Winstar Casinos 2,000,000 Guaranteed Blackjack Tournament WOW!
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LeftNut
Top Member
Maxwell, my friend -
Remember the story of a TBJ.com member who announced that he and his lady were giving up the game, only to get right back in when a kind soul (with a true gambler's heart) offered to put him in a big BJT 1,000+ miles away.
He decided to get back on that horse - and won $50K with a 1-in-28 shot at $1 million.
Learn from his mistake. Don't give up. Take a break if you need it, but don't get so discouraged that you walk away forever.
Remember the story of a TBJ.com member who announced that he and his lady were giving up the game, only to get right back in when a kind soul (with a true gambler's heart) offered to put him in a big BJT 1,000+ miles away.
He decided to get back on that horse - and won $50K with a 1-in-28 shot at $1 million.
Learn from his mistake. Don't give up. Take a break if you need it, but don't get so discouraged that you walk away forever.
dreamer
New Member
Japanese Proverb...
Maxwell & Other BJ Friends:
There's an old Japanese or Chinese Proverb which states, "Fall down six times and get up seven." While a few of our friends on the Tournament Circuit have done very well, Ken has stated the obvious, that "successes are rare", so we have to clear out the "Stinkin Thinkin" from time to time and just keep on keeping on...
I've fallen so many times in life, both personally and professionally, but I've always made it a habit of getting back up, dusting myself off and carrying on with what needs to be done to produce success. Last week was no exception when I played very well, got some cards and made it to the Semi-Finals, only to be eliminated on the 16th hand. So close, yet so far away. Anyway, as a wise old barber of mine from the past once stated, "YESTERDAY is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and TODAY is a gift. That's why it's called the PRESENT."
Make it a "Great Day" all as we continue to contemplate doing Blackjack Battle, while on a much more important scale we fight on in life against what at times seems to be insurmountable odds!
Skipper
Maxwell & Other BJ Friends:
There's an old Japanese or Chinese Proverb which states, "Fall down six times and get up seven." While a few of our friends on the Tournament Circuit have done very well, Ken has stated the obvious, that "successes are rare", so we have to clear out the "Stinkin Thinkin" from time to time and just keep on keeping on...
I've fallen so many times in life, both personally and professionally, but I've always made it a habit of getting back up, dusting myself off and carrying on with what needs to be done to produce success. Last week was no exception when I played very well, got some cards and made it to the Semi-Finals, only to be eliminated on the 16th hand. So close, yet so far away. Anyway, as a wise old barber of mine from the past once stated, "YESTERDAY is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and TODAY is a gift. That's why it's called the PRESENT."
Make it a "Great Day" all as we continue to contemplate doing Blackjack Battle, while on a much more important scale we fight on in life against what at times seems to be insurmountable odds!
Skipper
The remaining Winstar shows just might be a lot better on the commentary front. Hollywood Dave was brought in to help the commentators better understand the game and to oversee the post-production work.
I hear that this weekend's show will be the first that he helped with, so I'm looking forward to the new and improved show.
Kudos to Winstar for taking the criticisms about the early shows in the spirit they were intended and bringing in an experienced player to help out.
I hear that this weekend's show will be the first that he helped with, so I'm looking forward to the new and improved show.
Kudos to Winstar for taking the criticisms about the early shows in the spirit they were intended and bringing in an experienced player to help out.
Counselorlee
Member
Kudos to Helen
Helen Shipp, Ark-La-Tex Eliminator member and The Farmer's wife, just called to say she had just made it to the final round at Winstar where 28 players will vie for the million $$$ on August 15. She's deserving and we are proud!!
le/feiii
Helen Shipp, Ark-La-Tex Eliminator member and The Farmer's wife, just called to say she had just made it to the final round at Winstar where 28 players will vie for the million $$$ on August 15. She's deserving and we are proud!!
le/feiii
TXtourplayer
Executive Member
Winstar Playoff's
The playoffs at Winstar for next month's "Split" tournament finals was held yesterday and had a little twist before they started.
The 25 finalist already in for next months events were shocked to find out that one of them was going to be knocked out and have to play in the playoff round to advance to to the August finals.
