Just a quick report for now, I'll post something more detailed in a couple of days, when I find the time to compose it. I was Deb's and my pleasure to meet Billy C, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Mayo, and also to again meet Mr. and Mrs. Gary B. He goes by "prairiedog" on the UBT site and is also one of the PlayUBT final table seat winners to be seen on Season 2, we had met them before at the TV taping in L.A. Deb and I didn't do very well, both failing to advance out of the first round and the one rebuy round. We didn't really anticipate a great showing because this was our first shot at live TBJ from the starting gate. Billy C. advanced out of the rebuy, but fell short in the quarterfinals. Gary was still in it. We departed at that point. Someone had posted earlier that this event has a tendency to have rules change "on the fly" and that person was absolutely correct. More when I can write it up, will be rather long. Hopefully, it will also be interesting not only to the TBJ newbies here, but to the experienced players as well since it'll tell the story from a rookie's point of view.
St. Ignace Welcome LeftNut and Debbie, It was a pleasure to meet LeftNut and his girlfreind Deb at Kewadin's well attended event this past weekend. Also got to see Dan Mayo and his always pleasant wife, Gary B. and a lot of other regulars. I would welcome LeftNut and Deb to the "live" tournament world and encourage them to return for October event at St. Ignace and also try other tournament venues. You will meet a lot of nice people along the way. Billy C
Ignace Tourney There was a very interesting semi-finals table where the difference between the top 3 were $4,005, $4,000 and $4,000. These were 3 very talented veteran players at this venue and there was a 5 hand playoff between the two ties. This table however went to the wire as Peggy made one final attack with 2 BJ double downs on the last hand that had she connected would have taken first, great drama indeed. Creeping Panther.
Correction to post When I spoke of Peggy doubling the BJ this was not a natural buy a split aces for 21, then the double. creeping panther
Bill C it was nice meeting you to. It was also nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Dan Mayo and to see you guys again Mr & Mrs Gary B. I hope we can make it in Oct, it was a great learning lesson and when I got again I feel more at home with all the new freinds I made on this trip. Who know's Bill maybe we will even end up compeating at the same table once. hehehehehehehhe
Wow For those of you who don't know it, which probably includes everybody, that was Deb posting as Angelrun5. She's been lurking here since early last November. Now I know she enjoyed the tournament and meeting everyone there!
newbie Hello all. I am new here and just wanted to say hi and that it was a pleasure playing with all of you in St Ignace. It was only my second tournament and even though I didnt advance I think I did alright. I am hopeing to start taking this more seriously. I would appreciate any advice you have to offer
Good Start angelrun5, Glad to see you've started posting. How did your beagle survive the weekend? Bet he was glad to see you! Also, welcome lisa lee. Don't know if we met or not. Best advice I could give you without making a tremendously long post is to keep entering tournaments and learn from mistakes that you make along the way and also make mental notes of mistakes made by other players that you witness, so you hopefully avoid those in the future. I don't know where you live but if other BJ tournaments are within reasonable reach, enter them for good experience. Billy C
lack of tournaments Thank you billy c. I would love to play in more blackjack tournaments but I cant find any. I live in the detroit area and the detroit casions dont have bj tournaments. Also, I checked the tournament scheduel on this site, and they list a weekly tounament in williamsburg, but that casino website doesnt list the tournament. Are there any tournaments outside of casions? like at a vfw or private clubs?
Here's a novel idea: Can you have BJT in a venue like this? I mean all you need is a few dealers, chips, cards, etc. If you payout all the fees collected is this possible? The reason I ask is this: Maybe having "fun" BJT at various locals would introduce the public to the concept more. I mean I pass by a local watering hole that hosts Texas Hold em on Wed night because people know about it.
Hello, LisaLee, my apologies for missing your first posting! If you live in southern Michigan or thereabouts and want to play tournament blackjack, you have two choices: 1. Play online, or 2. Move. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. The casinos around Detroit don't do TBJ's, although I've approached a couple of them and have had some sniffing interest. They're all too tied up with the expansion and building projects going on right now. The future may brings winds of change. Doing TBJ at a private club may be OK, they do HoldEm's frequently. Problem is, there's not much interest in TBJ because everyone's seeing poker on TV all day long.
But if all the entry fees are being returned to the players is it really gaming? I don't know. If nightclubs can host Texas Hold em why not Tournament BJ?
Don't know the technicalities. But with that theory, Video Poker and other slot machines with a 100% payout (if they existed) should also be permitted. The long and short is that it is still gambling. The profit, or lack thereof, by the host is probably irrelevant.
Lisa lee, aside from the possible legal technicalities, there's a logistics problem with player availability. There's so doggone many HoldEm players now that you could host a tournament and have hundreds of aficionados within 20 miles. There just aren't many TBJ players out there, so there would be travel costs involved that would likely cause a homespun BJT to be a bad idea for many folks. As an aside, local HoldEm players are a crazy bunch. At the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival (the charity fund-raiser where Deb and I were invited to deal BJ), they hosted a series of HoldEm tournaments throughout that weekend. Even though the "house" was skimming off about 2/3 of the entry fees for the charity, people were literally lined up 40 or 50 deep to sign up and pay the $30 entry fee.
I'm not sure in all states but electronic and or mechanical devices use or that may be used for gambling are illegal in most cases, there are a few exceptions. Also the "Cherry Master" 8-liners are not considered slot machines (I can't tell you why?) This is one reason why you may see them gas stations and convenience stores down here. As far holding a poker game (in Texas anyway), it is illegal if "ANY MONEY" is paid to be able to play. Also the chances of winning or losing must be the same for everybody at the table. Selling a membership, cover, renting a chair, making a reservation, having a minimum food or drink charge, and taking a rake is all illegal. Even if you follow the above guidelines, if they wanted to they could charge you with having a gambling device, equipment, or paraphernalia and they could also say that you’re running a gambling house or place. Note I'm not saying you will be found guilty, but it would be a hassle for you. I run casino parties throughout the state for over 23 years, all legal and still check with local law enforcement just to let them know what is going on and try to avoid any problems. Several years back I was going to host some blackjack tournaments in Ft. Worth (for cash prizes). I had everything approved and then the chief of police decided he didn't like the idea and tried to stop the events. When he found out I wasn't doing anything illegal and had approval, he went to the hotel where I was going to host my events and scared them into canceling the tournaments. He told the hotel manager that if we gambled in the hotel they would lose their liquor license, (which was a bluff since we weren't gambling and were offering a 100% return of all entries and re-buys). So you see law enforcement can mess with you even if you’re doing nothing wrong. So if you do play or host a game make damn sure you know what you’re doing and be careful.
