Imperial Palace BJ Tournament - 4/9-4/11

Imperial Palace is hosting a blackjack tournament Friday, April 9th through Sunday, April 11th. Following are the rules, entry fee and payouts for the blackjack tournament to be held at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas on April 9-11:

The entry fee for the tournament is $325. Each registrant will have the opportunity to re-enter two times at $100 for each re-entry.

There are four rounds, "pyramid fashion." My understanding is that the total number of players will be limited to about 300, but I don't know the exact number. During the first round, either one or two players from each table will move on to the second round. The number of total registrations will determine whether it is one or two in this first round. However, in the rounds two and three only one person from each table will progress. At the end of the third round, there will only be six players left, all of whom will move on to the final round.

Play for rounds one, two and three will start at $750; the final round will start at $1,500.

Each round will last 40 minutes, plus five hands. During rounds one, two and three, the minimum bet will be $10 with a maximum of $500. During the final round, the minimum bet will be $25, with a maximum of $500.

Round one will be dealt double deck, with rounds two, three and the final round dealt single deck. All rounds will be dealt to the bottom and have a floating first base.

The payouts (presuming a full roster of players), is as follows:

First Place - $20,000
Second Place - $10,000
Third Place - $7,500
Fourth Place - $5,000
Fifth Place - $3,000
Six Place - $2,000

So, as long as a player can make it to the final round, he/she will cash.

Tournament registration and drawings for round one play assignments will be Friday afternoon (April 9th) between 1-5 PM. Round one play begins Saturday morning at 8 AM; round two starts on Sunday at 8 AM. round three starts at 1 PM; and the final round will be played at 2 PM.

The hotel is not offering any great room deals or incentives to enter the tournament, except that they will provide room accommodations at casino rate.

For information about the tournament, call Casino Marketing, at the Imperial Palace, at 1-800-351-7400, Ext. 1.

(Personal Note: I have no affiliation with the Imperial Palace. I am simply registered as a player for the tournament. As such, it is in my best interests to get as many people to enter as possible, to make sure the tournament will reach its maximum payout.)

Tuna Dave
http://tunadave.typepad.com/blackjack_diary/

 

Imp Palace BJ

Tuna,
Thanks for the heads up. Are there any "floaters" in South Florida running BJ tournaments? We had Sun Cruz running a weekly tourney for $1000, $500, $300 and $200 for a $50 buy in at Port Canaveral. They dropped the event when they couldn't get 16 entries.

 

Good question. I have not seen or heard of any, but I will start looking. I will probably be going out on the St. Tropez out of Ft. Lauderale Saturday night. If so, I'll ask them if they have any tournaments; and if so, when the next one will be held.

Tuna Dave

 

Dave,
Be careful on the St.T. A dealer on that boat who is married to a friend of my sister quit becase the Casino Manager wanted him to cheat the players. I wasn't told how, but I heard that Sea Escape was caught pulling A's out of the decks. I've never been able to win consistently on that boat. Sun Cruz was always a little more player friendly offering four $25 match plays to VIPs, surrender, and no midshoe entry. Video poker always had higher pay tables on S.C. but the food was better on the St. That could all be changed now that the Sun Cruz fleet has been sold.
Let me know how you did tonight.

 

Not a Good Night

Thanks for the info about the potential cheating on the ships. I'll look out for it.

As to the trip, it was a mistake. The seas were too rough and most of us ending up getting sick.

Check out my weblog (http://tunadave.typepad.com/blackjack_diary/) if you are interested in the details.

 

Tuna,
You got a great web site. I'm thinking of taking up golf, but I'd have trouble getting it in the hole.
How do I find your first two chapters on stop loss?
Thanks,
IG

 

My First Tournament Experience - Round One (Long Post)

Much to my amazement, I made it through the first round and qualified for the second round!

I played a very conservative strategy all the way through the session while the other five players were betting all over the place.

Although this was my first experience in a blackjack tournament, I am amazed how accurately the Casino Verite software replicates a real-world experience. From the three weeks of computer practice, I was able to watch how other players bet, keep track of their chips, and determine a betting strategy. Even before the tournament, I was impressed with this product. Now, I am simply in awe of its capacity to assist in learning how to play quality blackjack, both in regular play and in tournaments.

The format of the tournament is a 40-minute session, plus five hands. At the end of 20 minutes, we get an advisory, as well as after 30 minutes. Then, at 40 minutes, they count all of our chips, so we each know what the others have. Then, there is a five-hand countdown.

At the start, everyone had $750 in tournament (non-negotiable) chips. At the end of the 40-minute session, I was in second place with about $700. The man in first was ahead of me by about $50.

We had lost two of the original six players before the five-hand countdown. So, the odds were getting better to qualify. Then, the lady in the group went all in and busted out, leaving just three of us. So, I was feeling pretty good.

I was VERY fortunate to be in the position of betting last on the last hand. Both of the other players were betting large ($100+), trying to gain an advantage. So, I bet small. Going into the last hand, I was in first place by about $90. The third guy was about $350 behind.

The first bettor, who had about $600, went in for $125. The second better, who had about $375, bet the maximum of $300.

