The "SOO" (June 10-12)

B

Billy C

Top Member
I'm surprised there's been no chatter about this event. Anyone know the times for the welcome reception tomorrow?
I noticed 6 members listed in the calendar as attending and I know several others that will be there as this is a "good value event" with guaranteed purse (I believe).
Anyone know how many total entries at this point?

Billy C
 
Deb and I will be arriving sometime late Friday afternoon. Don't know how many entries they have.
There's a welcome reception??????
 
LeftNut said:
Deb and I will be arriving sometime late Friday afternoon. Don't know how many entries they have.
There's a welcome reception??????
Click to expand...

There was on Friday afternoon/evening last time. Seems like it started around 4 or 5 PM.

Billy C
 
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Welcome Reception

It was a nice spread... I had the roast turkey and trimmings. This time I may have bananas.
 
Split Aces Strategy for The SOO

Hi,

I remember, when I played at the SOO last year, they had a rule which allowed you to either double or stand on each hand after splitting aces. I had never seen this before, so I played it according to my intuition.

I thought that those of you who are playing this weekend might be interested in the optimal strategy for this play. I had my software generate this strategy. I could not find one online to compare with, so I hope it's correct!

View attachment split-aces.txt

Some notes:

- Within the quotes are the recommended actions for each hand in order of highest to lowest EV
- d represent double for the full amount and l represents double for less
- where double for less is recommended, there may be a critical fraction associated with the next recommended action.
- If the critical fraction is 0 then you can double for any amount, the more the better.
- If the critical fraction is -0, then you can double for any amount, the less the better.
- If the critical fraction is positive, then you must double for a fraction of your original bet which is greater than that fraction in order for the double to be better than the next action. The more the better.
- If the critical fraction is negative, then you must double for a fraction of your original bet which is less than that fraction in order for the double to be better than the next action. The less the better.
- In a nutshell, if the critical fraction is < 0, then your double for less should be for as little as possible, otherwise it should be for as much as possible. If you can't meet the critical fraction criteria then you should move on to the next action.


Examples:

For A,6 vs 4, you should double for the full amount, if possible, otherwise double for as much as possible, otherwise stand.

For A,7 vs 4, you should double for the full amount, if possible, otherwise double for at least 42.5007% of your bet (the more the better), otherwise stand.

For A,7 vs 9, you should double for less than 34.2501% of your bet (the less the better), otherwise stand.

For A,2 vs 2, you should double for as little as possible, otherwise stand.

I hope you find this useful!
 
Larry, open txt., copy it and paste into program like Mikrosoft Word. You will still need to trim bunch of zeros (or replace them with your own short annotation) to have the columns lined, but at least it will be organized in a readable form.
S. Yama
 
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hopinglarry said:
I can not get the file to format into something I can make heads or tails out of.

I know the Wizard has an appendix with a double after split Aces strategy.

http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack/appendix20.html

So how do they compare?

Larry
Click to expand...

Sorry. I work on Linux and I forget that some Windows applications expect a carriage return at the end of each line of a text file. Here is an updated version:

View attachment split-aces-windows.txt

Thanks for the link to the Wizard's version! Mine is identical in all but 5 cases, however they are all within 0.01% of matching the Wizard's results. A few more iterations of the simulation should take care of that. The wizard references one critical fraction which might be an issue during normal play (Soft 18 vs 10) where I have listed them all.
 
Wizard

The Wizard's charts don't account for situations in which you are betting at or near the minimum bet. To be truly accurate the chart entries for the double for less decision would have to be over/under fractions or decimals in which the fraction represents the maximum ratio of minimum bet to player's bet.

If you're betting table minimum the minimum bet is equal to the player's bet, and the double for less entries would not apply. If the only entry in the chart is whether or not to double for less, then as the player's bet increases over the minimum bet more and more double for less entries would be added to the chart.
 
Thanks

Gronbog, thanks for the updated table.

Monkeysystem thanks for the clarification on the Wizard's table. I guess if you are betting the minimum then you would use the first table on the page which means you would double AA(assuming you can not resplit the Aces)-A5, try to remember A6-A7 and stand on A8-A10.

I remember that the Horseshoe in Bossier City had a tournament a couple of years ago where the player could stand or double on split Aces. I have never used it because of the limited number of times a pair of Aces occurs.

I do notice that in his rule variations it adds about .15% to the player (8 deck shoe) to be able to double, double for less or stand on split Aces.

Larry
 
CONGRATULATIONS to our own Jonny21 for making the final table at the Soo! Afraid I don't know how he finished other than knowing he didn't take 1st. Making those Kewadin final tables is such a tough task that he has every reason to be proud.

We had quite a hefty number of BJT.com reps in the quarterfinals but we kept getting mowed down in a very ugly fashion, one after another, and I think Jonny was our last hope going into the semifinals. He managed to prevail on his one-advance table, however, so we weren't totally skunked. GREAT JOB, BUDDY! :D
 
Monkeysystem said:
The Wizard's charts don't account for situations in which you are betting at or near the minimum bet. To be truly accurate the chart entries for the double for less decision would have to be over/under fractions or decimals in which the fraction represents the maximum ratio of minimum bet to player's bet.

If you're betting table minimum the minimum bet is equal to the player's bet, and the double for less entries would not apply. If the only entry in the chart is whether or not to double for less, then as the player's bet increases over the minimum bet more and more double for less entries would be added to the chart.
Click to expand...

Yes, My chart provides these "critical fractions" as well as the next best action.

Also, The chart I posted is for 6 decks, S17, which is what they were offering last time I was at the SOO. I re-ran the sims with infinite deck, S17 and was able to reproduce the Wizard's results.
 
thanks, Lefty

Congrats to Ron Tremaine, a Cheesehead friend of many people on this forum, for his first place finish. He took the lead early and held on to it.

I lost 14 of the first 15 hands, fought back into the hunt, then got squashed like a bug at the end, losing four max bets for 7th.. See you in St Ignace.
 
One of my Students Also Made It

LeftNut said:
CONGRATULATIONS to our own Jonny21 for making the final table at the Soo! Afraid I don't know how he finished other than knowing he didn't take 1st. Making those Kewadin final tables is such a tough task that he has every reason to be proud.

We had quite a hefty number of BJT.com reps in the quarterfinals but we kept getting mowed down in a very ugly fashion, one after another, and I think Jonny was our last hope going into the semifinals. He managed to prevail on his one-advance table, however, so we weren't totally skunked. GREAT JOB, BUDDY! :D
Click to expand...

My last student that I had brought into the world of Tourney BJ also made the final table this weekend. Doug finally made the final dance and took 3rd ($4,500) after a few years of trying. Way to hang in there Doug! :3rd:
-Pill
 
Jonny21 said:
Congrats to Ron Tremaine, a Cheesehead friend of many people on this forum, for his first place finish. He took the lead early and held on to it.

I lost 14 of the first 15 hands, fought back into the hunt, then got squashed like a bug at the end, losing four max bets for 7th.. See you in St Ignace.
Click to expand...

Making the final table is an achievement to be proud of! Way to go Jonny!!!!!
It was also good to hear that Ron T. won it as he is a nice fellow.
 
Three highest chip counts

For those of you who left early, there was a different set-up in the semi-finals. There were four tables of six, with the high chip count advancing from each table and the THREE highest non-winning totals across all four tables also advancing. I tied for the third highest non-winning total, and then won a five-hand playoff to get my seat at the finals.
 
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