I played in a tournament today. I studied the chapter on tournament play in Kevin Blackwood's book "Play Blackjack Like the Pros" and played just as he says. It's the final hand. I have the chip lead by a few hundred chips and I have to bet first. I bet $25 forcing my closest competitor to make a biger bet to win. The lady to my left has no idea how to play blackjack and has been betting $200 every hand so I anticipate her to do the same on the last. Like I thought she grabs 2 black chips and motions toward the betting circle but the dealer stops her and says "you should bet the max because you can't win if you don't" so the lady dose what the dealer tells her and makes a $500 bet. My closest competor hits her 16 and busts while I stand on my 20.The lady to my left stays on 12 with the dealer showing a 10. The dealer busts her 15 and the heat is over. We count the chips and my friend to my left has $150 more chips than me and wins the heat and I don't advance to the next round. The casino states in the rules no coaching. So I call the PC over and he calls his manager. I state my case to him and he tells me that it was ok for the dealer to help because it was the last hand and thier was nothing he will do for me. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to get some advice on how to prevent this from happining again. Thanks in advance!
Couple of Things Thank you for posting. Where did this happen? It's not unusual for a dealer to give a little friendly, harmless hit/stand advice during a round. But they almost always stay silent during the critical last few hands. Your dealer stepped way out of bounds giving betting advice on a last hand. You have every right to feel cheated. The way to handle a situation like that is to stop play and ask for the tournament director immediately, before the cards come out. If you wait until after you know the results, that train will have left the station, so to speak. Where did this happen? If you share that information, then the next time someone on this forum plays at that casino they'll know to discuss this type of thing with the tournament director before the tournament starts.
I was playing the 5k tournament at Valley View on Sunday. Yeah I was pretty upset that I got beat by a dealer and not a player. It shocked me when the manager said he was not going to do anything for me. Thank you for the reply and the info. Hope it dosen't happen again but if it dose I will know how to handle it.
wow!!!! I thought I had seen it all but never a dealer telling a player to change their bet. Personally I would never play a tournament there again unless it was comped. I have seen players ask for counts when it was not part of the schedule and get the count. I have seen a player translate to another spanish player that could not speak english and it was allowed. She went on to win the tournament (not a factor). I think the most common mistake is on the last two hands time is not inforced. The last tournament I played, they did not start the time until someone ask for time, then they allowed a full minute from that time.....
Policy Surely that casino's policy was not to allow a dealer to coach a player that way. The dealer was out of line, and needed talking to by the boss. If that kind of practice is actually allowed by that casino as a matter of policy, then don't play there. But if that was a one time occurance, then keep playing there because we need to patronize tournaments to keep them going.
Dealer not always correct I've heard dealers explain things to players and the dealer wasn't complete with the information. He was correct but the info was lacking and as a result the player made a poor decision. Do not count on a dealer to fully inform you or be correct. The other players at the table said nothing to help the guy and no coaching from the sidelines kept better informed people silent on the matter so as not to foul the play. You have to know the game or learn the hard way. One still has to get lucky when they need it. Smitty
