Hi, Been playing blackjack for most of my gambling years and have been invited to my first tournament. Any suggestions, things to read, strategies I should try....any help really...lol How does basic strategy work in tournaments....is it useful or a hinderance?
Hi and welcome. To answer your first question, you've come to the right place. Check out the blackjack tournament strategy forum here for all sorts of strategy discussions on just about every topic. Once you've read a few threads, you will also have the answer to your second question, which is that most of the time you should stick to basic strategy, but there are situations in which strategic departures are called for. The best books are Ken Smith's two books, "How to Win More Blackjack Tournaments" and "How to Win Even More Blackjack Tournaments" and Standford Wong's "Casino Tournament Strategy"
So tell me, where do you find these books, because I have looked everywhere and I can't find them. Barnesandnoble.com, Amazon, eBay, none of them have them. I thought I read somewhere they were in Ebook form, which is what I was hoping to find because I am in a tournament next weekend so I would like to get them quickly.
They're only available as e-books, from my publisher here: http://deepnettech.com/estore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=85 That's the link for the bundle of both books. They are available individually there as well.
Can someone tell me what I can find in both Ken's books that Wong's "Casino Tournament Strategy" does not already contain? I especially liked all the tournament examples in Wong's book.
There are fewer examples, but a lot more discussion of various tactics. The books are composed primarily of articles that I have written for magazines and newsletters over the years, but each volume contains at least three chapters that are previously unpublished material. In particular, if you haven't seen the half dozen or so articles I originally wrote for All-In magazine, they are worth the price alone.
And, by the way BughouseMaster, I had never heard the term Bughouse until I saw it on your jacket at a recent event in Biloxi. After that, a quick visit to your website answered my questions. It sounds like a very challenging variation of chess. Kudos to you! For others interested: http://www.bughousemaster.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bughouse_chess
Thanks, Ken! Appreciate the nice words.... it's just 1 of many things I do Not really challenging after you get used to dropping pieces on vacant squares! Check out the many vids I got up at: www.BughouseMaster.com/bughouse (You will quickly notice just how important being ahead on the clock is) Which event, btw? We are actually going to be heading back up there on Sunday... do you live in Biloxi? Have you played in any of the new "Big Stack" tournaments? Looking forward to play my 1st won on Tuesday.... I'd love to meet you.... i've talked to several who know you while I was at Beau in the past and they said you were at a past Blackjack tournament (in Biloxi too) but unfortunately couldn't find you.... so hope to catch you there this time! What's the next BJ tourney you'll be playing in?
It was at the Beau Rivage, maybe at February's 150K Jack Daniels tournament? I have not yet played any of the Tuesday Big Stack tournaments, and I don't have any scheduled at the moment. I'm also not sure about the upcoming 3CP event, and I didn't get an invite to the upcoming $100K bj. So, I'll be back there, but I don't know exactly when. If I see you again, I'll be sure to say hello.
