I was in a tournament at a local casino last night and I'm wondering how big a mistake I made. The tourney cost $25 for a bankroll of $1000. Minimum bet is $5 with no maximum. BJ pays 2-1, all other rules are house rules including H17. Last hand was as follows in the following order Position - BR - Bet BR3 - $550 - $550 BR1 - $950 - $950 BR2 - $850 - $850 BR1(Me) - $950 - $25 I know the $25 was a mistake but not sure which would be the best. My thinking was it gave me the Low on the table but I'm thinking I should've bet at least $755 which would give me the High over BR2 and BR3 without giving up the Low. An alternative was betting $950 which would've kept me tied with BR1 but would've given up the Low. So the question is how bad was it? The question is with the same hand and how it played out. Dealer had an 8 up. Position - Play BR3 - Hit once and stayed on 14. BR1 - Hit twice for 19. BR2 - Hit and stayed on 19. BR1(Me) - 8,4 - Hit and got a 7 for 19. BR3 spent the next 20 minutes whining about not hitting his 14 and getting the the 7 for 21. He decided that if he would've hit and got 21 then I would've ended up with 17. I didn't bet enought so it didn't really matter but I'm thinking if I did end up with 17 I should've kept hitting to at least 19. I had to give the dealer room to make a hand and still win. Giving an 8 up for the delaler I would've had to assume they had 18. Is my thinking correct?
Without thinking about it too much, I probably would have bet half my stack in your spot. Or something close to that. That gives you the low and you can double to tie the other BR1. I thinking you had the right idea -- going for the low -- but with everyone else all in there was no reason to only bet $25. Now if you had even a 5 dollar lead over the other BR1, I think betting it all would clearly be the right move.
After beating myself up over this I've come up with the following possible bets $5 to $145 - Maintains the Low on the table. $145 to $470 - Maintains the Low on the table and gives me the High over BR3 $475 - Maintains the Low on the table and allows me to split/double to regain the High $480 to $945 - Maintains the Low on the table and allows me to double to regain the High $950 - Gives up the Low but gives me the High So from that $475 would've been the best bet.
Add to your list: $755 to 945 - Maintains the Low on the table, gives me the High over BR2, and allows me to double to regain/tie for the high. This way you only give up the high to the other BR1 while leaving the door open to possibly tie BR1 with a DD if needed.
True, forgot to mention that one. Still think $475 is the best since it preserves the ability to split. Either way I had a major brain f*rt and totally missed my chance. Would've acheived a tie which would've gotten me into a playoff with the other BR1. That brings up another question. I would've been betting and acting first in the first hand of the playoff. The playoff goes till someone is in the lead after the hand. I'm assuming the best bet would be to go all-in. Don't see a whole lot of strategy when the opponent does everything second.
Why go all in if you are tied and betting first? I'd bet minimum. Think about it. If he doesn't bet minimum, then you win if he loses the hand (>50%). If he does bet minimum, you are even with him. Only problem is he can double after you since he has the play-last advantage.