Being last to bet, I had a decision to make. If I bet enough to cover a potential BJ on the $300 hand and lost, while he won his bet, I would have dropped below him. And if the first bettor won his hand, I would have been shut out. I decided to take a conservative path and bet contrary, hoping that at least one of them would lose; and if both won, that the $300 bettor would not get a blackjack. So, I bet the minimum of $10.

As it turned out, the first guy won his hand for a total of about $730. And, luckily for me, the second guy busted out. So, it did not matter anymore. However, as a nice finishing touch to the round, I got my first and only blackjack on the last hand. Fitting end to a great session!

Now I will be playing in the second round tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M. That means that I need to change my flight home, since I booked the flight for early Sunday before I had even known about the tournament.

Tough luck, isn't it, that I have to spend another day in Vegas.

 

good luck!

Tuna,

Hope you continued to have good luck today! Let us know how you did and if you saw any interesting plays

 

Thanks for the good thoughts and support. The second, third and fourth rounds are all being held on Sunday. I'll let you know what happened.

Hopefully, I'll have some good news to report!

 

IP Blackjack Tournament - Final Chapter

Well, I gave it my best effort, but came up short in the second round of the Imperial Palace Blackjack Tournament.

I was in second place with five hands to go. All six of us were bunched up closely. First place had $850; I had $840; and the last place guy had around $600. So, I knew it was going to be interesting - and stressful - which it was.

On the third to the last hand, the guy at first base pulled a blackjack with a $200 bet down; so, he was in great position. He bet the minimum on the last two hands and made it easily into the next round.

On the second to the last hand, I bet $150, and pulled a 10 vs. the dealer 2. So, I went for it and doubled down. If I had won that bet, I would have been close to first place. However, the blackjack gods were not with me today. The dealer made her hand, and turned over a 4 on my hand. As a consequence, I had no choice but to bet $300 on the last hand. Unfortunately, I busted.

In looking back, I think that my strategy of playing conservatively during the first 40 minutes was a good one. In both sessions, I was either in first or second going into the last five hands. However, I think I made two strategic mistakes during the last five hands.

First, looking back, since I was close to high, I should have bet the minimum and wait to see if anybody passed me. Instead, I tracked the guy who was $10 ahead of me, and we both lost, while others won big bets.

The other mistake I made, although in retrospect it would not have mattered, was that, since I was so far behind on the last hand, I should have doubled down on my hand. I think I had a 14 vs. the dealer 10. But, it really didn't make a difference. I bet $300; and even if I had won, I would not have had enough to move on. Before the hand was dealt, I was hoping for a blackjack or a "traditional" double-down opportunity.

I know I am playing "would've, could've, should've"; but in retrospect I wish I had doubled down on the last hand. If nothing else, it would have at least made everybody else nervous, and would have raised the excitement levels for me through the roof. However, after I lost the double-down bet on the second to last hand, I was so discouraged that I did not think it through.

Nevertheless, in thinking back on the tournament, I can only say that it was a wonderful experience. And, for those of you who are thinking about participating in tournaments, I would highly recommend two resources to you. First, buy a copy of Stanford Wong's Casino Tournament Strategy. It is the bible on tournament play. Second, get a copy of the Casino Verite blackjack software. The tournament mode is awesome and helps you immensely to prepare for live play.

I can't wait for the next opportunity to participate in the blackjack tournament. It was simply a wonderful experience.

 

You took your shot and you played well. Congratulations on your first tourney!

Yes I can second your closing advice to buy SW's "Casino Tournament Strategy" as well as Casino Verite -- those two tools are the essential keys to dominating this type of arena. I leave in a few hours for my Bally's/Paris invitational tourney, and you can bet I'll have Wong in my back pocket!

-hollywood dave.

 

IP Tournament

I played at IP this weekend as well. I bought back in and sat next to Darrell with the red streaked hair and when he told someone that Ken Smith had just left I was star struck. You are my BJ hero.

I have to share my "busting out" experience. In the second round, at the end of 40 mins., I had $640 and the top chip counts were $1,125 (Tullos) & $1,140 (lady from OK). On the first of five hands, I was the last to bet and wagered $300. I had 10 against a dealer 6. I doubled and made 20. The dealer had A-6 and, as Murphy's law will have it on certain days, the dealer turned up the ONLY card that would beat me, a 4.

The tournament was quite an experience although I would never have entered had I known that Ken Smith was playing. Not that it's over, I'm very proud of the fact that you were there and today, I can honestly say that there isn't anyone who can intimidate me on name recognition. The money would have been nice but I told my husband that personally it meant as much to me to be able to say that I have played in a tournament with Ken Smith as winning would have been. Thanks to you, I left that tournament a winner.

Vicki

 

A Trend

This seem to be a trend as of late 2 Mr. Kenneth Smiths, 2 Joeps .Who will be next to re-invented himself .

 

IP/reinventions:

My goshness Norm! or Joep or joep2 or joep jr or the 65 year-old-man. No one else was reinventing themselves. Our K.S. was dealing with an imposter. Nice enough fellow and kind of resembled our K.S. Not sure if Joep2 resembled number one or not. Aged a bit.

But then again, I guess by whatever name you call it, a rose still smells like a rose. Unless its artificial and then it'll smell like what you stepped in.