MDBJ2 finally on TV

KenSmith

KenSmith

Administrator
Staff member
As RahRam posted in another thread, the Hilton Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament II is finally going to be broadcast on the Travel Channel.

From the schedule at the Travel Channel website:

The Semifinal episode, covering all three semifinal tables in a one hour episode, will air on
Wednesday, March 30th at 8 PM and 11 PM Eastern.
Wednesday, April 6th at 7 PM Eastern.
Thursday, April 7th at 2 AM Eastern.

The Final Table episode, will air on
Wednesday, April 6th at 8 PM and 11 PM Eastern.
Sunday April 10th at 2 AM Eastern.

West Coast viewers should check your local listings, since there may be a separate feed.
 
Do you know if the rules and format last year are the same as this year? I read all the rules for this year already but I don't know anything about what was happening last year. I'm planning to play the final qualifying tournament next month and watching this would be a good prep for that.
 
Opinions on the show?

Well, it's certainly not nearly as well produced as GSN's shows, but it's nice to see the coverage nonetheless.

Watching this show reminds me just how much the input of Max and Matt as commentators adds to the GSN shows.
 
I have never seen the GSN shows but I thought the show tonight on Travel Channel was very hard to follow and a bit "over produced". They went very fast with nothing but amatuer-level insight into the playing.

I guess that was you Ken on the second round. What was that, seven 20s in a row by the dealer? I probably would have done a Joe Pesci move and assaulted the dealer at that point.
 
I like a hot dealer

Hey, I was loving those dealer twenties, and they had me firmly in first place through virtually the entire round. Then, finally when I had $600 bet most of the table pushed with another dealer twenty, and my world fell apart in a hurry.

As for the show, your sentiments mirror mine. It definitely feels 'over-produced', and the commentary is nothing but fluff. The GSN shows are much, much better.

I may try to reconstruct the last few hands of each round for Play by Play. But it will be a few days before I can get to it.
 
Tonights TV Show

I agree GSN's production is much better, watching the show tonight made me think I was reading "Gone With The Wind" in a 25 page paperback. Someone in editing evidently had diarrhea.
 
I think trying to show three semi-final table results in an hour (actually less than that with commercials) was a bit much. Hopefully next week they will do a better job since they only have the final table to cover in the hour. GSN does a much better job with their commentary by far, but the more exposure that blackjack tournament play gets can't be all bad. The only thing that made me sick was all the promos for poker during the breaks!

Ken's right, a hot dealer does help if you are sitting on the lead, but it kills the rest of us when we are trying to play catchup.

:)

One of the problems it seems with trying to put tournament blackjack on TV is that it really is boring to watch 20 -25 hands of minimum bets just to get to the final few hands. Would it be better to change the format to say only 5 - 10 hands? Global player is 15 hands, and even that at times seems long when everyone goes minimum for the most part for the first 10 hands. Are there any tournaments out there where you play less than 15 hands and doesn't that impact the betting a lot? Would luck play a greater part if there were fewer hands played or does it make any difference?

Pat
 
Last edited:
Tv Bj

There certainly was a marked difference in the two productions. The main difference was one production had players while the other had characters.
GSN did a better job by posting the chip counts which keeps it more interesting. The one thing I enjoy about playing on Global is you see everyone's chip total on the screen. Re: Hilton, I would also like to see a count before the final hand. As for GSN, their commentary was more colorful... we got to see the dumbest move in blackjack history. As far as the boring table minimum bets in the early rounds, maybe the table max should decrease as the game progresses which encourage larger bets earlier in the game. There's no reason this forum can't be used as a source for changes in tournament BJ to make it more exciting for TV. How about a braclet for the World Blackjack Champion? Hey Rick, the BJ Cruise is a great idea. We need to find a cruise ship that can accommodate TV cameras. But I heard that 20 people cancelled when Joe "The Pain" was added to the celebrity list. Next time invite Charlie Manson.LOL
IG
 
Actually 40 more

20 people may have cancelled but 40 more signed up when they heard I was going to throw you overboard.They said that alone was worth the price of the cruise.You should hope for Charles Manson his way would be quick and "PAINLESS".The Mexican Pacific has a lot of Sharks.....CHOMP CHOMP :laugh:
 
Increased

No one canceled, matter of fact more players started signing up. I guess they want to try and smoke Joe...LOL. Bringing in the best players seems to draw more players in. Guess it like in poker everyone wants to play Johnny Chan, Doyle Bruson...ect just to say they have and hopefully get lucky and win.

As far as the TV blackjack shows, I have noticed that when starting with $100,000 the excitement is better. I know I made bigger bets because of the starting amount. I didn't want to have my arms crossed leaning on the table betting $1,000 min. bet's for 20 or so hands, (that would have been boring).

