Tournament Invitation

I am assuming that Black Jack Invitational tournaments with no entry fee are by invitation only. How do I get on a list to be invited to play? I've only played one tournament in the past, and paid a $1000 entry fee. Placed 7th my first time. I would like to get started playing more tournaments.

 

tourny invitational

Karla,
If You Are A Good Vip With Casino's You Will Get Invited To Go To Tournaments Free. Just Start Getting RATED At The Casino's
Blackjack4u

 

Tourney

Karla, also get yourself a casino host at each casino & a players card so you may be rated.Ask the host what the marketing department is looking for so you may be invited to future BJ Tournaments.Most places are looking for a $200 average bet per hand for 4 hours a day,but be sure to ask,as the requirements vary from casino to casino.Best of Luck, Luxor,(aka) Phil Dunaway

 

invites

Hi all,
JUST RECEIVED A INVITE FOR TOURNAMENT FEB9-11TH IN ATLANTIC CITY FOR $450,000 TOP 63 WILL BATTLE IT OUT ON FEB11TH FOR $250,000. IS THERE ANY INFO ON THIS TOURNAMENT??
BLACKJACK4U

 

Hey there,

Suggestion:

Why not post the tourney on the calender - include as much as you know. That way people/lurkers etc. will have a better idea of what you're talking about

 

I am a young blackjack player who wants to become a prof. tournament blackjack player. I would like to know how much should I have for a bankroll so I can be a comfortable player plus is there a loop of tournaments or circuit young players can get into out there. Thanks

 

Overhead cost

Need to be considered. Such things as hotel, food, and travel cost need to be expected. Also, if you like to gamble it could be a big addition to the extra cost of traveling to BJTs. This is actually a hard subject and a worthwhile one. Its not as easy as realizing buy in cost and figuring expected value.

 

So you want to be a pro

Here’s some sound advice! play for the fun of it.

 

my advice

I seriously doubt if there are even a half dozen people who make a reasonable, steady living off of blackjack tournament play, by itself - certainly S. Yama does, and probably Ken Smith wins enough to live off his tbj earnings - maybe a few others - some have won a single big tourney - enough to live off of for several years - but if you are thinking of winning enough to live off of - year after year - maybe try poker? - there just are not enough tbj open tourneys - and the prize pools aren't big enough - and the variance to too great - luck is too much of a factor - and the travel expenses are too high -

maybe if you joined up with other players - forming a syndicate - sharing expenses, buy-ins, and winnings - I believe there are some players that do ok by taking that route -

others make money off of books, web sites, invite only tourneys, etc. - tbj related income - but not tourney winnings - some play poker too -

but you had better have a BIG bankroll - any way you try it -

my advice - play small local tourneys - get experience - then move up in the level of tourneys with your WINNINGS covering the higher buy-ins and travel -

if you can't win enough in the smaller tourneys to cover the entries and travel for some larger ones - you aren't going to make it anyway - so keep the risk down to what you can afford -

if you really want to make a living gambling - try sports betting or horse/greyhound handicapping -

 

Great advice form Dr Pergo and RK. I agree 100%.

 

there are some of us than can eek out a living (i.e. myself and partner), after expences playing bj tourneys. that is without having a huge bankroll. plus, i travel and meet great people. i have done the corporate office gig, and have watched my soul rot away.

give it a try. if it does not work. open another door in life. it you do not make your goals at being a bj tourney player, i will assure yourself that you will have a greater learning experience than asking someone to super size that order. sbdrisco, good luck.

 

marichal

that's great that you are doing well enough to live off of tbj - I do hope I was being too pessimistic - but looking at open tbjs, payouts, travel expenses, etc. - I think it must be pretty rare that one can do that - small tournaments don't pay enough - and the bigger ones require too much travel - at least I don't see where it would pencil out for me - and I get to the final table better than 25% of the time in small tourneys - so even projecting that same edge (per table) onto larger tourneys - I would need to play about 40 small tourneys per month - or manage to get in a half dozen majors each month to make even a minimal living - doesn't pencil out (I've done the projections:laugh: ) - maybe I just need to get a lot better -

 

The best advice I could give has been stated.
Get rated at EVERY CASINO you play at, just call for the pit boss and tell him/her you want to be rated. Fill out a short form, and do yourself a favor, don't give your e-mail address if you don't want spam, lol. Get a host, just ask for oe while making your reservation, wherever you stay. Start with just playing blackjack at low tables, keep yourself on a level you can afford. Leave the credit cards home, and don't drink too much, if at all if you want to make the correct move each and everytime.
Have fun, never play impaired, or if your emotional. If you "feel" the cards turning, get up and take a walk. That is the nice thing about AC we do have the boardwalk on those days when the cards are not cooperating.

 

What about online blackjack tournaments? I noticed that there aren't that many people playing online blackjack tournaments. Is this because of the new regulation with online gambling? Or because everybody is playing poker online instead?

 

Can we get invited from online play? Any online casino's that send out invitations?

 

rkuczek;

in wa. state, we can play, at least, 12 tourneys a week, when there. of course, these are minis (1200-2500, 1st place payout). there are pai-gow tourneys in the daytime, to which we do not play, also, spread out within the week. competition, is quite tough. the wa. state players can play with the best. as stated in a past thread, we thought we would clean house the first trip to wa. that was far from the truth. their strong points, being chip counting and teaming. have traveled to wa. four times since the end of summer. will go for another 12 days in a week or so. and, another trip in two weeks after that. then, a move to wa. is in store, in month of may. also, it is much cheaper to fly out of sea-tac than the little airport that i have to fly out of nor-cal.

but, it "ain't" easy, this profession that we have chosen

 

living from tbj

I would think you would have to be very good to make a living playing online - you are pretty much restricted to UB/Bet21, and the big money games have a lot of very good players in them - small money games - you would have to play a lot -

might be able to do it - I win pretty good in the cheap sngs - that's how I fund my ploppy tournament play online - but would need to play a lot to make steady livable money -

apparently at least a couple people more than I figured making a living at tbj - I envy being able to play a dozen tourneys a week - we get one a month here in Yuma - and they have stopped the Golden Acorn tourneys - which was the next closest - if I didn't get up to Laughlin regularly - I wouldn't ever get to play -

Marichal is saying about the Seattle area what I said about Laughlin - any place with every day tourneys - you are going to run into experienced locals who know how to play - these are going to be tough tourneys - regardless of size -

 

Don't Quit Your Day Job

And schedule it into your free time....

 

day job

did quit my day job (dealing bj) last august--of course that was before the horrible law cut out almost all on line opportunities. have not gotten rich but haven't qualified for food stamps either (maybe should try lol). moving to seattle will cut down on the overhead, rental cars, motels etc, and it is a relatively inexpensive airport to fly out of to larger tourns. don't live high--eat on casino comps and have become an expert on the $1 menus at fast food restaurants and cheap motels with free if not elegant breakfast (and free internet). also avoid live tables except for match plays or the very few games around with decent rules.
being a tournament gypsy is not for the faint of heart, but doing what i want to do, so it's worth it for now.

 

Hi Leah,

didnt you and partner have successful careers before your tourney jobs? I think the original, we PMed back and forth, posting was from a 20 something year old maybe even about 21. He was wondering if he could make it starting at that point as a pro gambler/tourney player. If you own your house, have a pension or invested egg, are established it takes the burden of losing streaks off your back. So, IMO, for some it is prudent to have a day job while chasing the final tables and for others they know what they have to fall back on.