We talk a lot about strategy specific to tournaments for particular games and even to particular tournament formats and individual tournaments. These discussions help us to choose our strategies and to refine our skills for these situations. There are, however, an entire set of supplemental skills that are applicable to all tournaments and even to game play in general. Let's discuss these skills and the methods for cultivating them here.
Chip Counting An example of a skill which is commonly useful to all casino tournaments is chip counting. As my knowledge of the nature of blackjack tournament situations has grown, I have found, lately, that my most costly errors have been due to slight miscalculations in my opponents' chip counts. This has been touched on from time to time. One suggestion has been to obtain a set of chips which are the same size as the ones you come across in live play and to practice counting them in odd amounts. Leftnut once even suggested having someone leave odd piles of chips around the house for you to count as you run across them. The idea being that you could learn to count them from various angles and in a variety of lighting conditions. Keeping in mind that we're going for precision here and the chips are frequently stacked in piles of 20 or more at the table, does anyone have any other ideas, methods or drills?
Management of Opponent Bankrolls OK, once we've become expert at counting our opponents' chips, a related skill, which has also been costly to me lately, is in maintaining my opponents' chip counts in my head during the final few hands. At many events, one does not have the time to constantly recount the chips as the final few hands are played (no matter how good we might get at it) and so, the ability to remember your opponents' totals and to adjust them as the hands are played is quite valuable. This actually amount to two separate skills.The first skill would be in remembering sets of large and uneven numbers in the first place. Sometimes there can be as many as 7 players in contention (including yourself) at a blackjack table (perhaps more for other games) and remembering that many uneven numbers in the first first place can be quite a challenge. Add to that the arithmetic of players winning and losing with the dealer paying and collecting the chips quickly, and it becomes even more daunting, especially if someone gets a blackjack!. For me, managing more than 4 bankrolls in my head has proven to be impossible. I have no doubt that there are techniques for managing this kind of problem. I have read about some of the more common ones, such as mnemonics, association and compartmentalization, but have not been successful in applying them to tournament play due to the pace at which the situation changes at the table. I'm hoping that all you rain-men and women out there can help me!
Most events have a chip count when there are 5 (or about) hands remaining. I have the same problem as you. What I've been doing is making it a priority to remember the two highest BRs besides mine and doing a mental recalculation after each hand. Two is probably about max for me but if another contestant makes a move, then it's just a matter of replacement.
One technique that I have used on occasion, for a key opponent or two, is to count their unbet chips while the hand is being played out. Then, if they have made a bet which is easy to count, all I have to do is a little arithmetic if they win. If they lose, then I already have the total.. If they win, and have made a bet which is difficult to count, then the dealer can sometimes be of help as they will sometimes call out the payout, or break down the bet in order to pay it out. I have even disputed the payout, even though I didn't know what it was or should be, which generally prompts a complete breakdown of the bet and the payout.
One more technique which is obvious, but which I have rarely seen used is to simply ask. You will be surprised how many players will tell you exactly what they have. Be prepared for for some blow back, however, if you decline to return the favour!
I absolutely do NOT trust an opponent's count of his own chips. He could be an idiot or he could be misleading you on purpose. I don't even trust the dealer's chip count with "X" Hands remaining, will count them along with the dealer / pitboss. If I hear them make a mistake, I will keep quiet and hope that turns into my advantage.
Good points and I do the same. I should have been more clear. When I have asked people how many chips they have, they usually do not know themselves and so they end up breaking down their stacks allowing me to count along with them. The folks who already know what they have are usually the ones who will decline to share that infomation with you.
