Hello everyone. I'm the newest member of BJT.com and I'm very new to the whole scene. I have loved Blackjack since my mom first taught me how to play in elementary school and I've known about counting since about middle school. So, I'm in my early 20s and having a "real" job is on the horizon for me, as is getting out of mother's nest and living on my own. With this in mind, I would like to take up competing in BJ tournaments at the local casino. The problem is that "local" refers to the nearest casino, being two hours away. How big of a problem does this pose to my overall strategy? Does it become not worth going to tournaments if the commute is so long? Especially with gas prices the way they are now. Any other advice and or anything else constructive would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Depends If blackjack tournaments are going to become part of your overall strategy as an AP you'll absolutely need to practice. I used to travel nearly two hours twice a month to play in a weekly tournament and the practice was beneficial. In these weeklies I learned a lot about playing against casual players, which is an important dimension of your game. But these weeklies will cost you money if you're driving two hours one way at four bucks a gallon. Don't forget to add wear and tear on your vehicle and eating road food or casino food to your expenses. You won't be able to overcome this overhead cost no matter how good you get unless your weeklies offer a good overlay. You'll have to think of these weeklies as an investment.
Thanks for your reply, but unfortunately I have a kink to throw into your post. As far as I can tell, the casino nearest me doesn't even have weekly BJ tournaments. They're only once every few months. There have been two so far in the year, with another one coming up in a week and a half and one more at the end of August. That is where the schedule ends, so there could be more after that, but they're not posted yet. So with so few chances to play in tournaments, whatever should I do? How can I get decent tournament practice in with so infrequent tournaments? Do I just attend all the tournaments they do hold and keep my eyes and ears very open to try and learn as quickly as possible?
Monkey is right, as usual. You've got to add in ALL of your expenses to decide if it's going to be worth it, strictly on a dollars-and-cents level. This is true of any sporting competition for money. Then you've got to balance it against how good you are. Be honest with yourself about this, it's crucial. If your raw $ numbers show you at a 20% disadvantage, but you're honestly better than 75% of the competition, then you're going to be ahead of the game in the long haul. Be aware that knowing casino blackjack well is a plus, but tournament blackjack is an entirely different animal. You will have to make plays that go totally against everything you've learned about the game, and some of those plays will seem absolutely bizarre. Learn TBJ strategy before you start chasing that rainbow or you'll likely get your backside handed to you on a platter. And you've found the site that is the best place to start. One more thing - don't fall into the trap of thinking that knowing how to "count" will help you very much. It won't. Anthony Curtis, one of the greatest TBJ players ever (and founder of the Las Vegas Advisor), says he just loves to play against folks who depend on the "count" as they would in a regular casino game because he can frequently use advanced TBJ strategy to kick their butts.
tournaments some starting advice - read Wong's book on Casino Tournament Strategies - also - Ken's ebook - both give some basic advice any tourney player should know - also - practice counting chips - just pick up some cheap poker chips and practice with random stacks - from about 5 feet away - in dim lighting - as far as playing/traveling for tourneys - if the entry is cheap enough - travel a little and think of it as 'fun' and practice - you don't say where you live - there may be some other casinos a little further away - that offer tourneys? - I have driven up to 3 hrs to get to a tourney - does in your ev some - for sure - especially at current gas prices - but - if it is the only tourney you've got - if you do any traveling at all - say for your job at whatever - then - look for casinos and tourneys where you are traveling - that is what the events calendar on this site works well for - also - tell your nearest casino that you want more tourneys - they might listen finally - there are sites where you can play online - legally - some are play money - and you can see lots of very bad play on those sites - but - it is practice - also - ClubUBT is legal - also - other real money sites - if you can find a way to deposit - online may be your best bet
So much to reply to, so I'll get started right away! Yes of course. I hope I didn't come across as that naive. This I also know. Thanks for telling me still though. Always appreciated. Two questions: 1) Where can I find Ken's ebook and 2) Any other books I should read up on? Electronic or paper. If I up the time traveled to three hours, I think two more casinos become available. If I go up to four hours, another one or two I believe also become available. Four hours really seems to be a huge stretch though. Three not so much. Gotta draw the line somewhere right? Can do! Okay, cool. I'll have to check 'em out. Since we're on the subject of online play, like with poker, might it be more profitable to just stay home and play a bunch of tournaments from my desk? As opposed to traveling for several hours to play in a single tournament in a brick/mortar casino. Or does online blackjack not work that way? Again, I thank everyone for their informative responses and I encourage you to keep replying with any little piece of advice you may have. I'm in that stage of just soaking everything up, so throw it at me! EDIT: Is the site being discussed here the same as "club ubt" as mentioned by RKuczek?
You can get my ebook here: http://store.esellerate.net/deepnet/kensmithebook I assume you've seen the strategy section here: http://www.blackjacktournaments.com/strategy.php
Ken's book 1. Read Ken's book for sure. Though I have played alot of tournaments, when I read Ken's book, it brought to life many things that I had not even had happen to me yet, but following reading his book, they came up and I knew exactly what to do according to the odds, etc. 2. Travel vs. Payout! If you are actually wanting to play tournaments and learn how to play them well, in my opinion, don't worry about whether it is worth the trip or not! Make the trip to the tournament and treat it as a vacation. No matter if you win or lose, you were able to gain some blackjack tournament experience, as well as, some life experience. As many of the people on this site can attest, I am all about having some fun and good life experiences. Is there anyone on here that can attest to me and life experiences?????? NEVER drink during a tournament!!!!!! It is only a set-up for disaster After becoming totally addicted to blackjack tournaments, and knowing what the hell you are doing, then you can pick and choose which tournaments suit you the best! Me personally, I am awaiting to go to New Orleans again. Good Times:flame: 3. Where are you located?
