I am new to tournament blackjack and have read Ken Smith's Blackjack Tournament book. I've played some online tournaments to get some feel. I will be playing in an elimination tournament next week that has a no limit max bet. How do you adjust betting stragies with a no limit max bet?
Sorry this message seems to have been overlooked. I'm sure your event is long completed by now. No-limit events have some unique concerns, but many of the same basics still apply. You do have to replace any thinking of 'half-max-bet' leads with 'half-bankroll' leads. Patience is still a good thing, as you are rarely more than 2 bets out of contention. Of course on the occasions when that doesn't hold true, you can really be in trouble! Still, players tend to bet most or all their bankroll at the end, so even if you are badly outpaced with chips you can sometimes get a low at the end. Anyone else want to weigh in with advice on no-limit events?
Perhaps I can help with this one, since No-Limit is how Winstar's tournament works and I did OK there. Ken, as usual, is right. Trying to maintain a lead of half max bet plus a chip is no longer a consideration because there is no max bet. You want to have a lead of half your target opponent's entire bankroll plus at least one chip on the final hand - and that can be mighty tricky to maintain. Actually, at Winstar because of the 2 - 1 payoff for a natural, that 1 1/2x + at least one chip figure is good but 1 2/3x plus at least one chip is even better just in case he/she is an incredibly lucky S.O.B. and pulls a natural on the last hand. For example, here's the 150% + one chip situation: Luckbox $1000 bets $1,000 You $1525 bets $500 If Luckbox doesn't get a natural, all you have to do is avoid a full or half swing and you're golden. However (and assuming Winstar rules), if Luckbox gets a natural then he/she will vault to $3,000 and you'll have to get three bets on the table and win 'em all. Now, let's change your chip stack to 1 2/3x plus a little bit: Luckbox $1000 bets $1,000 You $1700 bets $675 If Luckbox gets the natural and vaults to $3,000 (again assuming Winstar rules), you only need to get two bets out instead of three. I know some of you math gurus noticed that the $1700 and $1525 figures don't appear to be exactly 1 1/2 and 1 2/3 plus a chip. Winstar has a minimum $25 bet, and that's the smallest chip available. With no surrender and no 3 - 2 naturals, it is impossible to stumble into a situation where stacks are not in $25 increments.
Holdbacks When calculating final hand bets in no limit formats it can be easier to think of your bet in terms of holdbacks instead of just calculating your bet. Here are two examples. You can probably think of more. Example 1. You're ahead of someone and want to take the high for some good reason. You don't want to just throw in your whole stack and make it easy for your opponent to take the low. You have to know how much your lead is. You calculate your holdback as double the lead minus a chip. Then shove the rest of your stack in. You 1500, bet 1325 - you held back 2 X 100 - 25 = 175 Villan 1400 Example 2. You're behind by some small amount and have to go first. You'd like to be able to get a second chance double down. For some good reason you want to bet over half your stack. Your opponent might decide to hold back one more chip than you do, which is the highest bet he can make that correlates yours. You calculate your holdback as double the deficit plus a chip and shove the rest in. Get ready to double for less for the rest of your chips. You 1400, bet 1175 - you held back 2 X 100 + 25 = 225 Villan 1500 If Villan holds back 250 and bets 1250 you can double for less all in to get the high.
More on Hold Back In the example given in the previous post the formula given for the minimum hold back as 2 x deficit + 1 chip is not quite accurate. Holding back only 2 x deficit will also work only because Villan should hold an extra chip. If Villan holds back same amount as You (a dumb play) then 2x deficit + a chip is required. See Chart below: ..........BkRll......HldBk....Bet.........DblAmt....BkRll after win You.....1400......200.....1200..........200........2800 Villan...1500......225.....1375.............0........2727 I do not like to hold back less than initially bet. What if you are delt the most common hand: a pair of 10's. You cannot split for less and I sure hate to double on a hard 20 as I found out to my sorrow. .........................BlueLight
Two points: 1) BlueLight's principal is sound but the arithmetic needs a little correction to help the members see the principal more clearly: Corrections in blue: ]..........BkRll......HldBk....Bet.........DblAmt....BkRll after win You.....1400......200.....1200..........200........2800 Villan...1500......225.....1275.............0.... ....2775 2) If the max bet in a given tournament is equal to or greater than the bankroll of BR1, then these principals also apply since at that point the tournament, in effect, becomes a no limit tournament. So to restate Monkeysystem's statement with these refinements it becomes: When calculating final hand bets in no limit formats, or if BR1's bankroll is equal to or less than the max bet, it can be easier to think of your bet in terms of holdbacks instead of just calculating your bet. Here are two examples. You can probably think of more. Example 1. You're ahead of someone and want to take the high for some good reason. You don't want to just throw in your whole stack and make it easy for your opponent to take the low. You have to know how much your lead is. You calculate your holdback as double the lead minus a chip. Then shove the rest of your stack in. You 1500, bet 1325 - you held back 2 X 100 - 25 = 175 Villan 1400 Example 2. You're behind by some small amount and have to go first. You'd like to be able to get a second chance double down. For some good reason you want to bet over half your stack. Your opponent might decide to hold back one more chip than you do, which is the highest bet he can make that correlates yours. You calculate your holdback as double the deficit and shove the rest in. Get ready to double for less for the rest of your chips. You 1400, bet 1200 - you held back 2 X 100 = 200 Villan 1500 If Villan holds back 225 and bets 1275 you can double for less (all in) to get the high.
Refinements Thank you for the refinements, guys. Accounting for the unliklihood of Villan holding back the same amount didn't occur to me when I was working these numbers.
None-the-less, you, Monkeysystem, laid out 2 rules in easy to remember format that should be in everyone's "toolbox". These are the type of rules every BJT player needs for instant recall when that sand-timer is relentlessly counting down your allotted time. I, for one, have added these rules to my "permanent files". Now if Alzheimer's lets me recall them I'll be alright.
