ITH Poker Forum

[blah730235]

I recently heard about blackjack touraments and I did a google search and came across this web page

http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bjtourn-what.php

Seems pretty interesting, since your playing against other players not the casino it makes sense that you could get an edge. You are trying to outlast eveyone else at your table to advance to the next round.

If I remember correctly someone playing a sound blackjack strategy without card counting can get 99 cents of every dollar they put in at a normal blackjack table. And the gambelers/bad players like 70 cents of every dollar.

So it would seem a very basic strategy of bet the minimum and playing a sound blackjack game could give you a HUGE edge over your average field of gamblers in a tourament whom are getting 70% back on every bet and betting the maximum. Now combine this with some more advance strategies like looking at position & increaseing your bet sizing at crucial moments and you are really look at some good EV.

[nsidestrate]

chrisjp is something of an expert on this topic. You might want to ask him.

[holdemchick]

if it were that simple, players would just get blackjack softwares that played perfect basic strategy based on entering the current hands.

they loosen up the rules generally in the games against the other players.

[josnan33]

hi,
it's nice to playing and easy for use.


thanks
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[scottishben]

I have dabbled in these tourneys. There is scope to develop a solid edge with applying good skills however a few things are worth making clear

a) without card counting you are not quite as strong as getting a 99 percent return on your 100 and that is with optimal play - few people do optimal play
b) solid BJ hand strategy without playing the tournament strategy will probably leave you fairing worse than the average tourney player
c) BJ tourney strategy is very complex and requires both reasonable mathematical undestanding and ability to carry out computations pretty quickly.
d) there is still lots of luck in the game - you would need to play lots of tourneys for your edge to win through.

[Doc T River]

Are there any good books on the subject?

[scottishben]

yes there are both good books and lots of good information on the internet - I do not like suggesting titles that are by potential competitors of this forum but they are easy to find if you look for Blackjack tournament strategy etc.

I felt that with a fairly brief read through some of the basic strategy that was out there I was able to give my self a reasonable edge but I have not played these tourneys too extensively