2nd attempt at BJ tourney

Today I tried my second BJ tournament--and it was not pretty. I was not even close to winning the table. I bought in again ($25) and busted out on the 21st hand.

Basic summary: $1000 starting bankroll; $25 min/$500 max; no surrender or insurance and you must ask for even money as it's not offered; no doubling for less; double after split okay; BJs pay 2:1. 25 hands total per round; chip count after hand #20. Only the top chip winner at each table advances.

I've read through Wong's book on BJ tournament strategy, and though I haven't learned most of it, I still remember some of his tips. One is to play conservative at first and then become more aggressive as the game goes on. Let the other players bust out, he says. However, today the other folks were betting very aggressively from the get go, anywhere from $75 - $100. I'm thinking, "What? Betting 1/10th of your entire bankroll on each and every hand??" But damned if they weren't making their hands, hitting a 15 v. dealer 5--and making it!! It was clear from the play that many at the table were ploppies. (One player even asked if you could double on just one card!) Meanwhile, I'm busting my 12s and 13s and getting lots of middling hands. By about the 7th or 8th hand I was already behind by $400-500. So by the last few hands I'm forced to start betting the max and doubling almost everything, but I lost the last 5 hands, so it didn't matter. I played 50 hands today and did not have a single BJ. It was very frustrating to say the least.

The most notable highlight today was on the final hand at another table watching this guy double a hard 19 v. dealer 10 (with a max bet) . . . and then draw a 2! (Unfortunately for him, it was too little, too late.)

Thanks for letting me vent!

what position were you in? how many players plus the dealer? hand shuffled? # of decks? only asking because i normally choose the first to minimize the variance of peoples decisions in front of me. and if im in first, i can play the way i should be playing according to BS.

Quote: heatmap

what position were you in? how many players plus the dealer? hand shuffled? # of decks? only asking because i normally choose the first to minimize the variance of peoples decisions in front of me. and if im in first, i can play the way i should be playing according to BS.

Your position changes on every hand though.

It almost always comes down to Final Jeopardy!

Quote: heatmap

what position were you in? how many players plus the dealer? hand shuffled? # of decks? only asking because i normally choose the first to minimize the variance of peoples decisions in front of me. and if im in first, i can play the way i should be playing according to BS.

6 players plus the dealer. 6 decks, ASM.

First, seats are assigned randomly during the registration period. You draw a card (1-6) and that's your seat for the round. I was seat #3 in the first round and seat #2 in the third round (my rebuy-in). But as GWAE said, the position of "first base" changes with every hand. The dealer has 25 red buttons, numbered 1-25. Button #1 is placed in front of the player immediately to the dealer's left. After the hand is played, the button (now #2, etc.) is moved to the next player, and so on. The player with the button receives the first card. Technically, even though no one at the table has to place a bet until AFTER the 'button' player makes his/her bet, that's not how it played out. Almost everyone simply placed their bet for the next hand immediately and did not even pay attention to what the other players were betting. Unless I was on the button, I was often the last one to place my bet.

As far as I could tell, basic strategy was, for the most part, non-existent. Players standing on 13-16 v. dealer 7-9, hitting 13-15s v. dealer 5-6, not doubling when they should, doubling when they shouldn't, etc., etc. In fact, in my rebuy-in round, the lady to my right had never even heard of basic strategy, and she asked me to explain what doubling and splitting was exactly, when to do it, etc. It was comical at times, although I got my ass kicked by these ploppies!

Well, for only $25 it was definitely an entertaining time! (1st place was $2K and 2nd place was $1K!) Next time I just hope the cards are kinder to me than yesterday.

Quote: GWAE

Your position changes on every hand though.

Ohh like hold em poker