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TOURNAMENT STRATEGY:

A GAMEMASTER SEMIFINAL DECISION

By Kenneth R. Smith

Ken Smith hosts the popular website www.BlackjackInfo.com and the new site for tournament players www.BlackjackTournaments.com. Ken has written tournament articles for Blackjack Confidential magazine, he appeared in the televised World Series of Blackjack I and in the Las Vegas Hilton Million Dollar Championship II finals. You can subscribe to his free email newsletter for blackjack players at http://www.blackjackinfo.com.

A couple of months back, I was involved in an interesting hand during the semifinal round of Global Player’s "Gamemaster Tournament". Although understanding the structure of the event isn’t important for my story, I’ll still attempt to explain it since it can be somewhat confusing.

The event has a qualification phase which lasts for 4 days. During that time, all the players compete on a percentage basis with the scores being calculated as a percentage of won money compared to initial bankroll. There is no limit on the number of hands a player may play, nor any limit to the bet sizes used (other than the table limits). The only requirement is that each player play at least 50 hands at the designated Gamemaster Qualification blackjack table. It’s a live money qualification, and you must start with at least $50 of live chips. At the conclusion of each of the 4 days of qualification, the top ranked percentage score earns a seat in the semifinal round. After the 4 semifinalists are chosen, there is a two-day pause in the action. Also at this time, some bonus money is awarded to the highest percentage scores.

On Friday afternoon, the semifinalists compete in a real-time multi-player table. Joining the four qualifiers is a fifth player...

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This article has been included in a new BJI e-book publication called, "How to Win More Blackjack Tournaments" by Kenneth R. Smith...

At last! Blackjack Tournament Pro and BJI columnist Kenneth R. Smith has written his first book, How to Win More Blackjack Tournaments, which summarizes the blackjack tournament strategies contained in his articles from Blackjack Insider (plus three new articles not available anywhere else!). Another BJI professional e-book publication. Ken Smith knows blackjack tournament strategy! And with his new e-book, you too can learn the strategies that Ken has used to become widely regarded as one of the best blackjack tournament players in the world. If you've watched any blackjack tournaments on TV, you've seen Ken demonstrating his skills at the table, including his stunning $50,000 first place finish in the premier episode of the Ultimate Blackjack Tour(tm) on CBS. 98 pages, 21 articles. Only $14.95 (US), available immediately after purchase as an Adobe Acrobat PDF e-book for viewing and printing on your computer. CLICK HERE to order now.

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