Should novice players use the basic blackjack playing strategy in tournaments?
Ken: Stick with basic strategy unless you have a specific reason to do otherwise. Once you get some experience, you’ll find many occasions when you should make unusual plays. Consider a final hand play when winning a single bet is useless. In that case, you may have to double hard 18 or split tens. But, for most hands, basic strategy is the way to go. Joe: You should always use the basic playing strategy if you need to win the hand. If you are behind on the last hand, forget about basic strategy. You need to do what will get you ahead of your opponent even if it requires doubling down on hard 19. If you start to fall behind the table leader(s), when is the best time to increase your bets in a tournament? Joe: The best time to increase your bets is when other players cant mirror them. Betting position is critical so its best to wait till after the button passes you to make a catch-up bet. If you fall behind by less than a maximum bet lead, and your opponent who is ahead of you is still