I was also lucky, I was on a great table. I had Angie, Jimmy (he was so funny), my buddy Kenny, and Jean was a sweetie. We all had a great time before and during the show. I hope it came accross that way and was fun for others as well.
 
*bump*

Just bumping this message to remind everyone of the April 10th broadcast of the finals.
 
Reference justlsuteddy's comment about GSN moving too fast on the showing of the semi and final hand. I've always felt the 10 and 15 second rule for making a bj tournament decision is too short. I personnaly can live with this, but I've had many bj players tell me that the rapid movement of tournament play is intimedating to them and consequently they don't enter. I feel to get bj tournament anywhere near poker tournament popularity level you should be given more time to make these decisions, maybe even stacking chips in a standard manner in order make a more rapid count of your opponents total. As I said I can live with any of the rules, but the name of game is getting more players to participate by making it more player friendly. As for the semi and final play on the mdbj11 I taped it and would pause it after every play so I could see who was up and down and by how much. This made the tournament much more dramatic and enjoyable. Would like to hear comments on this
 
Make it right

woodstown said:
As I said I can live with any of the rules, but the name of game is getting more players to participate by making it more player friendly.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. I think blackjack tournaments have a lot of growing up to do when it comes to structure & rules. This is primarily due to the fact that most casinos see blackjack tournaments solely as a promotional effort to get more players in their casino gambling after they bust out, much like a slot tournament. Instead, casinos need to take a cue from the poker tourney craze that has swept the nation & start offering blackjack tourneys as an end unto themselves...

Most noticeably, we need to see an end to the mystery of chip counts. Any good player knows that this information is vital to making correct betting decisions, yet casinos offer little or no time to make a decision & to complicate things further, often use specialty tourney chips that have no side markings, making it even more difficult to count. In poker tourneys, time limits of one-minute are standard (all someone has to do is 'call for a clock' and a one-minute time limit stops player time abuse), but above all, all a player needs to do is *ask* an opponent how many chips they have in front of them, and they will get an honest reply! With all the skill necessary to become a great tourney player, it seems particularly archaic to not have ready access to chip count information; after all, it is what one DOES with this info that is important; a bad player will still not know the correct bet to make even WITH this info.

Another disparity that i believe needs corrected is the extremely negative equity inherent to most tourneys. Just the other day i got an invitation to a blackjack tournament @ the Hilton -- for $199 you get an entry and three nights stay. The total prize pool awards $30,000, and is based on a minimum of 198 entries (but of course, these things have a way of ballooning much larger than that). Which means they are bringing in a minimum of nearly $40,000 -- and probably a hell of a lot more. the negative equity on this event will probably end up closer to -50%, which (even factoring in the free room, which many people will not need due to being local players or having access to comp rooms on their own right) is highway robbery! Yet this type of thing occurs so often in blackjack tourneys it is sickening.

Hopefully with expanded TV coverage and greater player knowledge, blackjack tournaments will finally enter the 21st century of fairness and rules uniformity. The past 2-3 years have definately seen a much greater awareness develop in this realm, and hopefully the TV coverage will not only continue, but continue to help make things right. Time will tell --

-holly d.
 
Last edited:
Chip Counting Is A Skill

I usually agree with everything Hollywood says :rolleyes: but on this matter I must disagree.Chip counting is a skill and that should not be taken away from the "Pros" that have that unique abilty.Extra time should be allowed for the players to calculate their bets but any help in opponets chip counts should never be allowed.That what countdowns are for within the last few hands.Why punish the players that have taken the time to work on the chip counting abilty.Hard work should have rewards,anyone not willing to put the effort in should not be helped.
 
I see your point Joe, but in terms of opening the game up and making tournaments more attractive to novices, readily available chip counts would be a big plus. I agree with Hollywood; just knowing what your opponents have in front of them doesn't guarantee that you will use that knowledge wisely and make the right bet. The pros will always have the edge there.
 
I agree with Joep

If a poll were ever taken on this subject, I'd vote for chip counting. The aquisition of skill is a primary element in competitive gambling, and there are certain skills that differentiate BJ tournaments from other types of tournaments. In fact, chip counting is so fundamental that (IMHO) it enhances (rather than detracts) the appeal of the game; it is an ability that is within reach of practically anyone that wishes to persue it - even me, who has found a way to deal with limited eyesight.

Plus, an important part of most sporting events is the foresight to capitalize on an opponent's error. I'd hate to lose one of the most essential components of that situation via the elimination of chip counting. After all, it IS a tournament, no?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top