Jennifer (TXplaygirl) ended up being the "safe" player picked to play in the playoff round.
Kind of SUCKS, doesn't it? Well, at first after Jennifer was called out and had to come down to the stage and take her seat at the table, Boston Rob told her that since she was supposed to be safe for the August finals, he had a deal for her.
The deal was Jennifer received a new Dodge Pickup, win or lose (a $40,000 value) and if she chose to play the table (which was changed from 5 players with 3 advancing to 6 players with 4 advancing) or she could give up the pickup and go back in the final group.
Jennifer elected to play and take the pickup truck. I believe it was the correct play. She traded in a sure $10,000 cash payday next month for a sure $40,000 truck (she would have had to win two rounds in the finals to make more).
As it worked out Jennifer advanced, along with Helen Shipp (Farmer's wife), Frank, and Chuck. So Jennifer made a great deal getting both the pickup truck yesterday and $10,000 cash minimum next month.
If she had only known! A mistake was made and the teleprompter showed that Boston Rob was going to offer Jennifer an extra $10,000 cash had she turned down the first offer on the pickup, but she didn't see it. Poor girl she only picked up $50,000 yesterday...LOL.
I did notice one change during the playoffs, Dan (TD)was writing down the bets hand by hand to help the TV production. As I have stated in earlier posts, the totals have been off in a few of the matches. This along with Hollywood helping out the announcers should help improve the show.
Well, the 28 players are now set and I'll report back after next month's finals. Till then good luck to all 28 players.
Rumors are still there that Winstar will host this event again next year, keep your fingers crossed. A few changes have been suggested, the main one is NO FREE HOTSEAT CHIPS ANYMORE and a possible change of first place payout from $50,000 to $35,000 with the other $15,000 added to the semifinalist prize pool for each of the monthly qualifiers so that each of the semifinal losers will get $1,000 instead of $500 (remember the $550 entry fee).
The playoffs at Winstar for next month's "Split" tournament finals was held yesterday and had a little twist before they started.
The 25 finalist already in for next months events were shocked to find out that one of them was going to be knocked out and have to play in the playoff round to advance to to the August finals.
Jennifer (TXplaygirl) ended up being the "safe" player picked to play in the playoff round.
Kind of SUCKS, doesn't it? Well, at first after Jennifer was called out and had to come down to the stage and take her seat at the table, Boston Rob told her that since she was supposed to be safe for the August finals, he had a deal for her.
The deal was Jennifer received a new Dodge Pickup, win or lose (a $40,000 value) and if she chose to play the table (which was changed from 5 players with 3 advancing to 6 players with 4 advancing) or she could give up the pickup and go back in the final group.
Jennifer elected to play and take the pickup truck. I believe it was the correct play. She traded in a sure $10,000 cash payday next month for a sure $40,000 truck (she would have had to win two rounds in the finals to make more).
As it worked out Jennifer advanced, along with Helen Shipp (Farmer's wife), Frank, and Chuck. So Jennifer made a great deal getting both the pickup truck yesterday and $10,000 cash minimum next month.
If she had only known! A mistake was made and the teleprompter showed that Boston Rob was going to offer Jennifer an extra $10,000 cash had she turned down the first offer on the pickup, but she didn't see it. Poor girl she only picked up $50,000 yesterday...LOL.
I did notice one change during the playoffs, Dan (TD)was writing down the bets hand by hand to help the TV production. As I have stated in earlier posts, the totals have been off in a few of the matches. This along with Hollywood helping out the announcers should help improve the show.
Well, the 28 players are now set and I'll report back after next month's finals. Till then good luck to all 28 players.
Rumors are still there that Winstar will host this event again next year, keep your fingers crossed. A few changes have been suggested, the main one is NO FREE HOTSEAT CHIPS ANYMORE and a possible change of first place payout from $50,000 to $35,000 with the other $15,000 added to the semifinalist prize pool for each of the monthly qualifiers so that each of the semifinal losers will get $1,000 instead of $500 (remember the $550 entry fee).
Winstar change suggestions
I would like to see the following changes...
Hot seat chips are fine and they benefit the casino. Keep them and keep them as a comodity for sale if the winner does not wish to use them.
