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Blackjack Tournaments

A local casino is sponsoring a Blackjack tournament which will be held on Saturday, March 13, 1999 and I've signed up for it and am preparing myself to win it, so this is a good opportunity to examine tournaments in general and give you some ideas on how to approach them. If you haven't participated in a tournament before, let me show you the rules of the one in which I'm taking part and that will give you a basic concept of how these events proceed.

The tournament entry fee is $150 and it's limited to 120 players so, if all the spots are filled, the prize structure is as follows:

1st Place	$10,000
2nd Place	$ 5,000
3rd Place	$ 2,500
4th Place	$ 1,400
5th Place	$ 900
6th Place	$ 600
7th Place	$ 400
Total prizes	$20,800

This is from the official tournament rules of play, but it appears to me that someone has either made a mathematical error or the casino is chipping in on the prize pool, since most tournaments give back 100% or less of the entry fees. The payback here is 115.5%, so I'm already ahead of the game. My 'expected value' for this event is 1.155 X $150 = $173.5 for a profit of $23.50. Yes, I know; I haven't even started and already I'm figuring my income. But, if the casino held a tournament like this every week (they don't) and I participated in every one and I just won 1 in 120 (the odds of winning based only on 'luck'), my time would be worth an average of $23.50 per tournament. This is sometimes called the 'equity' of a tournament and whenever it's a plus, the tournament is worth entering as long as your travel expenses, meals, etc. don't exceed the equity. In my case, this tournament is local so my only expenses are a few bucks for gas and my time. But the 10 grand first prize makes the time worthwhile.

The object of the tournament is to have the most $$$ at your table after 25 hands of BJ have been played. The game is 6 decks, double on any first two cards, double after split, insurance is allowed, the dealer hits A-6 and blackjacks or 'naturals' pay 2 to 1, instead of the usual 3:2 which is, I suppose, to speed up the game, since we'll be playing for 'funny money'. Sadly, the winnings of a player aren't 'real' and we don't get to keep the $$$, because with that 2 to 1 on naturals, I'd have an edge off the top of about 2%! Each player gets $2000 in tournament chips and the minimum bet is $25, the max. is $500. All bets must be in $25 increments.

The tournament is divided into different qualifying 'heats'. The first round will be 20 tables of 6 players each and the top two from each table will move to the next round. There's also a 'buy-in' option for those who don't qualify on the first round. For an extra $100 (maybe that's where the extra $$$ come from for the prizes), a non-qualifier can play another 25-round match and, if s/he wins, can move on to the quarter finals. The quarter finals will consist of 60 players at 10 tables. From this, one winner from each table will advance and those 10 will then play 25 hands with 7 moving to the finals. Everyone at that final table will be 'in the money' and I intend to be there.

Now as I mentioned before, winning this will be mostly a matter of luck, but there's a lot I can do to increase my chances. The first, of course, is counting the cards. I'll use that information for betting in the initial rounds at each table, but the reality is that card counting will have little effect in a 25-round match. The real key to winning is money management - making the right bet at the right time. If the count is in my favor, great. But even if it isn't, I've got to keep up with the others at my table with a key point being hand #15. That will likely occur on the last hand of the first shoe or the first hand of a new shoe. If a player or two are far ahead of me, I've got to do one of two things: either bet big to catch up, if they bet small or bet small if they bet big trying to increase their lead. You're probably wondering why I'd bet small if they bet big, but the logic is simple: we are all more likely to lose our hands than win. By betting big when they are betting big, I have to win while they lose and that will happen only 12% of the time. But, both of us will lose about 30% of the time and he'll lose and I'll push about 5% of the time. Losing less is as good as winning, but I'll need to be within half a max. bet ($250) of the leader's total by hand #22, or blow all my $$$ trying.

Exactly how I play the last 3 hands will depend upon a lot of factors and the last hand is obviously crucial. What I'll keep in mind is that doubling on a hard 17 won't likely work, but it is an option. So is splitting weird hands like 6,6 against a 9, etc. These are strategy 'refinements' which can get extra $$$ on the table, but they are acts of desperation. In one practice session, I went from 3rd place to 1st by insuring a hand, even though the count didn't justify it. All the other players refused insurance, but I took it and the dealer had a 'natural'. I lost my $500 bet, but won $500 on the insurance bet and thus gained on the leaders. One really great psychological tool I expect to use is to split tens. That move almost always freaks people out and so I love to do it. Many players believe that splitting 10s somehow "messes up the order of the cards" and they cut back on their bets, because they believe they can't win. The shock won't last long, but if I can do it about hand #10, I will. Of course, I'll only do it if I have a minimum bet out, or if the count is up and the dealer's showing a 2-6. Dirty, huh?

For training, I use a software program called "Tournament Blackjack" version 1.02 which was developed by Stanford Wong and is available from his web site at www.bj21.com/ He also has a book called "Casino Tournament Strategy" which covers not only Blackjack tournaments, but craps, baccarat and keno tournaments as well. But my primary training tool is the software program which I can set up to virtually duplicate the conditions under which I'll be playing. The program has too many excellent features to list here, so if you're interested in tournaments, go get it. It's only about $30 or so and is worth every penny.

I'll give a complete report on the tournament and hope I'll be able to tell you that I finished in the money. If I don't, it won't be because I didn't try.

See you here next time.

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