If you want to earn big with some risk against your hard earned cash then playing blackjack tournament is the option for you. In this game you just got to believe in your luck because if only once your luck shines it makes you shine forever.
Just when the budding romance was starting to heat up, Stanford Wong entered the bar and casually walked up to them. Without even acknowledging the girl, he gave Curtis a pat on the back and dumped the contents of the box into a shopping bag. A sheepish Anthony Curtis had to explain to his date how the huge win wasn't exactly all his-he had to share it with a team. When she realized his portion came out to less than $4,000, her passion mysteriously disappeared.
Despite the bad luck at love, it still was his most memorable day gambling. Curtis nailed down many other big tournament wins$50,000 (twice), $60,000, and $125,000, but he still considers winning the World Match Play Championship his finest hour. That victory also firmly established Anthony Curtis as one of the all-time top tournament players. His triumph also illustrates another important principle-if you are more skilled than your opponents, you should seek out tournaments that reward expert play. In general, the better the rules and penetration, the more potential there is for your card-counting ability to influence the outcome.
WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK
In the past, I skipped tournaments for two reasons: As a high stakes card counter, I didn't want the additional visibility, and I felt there were greater profits in regular blackjack. However, I feel I overlooked the strong advantage sharp players could gain over their opponents in tournaments.
I recently got invited to play in the prestigious World Series of Blackjack Tournament that is televised on the GSN network. This gave me a terrific chance to see if I could apply the principles from the various experts in this chapter. Since I had virtually no tournament experience, I was hardly the betting favorite in the eyes of the skilled tournament veterans. But I surprised everyone by beating a tough field in my first round and I eventually finished in fifth place overall.
Almost as important as the money I won was the exhilarating atmosphere of close competition. Like most tournaments, my destiny came down to the final card. Unfortunately I lost out to the legendary Stanford Wong on the very last hand. Had the dealer not busted, I would have moved on to the final four and had a shot at becoming the 2005 World Champion of Blackjack and collecting its $250,000 prize.
After getting over the disappointment of coming so close and still coming up short, I realized Allan Brown was right. There is a benefit in tournaments well beyond the monetary gain-they are just plain fun to play. And your pleasure can be greatly multiplied by mastering a few strategy tips. With a little practice, you might follow in the footsteps of Lucky Eddie Rhoades and return home from your next tournament with a million dollars in cold hard cash.