Tournament Blackjack and the Art of Sabotage

I was recently invited to play in the Daily Invitational Blackjack Tournament at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. Tournament blackjack differs a great deal from the regular version, and my tournament strategy would - at best - be considered a work-in-progress. I've played in a few in the past, though, and had a lot of fun time and again, so I headed up to 'The Woods' for the day.

Their tournament structure is pretty straight-forward. Each player begins each round with 5,000 in tournament chips, and a preliminary round is played. If a player has the most chips at their table after 25 hands he advances to the semifinals. In the semis, the player with the most chips after 25 hands goes to the final table. At the final table everyone's in the money; the player with the most chips after 25 more hands would win $5,000 in cash.

I had just barely squeaked by in the preliminary round to win my session. Me and two other players were neck-neck-and-neck going into the final few hands. One of the ladies I was up against busted out with one hand to go, while I got a blackjack on my big bet, pulling me ahead with a decent chip lead. It came down to my opponent going all-in and needing to win her hand to beat me out for the session.

She had a hard 14 against a dealer's ace - big trouble. She had practically no choice but to hit as I helplessly stood there holding my breath. I chant to myself, "Break! Break! Break," and the dealer delivered my opponent the news. Nine. Game over.

I was the only finisher for that session with about 2,700 in chips. A pretty ugly session all in all, but a win's a win. That session was the kind of nail-biter that left me tingling all over, and it's that rush that brings be back with every invite they send me. That, and the fact that they tend to draw spectators is pretty nice, too!

My semifinal round would turn out to be the most memorable. It seems I wasn't quite done with the ugly winning just yet.

Many tournament strategists recommend players start out conservatively for the round. Most of us weren't very conservative, but we weren't very aggressive, either. I started betting 700-900 a hand and cards were going my way the first several hands. Blackjacks were dropping right in front of me, and got some really good double down hands. I just went with the flow, and before long I had a lead of about 4,000 on the nearest contender. The other players had some catching up to do, so at this point, I decided to try for a little fun, hopefully at my opponents' expense.

I started to play low - betting smaller than the others with the hope that everyone loses the hand. I bet the minimum of 100 while the others went for 1000-1500 to catch up to me. It wasn't so much about me winning or losing the hand since I only bet 100. If the other players lost, it would increase my chip lead. One hand I had a hard 16 versus the dealer's 6. In a regular live game, of course, no one would EVER even think of touching the hand. I decided to hit - amid gasps and groans from the other contestants, of course - and busted with 26.

It turns out, that just as I was hoping, I 'took the dealer's bust card' and 'sabotaged' the hand. If I left my hand alone like I very well should have, the dealer would've broke and everyone would've won. Instead she drew to 20 and everyone lost. My opponents were clearly rattled and a sea of dirty looks shot my way.

Next hand, I got an 11 against a 6. Again, I had a 100 bet so I was more focused on the others losing. I didn't double down the hand. I didn't even hit the hand. I decided to stay on the 11. The ensuing Jack that was meant for me helped the dealer make a tidy 21. Everyone lost again, and all of a sudden I had a 9,000 point chip lead. Everyone is now furious!

I had such a large chip lead at that point, I practically cruised through the rest of the session. I won the session by 11,000 points and made it to the final table, but not before getting a tongue lashing from one of my opponents.

"I've never seen anyone play the way you did."

"What? Are you talking about that 'sixteen versus six' hand?"

"Yeah. That was really, really nasty. Really nasty! You don't play much, do you?"

"Oh, I play all the time."

"You'd get beaten up [at the regular tables] if you played like that."

"Of course I would. I would never play like that regularly."

From there she went into this whole sob story about "doing these tournaments to have a good time" and that I "ruined the fun for her."

"Look, this is a tournament. A tournament that's paying five grand in cash money to the winner! So, I did what I had to do to win, and now I'm off to the finals. Trust me, it was nothing personal."

In all fairness, let me stress that the 'sabotage' tactic doesn't really work, at least not in the long run. Any reputable blackjack player knows a 'saboteur' is just as likely to hurt the table than he is to help it. A sad fact of the matter is that the average blackjack player is bogged down in superstition - 'taking the dealer's bust card' is just one of dozens of them - so the whole idea of sabotaging hands is merely a psychological trick.