Start the days activities 2 or 3 hours earlier and allow a re-entry round, BUT only to the point of the left over entries, thus keeping the maximum of 360 entries per event. Therefore this will not change 2nd round structure. THIS WOULD HELP THE CASINO COVER AND A BIG BENEFIT FOR THE TRAVELING PLAYERS.
Change the amount of money each person is given to 5 or 10K. This will add more excitement and especially at the final table. Make the minimum bet larger and double the minimum after each 6 hands, such as the poker blinds. MAX BET SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 50% OF PLAYER ORIGINAL BANK. NO ALL IN BET.
Allow for surrender and insurance bets. Adds another level of complexity.
Add another month and make it a 6 month event. We will all be there.
Thanks to Winstar for a fabulous event and I am hoping that August is not the end and it only gets bigger & better. If no changes, I will still be there. I do like the previous suggestions.
A member of the tournament cult...
I would like to see the following changes...
Hot seat chips are fine and they benefit the casino. Keep them and keep them as a comodity for sale if the winner does not wish to use them.
Start the days activities 2 or 3 hours earlier and allow a re-entry round, BUT only to the point of the left over entries, thus keeping the maximum of 360 entries per event. Therefore this will not change 2nd round structure. THIS WOULD HELP THE CASINO COVER AND A BIG BENEFIT FOR THE TRAVELING PLAYERS.
Change the amount of money each person is given to 5 or 10K. This will add more excitement and especially at the final table. Make the minimum bet larger and double the minimum after each 6 hands, such as the poker blinds. MAX BET SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 50% OF PLAYER ORIGINAL BANK. NO ALL IN BET.
Allow for surrender and insurance bets. Adds another level of complexity.
Add another month and make it a 6 month event. We will all be there.
Thanks to Winstar for a fabulous event and I am hoping that August is not the end and it only gets bigger & better. If no changes, I will still be there. I do like the previous suggestions.
A member of the tournament cult...
TXtourplayer
Executive Member
Trust me, I already suggested putting a maximum bet in, adding surrender, insurance, and only paying BJ's 3 to 2. That is when I was told why they put in the format and rules they are using and why they WON'T change.
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LeftNut
Top Member
Winstar is not about to change the playing rules for the tournament. Most of what has been suggested here (and elsewhere, like Ken's column in the last BJinsider) are rules which add in strategic nuances that novices will be unlikely to exploit. And that, my friends, is exactly why those changes will not happen. They used the Hotseat drawings this year to insure that many of their loyal local players would get in, next year it may be a comping system. Having rules which give the traveling/touring TBJ assassins an advantage is not in Winstar's best interest, and they know it well. Can't say that I blame them at all, either.
But this thinking will not help blackjack tournaments become bigger. They also had a poker tournament with the standard strategic rules that could be exploited by "foreign poker assassins". Poker tournament organizers are not trying to remove strategic rules and they are trying to attract players from everywhere. Why not for blackjack?
I would love online satellites for the Winstar tournaments!
Because the poker players are "paying/funding" the prize pool, unlike the bj players.
LeftNut
Top Member
Z, you're right about the rules not helping with standardization of blackjack tournaments, but an event of this considerable magnitude certainly does help with BJT's in general. Over $2.5 million in total prizes, and they probably collected less than 1/10 of that in entry fees. In my limited timeframe within this game, I don't recall seeing anything like this and would hazard a guess that there never has been.
I think you might have missed something, though. The Chickasaw Nation's agreement with the State of Oklahoma states that they have to give this money away. They have to!!! Obviously it's in their best interest to have as much of the money as possible stay in their general area so that they get a whack at getting some of it back. A big winner from the Dallas area is much more likely to visit there again on a day trip than some luckbox schmuck from Michigan.
So they massaged the rules a bit to help out the less experienced players and take a little strategic advantage away from the big guns who fly in from all around the country. That's why I made the comment about not blaming them at all for doing it this way.As far as the online satellites, I would love to see that as well, but highly doubt it. Again, they're trying to do things to help the locals chances of winning and online events wouldn't help that goal. I could see them possibly running live Sit-n-Go's in the casino, as that would be something which would appeal to those who live close enough to play.
swog, does your reply mean that Winstar can easily get 1,500 players paying the $2,000 for the $3,000,000 guaranteed poker tournament?
