ken Smith's free hit strategy, without knowing the count, to how much better a free hit strategy, if one knows the count.
A Rare Occurrence For the most part counting in tournaments is not something that will give you the edge that you can obtain in counting at a live non tournament table . Tournaments are to short of a time frame for the overall edge that counting provides over the long run to a advantage player. There are some players who will count in a tournament to help in their betting and hand playing decisions .In my opinion there is more important stuff to mentally keep track of than the count. Especially in the last 5 hands . With that being said there is one and only one tournament in the country that counting can and will have an overall effect on and that's the tournament that is held twice a year at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. This tournament is usually held in April and December . The first round is dealt from a double deck game with all the cards being dealt out and no burn card. The remaining rounds are all one deck and all 52 cards are dealt out before the reshuffle So an astute card counter can gain a significant edge in this tournament and this tournament only. Joep2
Counting Count systems are designed mainly to inform you when BJ's are more likely to appear. That's not very important information in a tournament. It's not totally useless, but you've got better things to spend your time and mental efforts on.
Yes the Math. Joep2 __________________ "Wecome to the "House Of Pain"" Is your signature line We come to the house of pain or Welcome to the house of pain? Anyway, Joe is right on his statements. But of course outside of tourney play the number one reason is to know when extra tens are in the remaining deck is so that one can bet appropriately. When the ratio of 10's to non-ten's is greater than normal, the math shows us that the player tends to win more hands. Dan
This question of counting in tournaments is a perennial favorite, and if you search the forums you'll find it has surfaced several times. Today I was preparing some information for an upcoming article, and I generated this justification for my oft-stated opinion that counting in a tournament is a waste of time for most players. Playing off the top of a fresh shuffle, your probability of winning the next hand is around 43.3%. If you are counting cards, and know the true count is +5, your chance of winning the next hand is roughly 43.9%. Is knowing that you have an 0.6% better chance of winning the next hand worth much in a tournament? I think not. Now, before I hear it from the counting-is-important crowd, I will admit to over-simplifying the situation. Most of the small value in tournament counting comes from playing the hands differently, not bet sizing because of the count. Can this information be helpful? Of course, and the best players use it routinely. But, for the vast majority of tournament players, I still maintain that lack of attention to other more important matters will cost you far more than you can gain with information about the deck composition.
I know very little about card counting so forgive my ignorance. Would there be any value in keeping a simple side count of aces? Or tens? Or both? Should be fairly simple to do.
Okay I'll bite Okay, Ken, I'll bite. I've never been in a tournament before so this is new to me. What are the important things that a tournament player should be watching? My first guess would be how many chips each player has so you know where you stand and how much you have to bet to stay in the top few who make it. Are there other things to be aware of, too?
The main thing is tracking the other bankrolls. With several opponents, you'll find that to be quite challenging. Ideally, you would like to have exact totals on the biggest threats. Most tournaments have a countdown with 5 hands to go. At that point, I like to remember the most important bankrolls, and just add or subtract their wins and losses so I don't have to recount their stack. Another thing you can pay attention to early in a tournament round is what other players are betting. Many players have a favorite bet amount, and that information can be a big help later in the round when you're betting ahead of them. Pay attention to how involved the other players are. If you have one opponent paying a lot of attention to bankrolls during the round, he or she will likely play well late in the round. Beginners and players who are just there to have fun will usually have a looser approach to the game.
Open fgk42 it is an Open event, usually entry is $300.00 to $350.00 with re-buys at $100. Changed the re-buys to $100, thanks Joep! I must be thinking of the old New Frontier tournaments at $150 re-buys...lol.
A Great Las Vegas Tournament Actually fgk42 they hold this event 2 times a year once in April and the other in Dec. usually the first week in December .The tournament director told me she was thinking about adding a 3 tournament this year in August .No official word as of yet .I will be playing a Poker tournament there at the end of June and I will confirm with her if that is still the plan to hold one in August . My memory is that the entry fee is 325 and the re buys are 100 and not only do they return all the entry fees but they provide 2 sit down dinners and snacks and drinks on Saturday during the rounds. With a welcome gift thrown in .In my opinion this is the best paid entry fee tournament in Las Vegas .I play it all the time .Even though some (edited by administrator)[***] say I only play when it's a invitational tournament .
Thanks for the info. There seems to be so MUCH available - once you know where to look. My problem is trying to decide which ones to try. I'll definately put this one on the calender.
