I just played in my first tournament and had a great time. I made it through to the semi-finals and during the semi-final round was hitting well. It was a 25 hand tournament with a count at 20 and I was 300 ahead of the six players at the table.. On the last hand it was down to myself and two others and I had to come out with the bet. BR for me was $1100, player 2 was $700 and player 3 was $600. First tournament!! Final table in sight...I didn't know what to bet and bet the minimum thinking I would forcing the others to bet just about all to catch me. They both did and the dealer busted...I ended up third. Is there a common strategy I should have played. Had a great time and consider the buy-in cost the price of my first tournament lesson. Thanks!
Here's what you want... Don't feel bad. In my first year of play, I won two $12K+ tournaments doing exactly what you describe! I was a big fan of making very small bets from the lead, assuming the house edge was on my side. After I learned more about the game, I discovered there are better ways to play this hand. In this particular case, any bet between $305 and $395 is very good. The easiest way to arrive at a bet in that range is to think like this: "He has $700. I'll keep back $705 and bet the rest." You don't even have to count how much you're betting. It happens to be $395. If the whole table wins, you advance, even if $700 goes all-in and wins. If the whole table loses, you advance. And, you can even afford to lose while your opponents push. That's a strong spot to be in. Not a bad start to your tournament career, making the semifinals. I hope your next tournament finds you in the finals.
(I was hoping to get a critique of my response by others, but Ken got his post in while I was still composing.) BothJs, the last hand strategy most definitely depends on your standing. Being the chip leader is better. It is tougher when you must act first, even with the lead, as you can be sure that knowledgeable players behind you (in both position and chips) will do everything to catch and surpass you if at all possible. Ken has written an article on just this situation for Blackjack Insider newsletter at bjinsider.com (issue #51 but you’ll have to subscribe to read the archives). Here is my take on the situation, applying what I have learned from all the experienced players on this site who so graciously share the benefits of that experience. You don’t say what the betting limits were, so to illustrate let me use 10-500 which makes you almost one max bet ahead. By betting 10 you make it easier for your opponent, BR 2 with 700. All he has to do is bet 420 (“taking the high”) to beat you if you both win the hand and he does not have to sweat a double down on a poor hand. BR3 with 600 has to bet max and double down. You want to make it tougher on BR2 putting him in the same position of max bet and double to beat you. The most he can make is 1200 with a max bet. A bet of just 110 covers his single-bet win. This bet gives you both the high and the low. If you both win the hand you end up with 1210 to his 1200 and you advance; if you both lose the hand you end up with 990 to his 200 and again you advance. But if he catches a blackjack, he passes you with 1450. So add another 250 to your bet (the 50% BJ premium on his 500) for a total of 360 to cover that possibility—and you still have the low, advancing if you all get beat by the dealer. A bet of 360 also covers his “all-in” double-for-less because he does not have enough chips for a full double. So you see, you were really in the catbird seat, and that is always a nice place to be. The only way to not advance with the 360 bet in this example is if you lose your hand and the opponent(s) win theirs. But in that event, you’re usually out of it regardless of the bet, which is exactly what happened in your actual case—so don’t feel too bad about making a mistake. As has been said many times here, we all do (you know, “to err is human…”). --jr
Jackaroo's right He's definitely in the catbird seat. One line of your post particularly shows why the larger bet is better: "The only way to not advance with the 360 bet in this example is if you lose your hand and the opponent(s) win theirs." The key here is that even if you bet $10, you can still lose this way. Thus the larger bet is "free", adding no additional risk at all. And, the upside is considerable.
Thank you both for the advice. I have played the last hand over and over in my head! Hindsight is always 20/20 huh? I will remember this next time I play...thanks again!
