Greetings, and thanks for this new resource. I am a fairly experienced casino blackjack player, first using basic strategy, then the Hi Opt I, and now the Hi Opt II. I am a higher comped player at the Mississippi casinos, and will be playing in a significant tournament at the Golden Moon, Pearl River, the weekend of 12/5/03. First prize is $20,000.00, no entry fee, invitation only, and obviously a benefit of having played many hours of significant table bets there. Problem is I have never played a tournament before, and am now doing my due diligence homework. Read and copied the excellent articles on such play at www.blackjackinfo.com, where I also learned of this site. Do not yet know the rules other than two groups/two rounds and then a championship round. 1 1/2 hours allocated by the schedule for each round. Looking forward to it, and learning all I can. Any tips, pointers, etc., greatly appreciated. LoneWolf
Reading your message reminded me that I need to get back to work on a half-finished article that covers tournament strategy basics. The articles I have posted over at BlackjackInfo tend to cover more advanced ideas, though I hope they're still meaningful for players relatively new to tournaments. If you get more details about the format of this upcoming event, post them here, and we'll cover some basic ideas. If you don't expect to learn anything further before the event, post that as well, and we'll cover more ground. I can't guess much about the format, because Silver Star has historically had events in both the major formats, usually described as elimination or non-elimination formats. In an 'elimination' format, you compete against the players at your table only, and players who aren't among the 1 or 2 high chip totals at the table are eliminated. 'Non-elimination' formats on the other hand feature competition against all players at the same time, with each player attempting to amass a larger chip total than the others. After the rounds are over, the scores are ranked, and a set number of players are paid prize money. In those events, you aren't competing against your table, just attempting to accumulate chips.
what bj tournaments are there in 2004 looking for different bj tournaments in 2004 in the us, how do you find them, please advise
Blackjack Confidential's final issue has an extensive listing of tournaments that extends through all of 2004. I don't know their current status since they are suspending publication, but calling them for a single copy of that issue might still work. You can try them at 856-667-2122. In the event that you can't reach them directly, you might can purchase a copy from the Gambler's Book Store in Las Vegas. More info available at http://www.gamblersbookclub.com or 800-522-1777. Meanwhile, and more importantly for the future, work is continuing behind the scenes here at BlackjackTournaments.com to provide a searchable calendar of upcoming events. I'm hoping to have the listings available in early January, though there's still a lot of work to be done.
