Blackjack Tournaments

[Tarzan]

This is a question for the group's beloved leader, Ken Smith really---I have watched the World Series Of Blackjack show on television and thought to myself,"These people play like a bunch of mental patients!" Of course this is because of the finite number of hands and playing based on what other people's chip stacks are rather than anything else, I realize. The crazy things that they do!
I have never played in a blackjack tournament and also doubt I would fare well if I did. Isn't a rigidly regimented card counter going to wince and cringe at even the thought of making whacky/too chancy moves to beef up the chip stack not because the count dictates it but because of the chip stack of the guy next to you?
The other thing I wonder about is that if you won a few of the blackjack tourneys you expose yourself and let's just face it, famous blackjack players have a hard time playing anywhere. It's not like these pro poker players that have their face shown all over, etc....They are not whacking the casinos; They are killing each other with the casino taking a skim off the top of it all! Casinos LOVE poker players. Meanwhile we blackjack players slink around like wanted felons! Do you have a hard time playing a regular game over being a known tournament player? Can you stroll into the pit someplace without them leering at you? I have often wondered about that, especially after reading some of the horror stories of mistreatment of blackjack players on the part of casinos.

 

[EmeraldCityBJ]

Card counting is of very little to no value to a tournament player. With such a small number of hands dealt, it doesn't make much difference if you have a 2% disadvantage or a 2% advantage from one hand to the next. Most of the skill is estimating your opponents chip stack and in the betting. It's very possible for someone to be a good tournament player but not have a clue about counting.

 

[Tarzan]

That makes sense....

...and by the same token a great card counter is likely to be a very poor tournament player, which is why I made the post. Sitting back and wondering about all that, especially after watching some of that show on TV!

 

[KenSmith]

Yes, the skill of card counting is nearly useless in tournament play, though admittedly it can add a small extra edge to a skilled tournament player's chances. For some interesting insight on this, see an old article by Anthony Curtis which I recently posted at my tournament site BlackjackTournaments.com:

Beyond Wong:
http://www.blackjacktournaments.com/beyond-wong.php

As for danger in exposing your skills to the casino, that's a very legitimate concern. I chose long ago to just go ahead and be very public about my tournament play and my real name, but that decision definitely shortened my live play career. I play very little live blackjack any more.

 

[Tarzan]

Informative Article!

The Anthony Curtis article helped me comprehend it all more and who knows, maybe I'll get Stanford's book that shows up on the additional link but I still have my doubts about playing in any blackjack tournaments!
They do have blackjack tournaments here in Atlantic City though...at the Taj Mahal....as noted on my post entitled "Road to Atlantic City"!