Gambling Forums

[LBoyd]

Hey, Paula,

Great advice from all. I'll just add that you can ask for the pay table for 9/6DDB they're going to use. Sometimes we assume there's a 4000 coin payout for the Royal, but I've seen tournaments where that wasn't the case. The organizers explained to me that they had complaints that you had to get a long shot royal to be in contention, so they reduced the royal payout. I would put the pay schedule being used into the software, say WinPoker, and practice using that pay schedule. As Answerman said, it's very important to use all the credits since unused credits are worthless. As Brian said, tournament play is often very different from regular play--he should know as an expert BJ tournament player. Maddog is right on when he says you have to score big to be in contention. It doesn't matter how good you played if you don't win money and as MD said, DDB has lots of opportunities for big credits when you consider Aces with a kicker and 2's,3's or 4's with a kicker. It's not your money so you should take big chances to get the big payouts.

Please let us know how it goes! Linda

[paulaAZ]

Thanks Brian -- I will hopefully get later rounds. I would imagine it is luck of the draw or if you know somebody, one of the two; but it will be fun, I am sure.

I may just have to go out to Ak Chin here in Phoenix area to practice a bit today or tomorrow. Good of an excuse as any to head to the casino

paula

[Brian in MI]

In a video poker tournament, as in any gaming tournament where cumulative scores are used to compare all contestant's results, you want to try to get a later round if possible. If they post leading scores during the ongoing rounds, you can check that out and get a feel for what it will take to get "on the board" and win something. This will tell you how aggressive you must be during your play.

[paulaAZ]

Thanks to both of you for all your help. I'm really looking forward to the tournament. My host said I would definitely get a GO room and hopefully a good view like you had -- do love the fountains at the Bellagio! There are two sessions, one each day, so I will find out when I get there how long they are. I'm going to practice beforehand and will see how the play goes.

Thanks again.

paula

[maddog22]

Paula,

Hopefully you get put up in a Go room, I have stayed in one and they are pretty nice...ours had a view of the Bellagio fountains, which was great.

Regarding the tournament - I have played in two, one at Ballys and the other at Harrahs, so I imagine the Flamingo one will be very similar. Both had two sessions, one on each day, and in both the game was 9/6DDB. Also in both, the machine was set up with 875 credits (175 hands). The Ballys tournament gave you 10 minutes to finish your session, and the Harrahs tourney gave you 15. The first was a bit stressful, but I managed to finish with about a minute left in both sessions. The second was pretty lesiurely, so I forced myself to slow down, and still finished with about a minute left in both sessions.

I guess I look at the strategy the opposite as Answerman does - I have always tried to maximize my chances at hitting the big hand, since that is what it will take to get in the money; so I play very aggressively for quads and royals, and to heck with everything else! I figure if I did manage to catch a big hand, I can then switch to the normal strategy and try to pick up as many credits as possible. I split every two pair hand and play for the bigger quad, and never hold two or more ace or face cards unless they are suited, since you can't catch a royal that way...

Best of luck to you!

MD22

[Answerman]

Hi Paula,

Tournaments are a blast. The most important thing is to play fast enough to use all your starting credits in each round. Make sure you get the maximum number of hands.

Early in the tournament, you want to play solid, but keep in mind that the tournament could be turned around by a couple of big hands. If you find yourself behind entering the later rounds, you need to maximize chances at a big hand. If you're on DDB, for example, you might start just holding three Aces when dealt A-A-A-2-x, but if behind late, you might want to hold that low kicker, decreasing your chances at getting 800 coins for four Aces but maximizing the longer shot at 2,000 for four Aces plus kicker.

[paulaAZ]

Hi Everyone -- I have been a member here and read the site often, and now I would like to ask for some help

I am playing in my first VP tourney in September at the Flamingo. I have received invitations in the past but have never been able to work out taking off work, etc., but this time it all fell into place. I usually stay at Caesars but decided to stay at Flamingo since (1) the tourney is there and (2) well, I've never stayed there so figured I would check it out. My host in LV has registered me for the tourney and made my room reservations and hopefully I will get a GO mini suite, but who knows

At any rate, I have never played in a VP tourney. All I know is what hours the play falls in on the two days, etc. The usual info they give you. I remember reading on here that I should ask about type of VP and other questions. Any advice in that area would be greatly appreciated. Also, any strategies would be appreciated. I have played in BJ tourneys before and I know you play a bit differently than you would at a regular table.

So, here I go. I have played VP for more years than I want to admit I have done quite well, especially after getting Linda's book and the VP software. I did okay before, but have hit many more Royals and done much better since practice, practice, practice

Thanks for any info you can give me.

paula