LeftNut, I understand your points. But still, I think it's an exageration to presume that outsiders would most likely take all the money. We often see less experienced players winning many BJ tournaments, even with the standard rules. The highest skilled players may have a higher winning rate, but it's not a huge difference. However I agree that the magnitude of the event does help BJT... and I wish you the best of luck in August.
LeftNut, I understand your points. But still, I think it's an exageration to presume that outsiders would most likely take all the money. We often see less experienced players winning many BJ tournaments, even with the standard rules. The highest skilled players may have a higher winning rate, but it's not a huge difference. However I agree that the magnitude of the event does help BJT... and I wish you the best of luck in August.
When I called for info back in Feb. about the poker event, they stated that the number of satellite tables being played would sellout the tournament.
This may have changed, but I never checked back. Being the novice poker player that I am, I thought it may be similar to the bj overlay, but not when they explained it to me. However, that may have changed since Feb.
TXtourplayer
Executive Member
Reentries
On the other page I posted that Winstar was talking about possible re-buys for the next time they host the "Split" (if they do). That was wrong, what they will be doing is offering reentries for those who play in the first session and don't advance. These reenties will be on a first come first serve basis.
These means if you want more then once shot out of the first round you'll need to sign up early to get in the first session.
I was asked if I thought this was fair? Sure, why not everyone has a chance to buy in and sigh up early, if a player waits that is their own fault if they don't get in the first session.
I was also asked if the additional money would go back into the prize pool...LOL. Damn at 180 paid seat at $550 only equals $99,000 and they are giving away $100,000 each month plus and then $2,000,000 for the Championship finals, I think the overlay is already good enough!
On the other page I posted that Winstar was talking about possible re-buys for the next time they host the "Split" (if they do). That was wrong, what they will be doing is offering reentries for those who play in the first session and don't advance. These reenties will be on a first come first serve basis.
These means if you want more then once shot out of the first round you'll need to sign up early to get in the first session.
I was asked if I thought this was fair? Sure, why not everyone has a chance to buy in and sigh up early, if a player waits that is their own fault if they don't get in the first session.
I was also asked if the additional money would go back into the prize pool...LOL. Damn at 180 paid seat at $550 only equals $99,000 and they are giving away $100,000 each month plus and then $2,000,000 for the Championship finals, I think the overlay is already good enough!
TXtourplayer
Executive Member
Been discussed
I have heard a few discussions about other events. After the completion of the remodeling, Winstar Casino is suppose to be the 3rd largest casino in the country behind Foxswood and Moghan Sun. So I'm sure they will be looking for ways to draw players in.
I have heard a few discussions about other events. After the completion of the remodeling, Winstar Casino is suppose to be the 3rd largest casino in the country behind Foxswood and Moghan Sun. So I'm sure they will be looking for ways to draw players in.
TXtourplayer
Executive Member
Worst show yet.....
Hollywood worked on the poker show the "River", not the blackjack "Split". Boy they needed him or somebody helping them bad this week. I've been as nice as possible, but those two guy announcing this show are HORRIBLE!
On a 10 hand head to head playoff they said that hand number 3 was the important hand! Bad thing that wasn't the worst comments they made. It was so bad that if Tammy (BJ Beauty) had not been playing I would have turned it off.
Anyway I want to congratulate BJ Beauty for winning the playoff and a new car, way to go Tammy!
I was excited to hear Hollywood was going to help out the announcers, but he was only on the poker show.
Hollywood worked on the poker show the "River", not the blackjack "Split". Boy they needed him or somebody helping them bad this week. I've been as nice as possible, but those two guy announcing this show are HORRIBLE!
On a 10 hand head to head playoff they said that hand number 3 was the important hand! Bad thing that wasn't the worst comments they made. It was so bad that if Tammy (BJ Beauty) had not been playing I would have turned it off.
Anyway I want to congratulate BJ Beauty for winning the playoff and a new car, way to go Tammy!
I was excited to hear Hollywood was going to help out the announcers, but he was only on the poker show.