All promotions are subject to change/cancellation. See Fortune Club for details. Must be 21 years old to participate in gaming activities. Gambling problem? Call 1.800.NEXT.STEP.
PLAY! SECTION - Sponsored by Arizona Player Magazine 18
Blackjack Tournaments A Great Bet!
for every 25 tournaments played, creating a positive expectation for the player – That’s a terrific bet in any casino.
If you have ever played in a blackjack tournament – You understand that for a small amount of money for the entry fee, you have an opportunity to make some serious cash, if you make the final table of 5.
Basic rules for blackjack tournaments;
And making that final it is even sweeter if the casino adds money to the prize pool - let’s say they add $500 making this a positive expectation event, and easily one of the best bets in any casino. It doesn’t really matter what skill level you are at as a blackjack player - because based on just sheer luck, if you enter these tournaments once a week or once a month, in the long run you will come out ahead – Let me explain. Here’s the math Let’s say the tournament has an entry fee of $40 and is limited to the first 125 players to sign up. That would consist of 25 qualifying tables with five players seated at each table. In order to advance to the semi final round, you have to finish first at your table with the most chips at the end of…let’s say, twenty-one hands in the qualifying round. In the Semi final round, there would be 25 players remaining (5 tables of 5 players each), and at the end of another twentyone hands - the player with the most chips at each of those five tables will advance to the championship or “money round”. Your chance of making the money round based on luck alone, without any skill is 1 in 25. In other words you will get in the money on average once in every 25 tries. The prize money is made up of 125 entry fees of $40 or $5,000, plus the $500 the casino might add to the pot for a total of $5,500. The money round will have an average payout of $1,100 per player since there are five players who will make it to the championship round. If you enter 25 tournaments at $40 per tournament, it will cost you $1,000. The odds are - you will make it to the money round 1 time out of 25 tries by luck alone with an expected average payout of $1,100 - So, in theory you will make $100
October 6th, 2011 - October 12th, 2011
Let’s say players start with $1,000 in tournament chips and can bet from $10 to $1,000 on any hand. If a player runs out of chips they are eliminated. Each player takes a turn betting first and players must bet in order. There is a chip count before the final hand, so everyone knows how many chips all of the other players have. At the end of 21 hands, the top player at each table advances to the semi finals. In the semi-finals (25 players remaining - 5 tables of 5) – The winner from each of those tables moves on to the Final Table. The “Final Five” can either “Chop” the prize money or play it off for 1st thru 5th place money.
AZWeeklyMagazine.com
Tournament Strategy There is no one way to win a tournament. Sometimes the players who bet big get a large lead and no one can catch them. Other times you can win a round by losing the least. The point is - most of the time luck determines who advances to the next round. Blackjack Tournaments are a lot of fun to play, even if you don’t make it to the final table – and the small entry fee it is cheap entertainment for several hours of fun. I always make a lot of new friends every time I play tournaments and always have a good time. T.J. Jorgensen has been a professional blackjack player for over 20 years. He is well known for his live tournament play. He has competed against, and beaten, some of the top tournament players in the world. He has also won the prestigious World Series of Blackjack His book, “Beating the Casino at Their Own Game,” is available through his web site www.freewebs. com/tjsblackjackcorner or by e-mail TJ4justice1@msn.com