Hello everyone, I am playing in my first tournament Saturday at the Imperial Palace. In the past six months, I have been reading this forum, reading and re-reading Stanford Wong's tournament strategy book and practicing with the Casino Verite software... And I'm very nervous! My only other tourney experience was on a cruise ship, where I played basic blackjack strategy and lost every hand. Things can only improve! Any last minute tips anyone would like to share? I'm concerned the most with the time limit for betting. I sent for the rules ahead of time, it is only 10 seconds! Hopefully, they are more lenient than that. I cannot do the math that fast once it gets complicated. Last, I finally watched the Million Dollar Blackjack qualifer with Ken and Angie. You both did great, and I'm very sorry that you didn't win your rounds. There is always this year! And Ken, thank you very much for this site. I have learned so much from all of you. -Angela
I P Tourn. You picked one heck of a tournament to get your feet wet with.This tournament features a Double Deck in the first round and Single Deck the other rounds with all cards being dealt out with no burn card.This now adds a new element as counting will play more of a roll than normal.I wish you the best of luck and stop by and say hello as I will be playing in this tournament also.
I Did The Same Thing As You And Studied Sanford Wongs Stratagey Book And Practiced With Software And I Qualified For The Hilton Million Dollar Tournament So Anything Can Happen. :1st:
I looked at this tournament as a potential tune-up for the Hilton finals. But from what I can see, it looks like an equity nightmare. The fixed prize pool returns some atrocious percentage of the money collected in entry fees, and that's without considering the two $100 re-buys allowed. Equity is a fundamental measure of a tournament's value and this one appears to border on bad-as-it-gets. Am I missing something?
100 % Return As far as I know Anthony the IP has always in the past returned all monies collected including the re-buys.If you know something different about this tournament please post it here.
We got information that they weren't returning all the money. I thought it sounded a little funny based on past history, which is why I posted here. I'm due to speak to the head of marketing in about an hour. I'll post here when I find out.
Like Joe, I think this has been a good event in the past, returning all the money. I've only played it once. The Imperial Palace in Biloxi is another story entirely. They've held events where they returned only about 30% of the fees paid in! But IP in Vegas has been fine AFAIK.
I just spoke with Patricia Purpora in marketing, who assured me that they give all the money back, so I stand corrected (thanks Joe). The mix-up was information that they were taking up to 300 players. Not true; they aren't equipped for a tournament that size. They currently have about 95 signed up. Sounds like a good one.
Rick's Pick's for IP I am going to pick Joe Pane to win the IP tournament this weekend. Joe is due for a win, plus I want to see him give me a hard time about my pick...LOL. Good luck to all this weekend!
Speechless Its not often that I'm speechless but in this case I am.Seeing how good Rick's picks have been in the past being picked by Rick to win will most likely assure that I won't even advance out of round #1.As far as being due for a win I always feel like I'm going to win when I enter a tournament.The only question I have is why is Rick being so nice to me when I have 86 (banned) him and Instagator (Chuck) from my home.Reason for banning was the were eating all the dog cookies while watching the WSOB.Damm southerns don't know a good meal even if it hit them in the face. :laugh:
Rick's Pick Just to update on Rick picking me to win the Imperial Palace this weekend.I lost in the semi-finals after my opponet doubled on a hard 12 on the last hand and caught an 8 seems like the 8's have been following me around all year.I still had a huge chance to win when the dealer turned a 4 over to go with her 7 next card out was an Ace and then the 10 for 22.......If Rick didn't pick me I believe the Ace would not have made a apperance .If anyone is wondering what I mean by 8's following me check out Week #1 World Series Of Blackjack.When the 8 appeared on a dealer 13 to snatch my well deserved victory from my hands.I had a 20..... OUCH .If I ever get "LUCKY" you guys will really be in trouble....... :laugh: Just to let everyone know the IP added money to the prize pool to pay off the full amount advertised even though they were short of players they had 108 players.CLAP CLAP for the IP this was a place a few years ago that hated Tournament players.Now they are realizing that we are not the scum of the earth.
and the Million Dollar pick is? Good try at the IP Joe, sorry for your bad luck. Those 8's have been killing you this year. Just goes to show how important luck is in these tournaments. Just remember be nice to me or I will pick you to win the Hilton Million Dollar Tournament....LOL. Do you know the final results of the IP?
Not the open one's Angie eating the pretzels was okay, it was opening the new bag...LOL. Your face was priceless that night! Hope to see you at the Hilton this weekend. Tell Mark and the kids hi for me.
Excellent news on the IP I'd like to add my thanks to the Imperial Palace for adding money to the prize pool to hit the advertised payouts. I wasn't able to play this event, but this handling of this situation definitely makes me more likely to play future events there.
Wow, what a fun time! I am back home safe and sound from a fun filled week in Vegas. I had so much fun in this tournament, and am definitely hooked! I met so many nice and friendly people, many from here. All all very kind with their advice and tips, which I really appreciated. There were 108 people in the tournament. I had to rebuy in twice (which I had planned on! LOL) but I actually made it the THIRD ROUND! I was so excited, I couldn't believe it. I even rallied to take second at the table in the third round, so I can't complain at all. Congratulations to all the winners, and to all who are competing next month in the Million Dollar tournament! -Angela