Excellent. Being prepared is always good. After reading some people's arguments for not attending tournaments based on EV, I was leaning towards attending tournaments for the quoted reason. Basing your attendance off EV alone seems like a good way to never play Blackjack to me. Especially with some of the nuances people throw into their definition of EV. Sometimes it even sounds like they're using it as an excuse not to go. If you're gonna have fun, what more reason do you need really? If money is tight, don't go. It's more likely that you'll not make money, so just gamble what you can afford. If you can afford it, have the time to make the trip, and enjoy BJ tournaments, why not go? I'm starting to ramble so I'll end there. I don't drink at all. I just hope the ones that suit me best aren't a million, give or take, miles away. I tend to be private, but upon further thought, I should have said this in my OP, so people could chime in with their experiences in my area. I live in New Mexico. Las Cruces to be exact. Anyone have any location-specific tips?
comments I know that Inn of the Mountain Gods near Ruidoso has some tournaments - don't know anything about them I have found that three hours drive - each way - is a long drive for a tourney - have done it - just to get a chance to play - but - if it is a long tourney - them you are in for a long day - and the long drive - early starting time - etc - might adversely affect your play - two hours - not so bad - wouldn't try four hours unless an overnight trip - and that ups the cost a lot - I think there is a lot of difference between live tourneys and online - chip counting for one thing - but - a very different feel to the game - and - online you don't get the interaction with other players - I would play live tourneys in bricks and mortar casinos - just for the experience - may be negative ev - with travel costs - but - can not be duplicated online really - try to pick tourneys with some positive ev - and - hope that keeps the cost down - also - keep in mind that even the best players don't cash in the majority of their tourneys - so - don't get discouraged if you don't cash at first - play well and the cashs will come -
Yes, this is the one two hours away from me. I forgot this had been brought up. I have also noticed it hasn't been additionally touched on. So allow me to re-ask, are there frequent enough internet BJTs, that also pay well? If there are, maybe it's more cost-effective to just play a bunch online. Like with the poker boom. People can sit in their homes and play in literally hundreds of tournaments over the course of a few days and make a decent living doing it. Plus, it still counts as a type of experience, should these online players want to hit up a brick/mortar tournament. They'll have the experience of thousands of hands under their belt. Are blackjack tournaments offered that frequently in any online site that uses real money? Thanks for letting me know this. Quite surprising to hear this to be honest. The best players don't even cash that frequently? Intriguing, to say the least. A saying I like to keep in mind is "Don't play to win. Play to learn. Winning will come as a result of learning."
Are any of the following programs good for acquiring a semblence of tournament experience, without having to travel a hundred hours to a casino or play with live money? http://bj21.com/ads/tbj1.html http://www.bj21.com/ads/deepnet/deepnet_review.html
online tournaments both Blackjack21 and UltimateBet offer online tournaments - and accept American players - you will need to figure out how to do a deposit - look carefully at the fees for depositing and withdrawing money - they can be very high with some methods - I play on UltimateBet - but this is because it is where I had deposited money before the UIGEA UltimateBet has been hit by a major cheating scandal - in its high stakes poker games - insiders were involved - so any playing on UltimateBet - is at your own risk - with that said - I make a small amount of money - but I play a lot - UB offers several tournaments each evening - ranging from $5 to as much as $100 buy-ins - UB tournaments are 'Eliminaiton Blackjack', which means they have elimination hands and secret bets - I have never had a problem withdrawing money from UB ClubUBT offers a subscription site - where you can win real money - think it costs $19.95 per month - and it is legal - but I have never played there, and don't know much about it -
Welcome So far, the entirety of my expereince has been online (although I'm hoping that may change in the very near future). I certainly think you can learn a lot, and aim to make a small profit from online play. If you browse through the past posts in the online forum, you will see the good and bad things people have had to say about various sites. I'd also recommend browsing through the backlog of posts in 'Tournament Strategy and Teasers' as part of your academic BJT study. Some of the terminology might be a bit baffling, however, unless you read Wong's and/or Ken's book first. These days, I mostly play at blackjack21.com. I echo what RK said about fees. I wasn't aware when I signed up, but there are a number of 'partner sites' which offer access to the same tournaments, as well as their own sportsbooks, online casinos, etc. It may be worth investigating which of these offers the best deal in terms of transaction costs, bonuses, etc. You have the option of trying out the games using 'play money', which might be a good way to dip your toe in the water. The only problem with that is that you won't find as many people wanting to play as in the real-money games. In fact, 'Victory Points' are awarded in both real and play-money games, and once you have acquired 30 VPs, you can enter a weekly freeroll. So I suppose it's theoretically possible to build up a bankroll without ever depositing. There are two or three multi-table tournaments scheduled each day, plus Sit-n-Gos. There's a two-player variant of the Sit-n-Gos, known as 'mano-a-mano', which I prefer. There's also a qualification process underway for a tournament with a relatively large prize pool ($21K). There are satellites during the week, but these offer terrible value. It's better to buy in on Sunday nights.
