There is a "tournament" running at the Isle of Capri in Vicksburg 5-8 pm on Mondays through March 8. The top prize is $300, but can go higher based on number of entrants. The $10 entry buys you one 10 hand session with $300 of tournament chips. There was only one table and they play round after round with many people re-buying for another shot at improving their score. Seating selection is your choice, and I believe they always start the session dealing to 1st base, but the deal does rotate. The best scores are listed on a posterboard, and the real goal of the game is not to beat the other players at your table, but to beat the posted scores. Unless you have a strong contender at your session, you need not even worry about other player's chip counts or betting amounts, just the fixed figure of the current leader. The bet limits are $5-300, and the top score I saw was $1550. It takes aggressive betting and a run of good cards to get anywhere in ten measly hands. I did not like the format, but I thought it was something I should at least develop a strategy for. Is this a tournament format that anyone else uses? It seems more like a carnival game, a strongman game of Blackjack. "Didn't ring the bell skinny? Well try again!" The the best way I could figure to approach this was to look at it as the last ten rounds in a regular tournament, and you need to double up several times to catch the chip leader. How would you play this contest?
sentry, So this is the whole tourney and not just to qualify for a final table? ******** The Colorado Belle (Laughlin) runs a similiar event daily. You get 10 blacks to play nine hands to qualify. BJ is 2/1. The top five scores are posted throughout the day. Later qualifiers must exceed a posted score. At 9pm the top five are in the final table and they chose a seat based on score. Two wildcards are then drawn to fill out the table. The button is determined by lot. Thirteen hands are played at the final table with the starting 10 blacks, $500 max. Six deck shoe, double any, no das, no surrender. Finalists get a pretty good t-shirt, top 5 cash. Very well run little tourney. ******* I try to qualify playing by myself to take out any co-varience with other players. I have seen the 5th place qualifying score from $1500-3200. You probably have to play at a full table in your event.
Good question? Accumulative tournaments require a lot of luck. If I was a local I would play because I love tournaments, but I wouldn't travel for one of these style tournaments. I have made exceptions such as the Stardust VIP tournaments, (1st prize is $30,000 and the entry and hotel is free). But during the same time I can play in about 2-3 other Bj tournaments while in Las Vegas makes it worth wild. The best way to play a accumulative Tournament? If I have $300 and ten hands with unlimited $10 reentry I think I would try to put a good score up at first I would still start off aggessive, about $100 1/3 of your bankroll. Once you know what you have to bet I feel it is better to jump out fast with a good start or get out fast, so just start slaming $300 from the start. You said $1550 was the top score, if you get lucky with a $300 bet on hand #1 your up to $600. Now bet $300 again if you get lucky and catch a double down you could be at $1,200 by the 3rd hand. Remember this sounds great on paper, you could lose the first hand and be back in the reentry line. With first prize $300 you have to decide how much it is worth to you to put in to a tournament like this. There is always another tournament, don't feel like you have to play in every one. I like to wait and play the tournaments that give me the most for the money. I prefer the "Stardust week", the Stardust, New Frontier, Riviera, Imperial Palace along with severial casinos hosting mini tournaments. These tournaments usally run during the same week and you can play all of them in one trip.
This sad little deal is the whole tournament. I saw one round with only four players, and don't know if they'd let someone play solo- it's possible given the structure. BTW, I practiced for this game on Casino Verite, ignoring the other player's totals and just set my goal as beating $1550. Out of 40 recorded tries, I busted out 31 times (77.5 %). Of the other 9 times, I finished 4 times with $1850 or better. Based on this small unscientific sample, it seems like I have a 10% chance of winning this event. 10% of the top prize is $30, so I can justify only two $10.00 shots at this event, if my logic is not faulty. Sentry
Playing agressively, I got to 1800 about 9% of the time (close enough to 10% for this) and thus if that amount would win the tournament, then your expected proceeds over the long run would by $30 for each entry. If it costs you $10 to play, then I would play as many times as possible, because you have a positive expectation. The only problem is if you put up a high score early in the tournament, then players behind you have better information to play more agressively and beat you. Thus it would seem to be much more advantageous to play as late as possible so that you can know what score to beat while limiting the possibility of someone beating your score after you. That being said, it is only $10 and it is fun, so either way would probably work - play early for more chances or play late to limit opponents Good luck!
Go for it from the beginning $300 max. throw it all out there, if you lose your out $10 go try it again. As far as other players knowing what you have and that they have to bet big to catch you if your in the lead, so be it. Wouldn't you rather be in the lead with you the one they are chasing? Chances are your all chasing someone anyway, why not you? With $300 to start with and you already know $1,550 is what you have to bet why bet small? Your chance are better to win a few big bets VS. a lot of small to meduim bets. Once you get up to $900 you can back off a little, just make sure you have $955 going into the last hand so a $300 double down can give you a chance for a $5 win. Your only goal should be is to set or beat the highest total at that time. Don't assume it is going to be $1,550 before it is set, if your at $1,200 with two hands to go, make the other players beat you, don't get greedy and risk losing the lead. Think about a football game, the team leading has the ball at the end of the game, do they try to score again? NO! They just run the clock out a win is a win if the other team gets the ball back you hope they can't score, chances are they won't. A lead wins until it is beaten!