If you play low and try to rattle 'the flow of the cards' (I'll go into 'card flow' and all the other blackjack superstitions at another time) more often than not one of two things will happen. You 'save' the table with your bad play, and your opponents will think "OK, he's an idiot, but I'm not mad at him because he made me win." Or, if you kill the table, you're right where you want to be - inside your opponents' heads.

An observation I've made through several years at the tables is that anger and frustration can rattle even the most disciplined player. Many times - as was the case with my opponents this particular day - this causes them to bet more aggressively than they probably should, and make riskier double down plays and splits to offset your earlier 'mistake,' which usually paves the way to self-destruction. On the last hand that sealed the fate of my nearest rival in the semis, She doubled down a 7 against a dealer's 7 and lost it all.

If a down-and-dirty approach to gambling is your cup of tea, perhaps you should give this strategy a shot.

In case you were wondering, I went on to finish in 5th place for the tournament.

Until next time, best of luck to you in the casinos, and in life.

Shawn Tinling runs 21 Nights Entertainment (http://www.21nights.com), a casino entertainment and events company in New York City. He's an avid player and full-time casino events dealer.

---

The Secret of Grinding Out a Profit

Pssst...Wanna know a secret?How about the secrets of grinding out... Read More

Gambling Addiction 101

A lot many of us know something or the other... Read More

How To Avoid The 3 Destructive Traits Of Traditional Gambling / Lottery Systems

There is over $120,000,000,000 spent on lottery systems along across... Read More

Gambling Equipment 101

The excitement and popularity of the gambling games entices few... Read More

Halftime Wagering Part 1 - Hedging Your Bet:

Halftime wagering is done exactly how it sounds...at halftime. If... Read More

Beat the Casinos

Do you have what it takes to become a successful... Read More

My Teenager Has A Gambling Addiction

Over the past few months Stop Gambling Sites have received... Read More

Compulsive Gambler Seeks Alternatives To Stop Gambling

Compulsive gambler's life was devastated by gambling and now seeks... Read More

Three Card Poker Basics

Three card Poker is a fast paced game which is... Read More

Online Bingo - Internet Craze

Traditional Bingo has been a popular pastime for many years... Read More

Offshore Gambling

Many gamblers have come across the term "Offshore Gambling", but... Read More

Rules and Strategies for Roulette

Roulette offers the greatest variety of possible ways you can... Read More

Tips & Strategies for Slot Players

1. Always play with money you can afford to lose.Let's... Read More

Video Poker - Tips to Remember

Video poker is an easy game to learn to play... Read More

Virtual Casino Etiquette

There are a few points of virtual casino etiquette that... Read More

No Limit Texas Hold?em Poker

Most online casinos offer three different types on Texas Hold'em... Read More

Online Blackjack Basics

Online blackjack or "21", as it is commonly known, is... Read More

Bingo 101 What You Absolutely Need to Know About

It is quite surprising and amusing at the same time... Read More

To Bet Or Not To Bet? Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Happy, Healthy Gambler?

I placed my first bet when I was at university.... Read More

Casino Entertainment Basics

Casinos have recently been popular as locations for movies like... Read More

How To Improve Poker Skills With Free Online Games

When I learned to play poker I did it the... Read More

Beware of So-Called Baccarat Strategy

Card Counting is one of those phony ideas published in... Read More

How to Beat Roulette with A Simple 3 Point System

Many players try to beat roulette by buying a "sure... Read More

A NO B.S. Explanation of Spread Betting For Newbies

Note: The goal of this article is to give you... Read More

Why Do People Gamble?

Gambling is the act of wagering money on the outcome... Read More

Fancy Winning A Million Pound Jackpot?

Slot machines have become over the last hundred years, one... Read More

Buying A Thoroughbred: Is It For You?

Buying a thoroughbred can transform a man. Horseracing is the... Read More

How to Win a Million Dollars Without Spending a Lot of Money

I love Major Millions. And realistically speaking, there's not really... Read More

Gender Differences in Gambling

Being a fairly regular gambler, I have noticed a few... Read More

Pai Gow Poker Basics

Using the standard poker hand ranking methods (see below), the... Read More

Are You Addicted To Gambling?

Most people know the answer to this question. You don't... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Poker Chips

Poker is one game that has influenced almost whole of... Read More

To Muck Or Not To Muck?

After a hand is completed in online poker you'll never... Read More