Blackjack Tournament Rules
Blackjack tournaments are tremendous fun and popular in bricks and mortar and some online casinos. You pay an entrance fee to take part and must collect as many chips as possible in a given time, or outlast all your opponents via a series of knockouts.
Before participating in any Blackjack tournament, it is important to know the risks and benefits. If an entry fee is charged, which is usually the case, the higher it is the bigger the prizes, but the stronger the field of competitors will likely be. Look for opportunities you can afford at your level of play. It is vital to look for legal online blackjack sites and tournaments to make sure your money is safe.
Rotate Deal - With this common tournament rule, the dealer starts dealing the cards to a different player each hand. Rotate First Bet - With this common rule, players must bet in order and the first player to bet rotates clockwise each hand. In casino blackjack, the rules for doubling and splitting have one key difference. While both of these rules allow a player to increase his wager after the initial cards are dealt, splitting specifically requires the player to match the original bet amount with an equal wager on the second hand, while doubling down has no such restriction. Strategy used in blackjack tournaments is a whole different ball game than the strategy used in regular table games at the casino. The main difference between the games is the fact that you are not only playing against the dealer to win chips, but also against other players and competitors in the tourney. Tournament Blackjack is an adaptation in which the players compete with each other. The tournament format is similar to that used for Texas Holdem poker tournaments. Each player begins with an equal number of chips, and the objective is not to win chips from the bank but to end with more chips than the other players.
Similarly, you will want to compete only in tournaments where you fully understand the version of Blackjack being played, the rules governing wagering, and how winners are determined and paid.
You will also want to be sure to check the tournament schedule to make sure you have sufficient time available to play all the way through the money round. Some tournaments last only a few hours, while others go on for days. There is nothing worse than qualifying for the final table and not being able to play due to a prior commitment or being disqualified for not taking your seat on time. Assume you will win and set aside the time to do so.
Blackjack Tournament Structure
Tournament rules cover who is eligible to play, what the cost of entry is, how many rounds are played, and when play begins and ends. A schedule of payouts will show what prizes are offered and how to qualify to win them. There may be options for re-buying into a tournament after being eliminated. There may also be bonus prizes or “booby” prizes offered. A quick look at the posted rules will tell you all you need to know.
When you sit down to play, special rules will govern how the game proceeds. The dealer will provide you with a fixed number of non-redeemable chips—worth anywhere from $500 to $100,000 in non-negotiable value. Each player will begin with the same bankroll; repurchasing chips is not allowed during play. Your objective will be to end the round as the player with the most chips at the table, so look for the posted minimum/maximum stakes and be sure you know how much you can wager.
As in Poker, players take turns being the first to bet. A “first base button” is used to indicate who leads off, and it is passed to the next player clockwise at the end of each hand. In most tournaments, the cards dealt are visible to all players, as are the piles of chips so that it is possible to know your ranking at any given time.
A round usually consists of a fixed number of deals, usually 25~32. When the round ends, the player with the most chips at each table (and sometimes the runner-up) moves up to the next round. All other players are eliminated. Chips are reissued at the start of the next so that all players begin the new round with the same amount.
The number of tables in play decreases as players are eliminated. In the final round, only one table of players remains, and the participant who ends up with most chips wins the tournament. The prize pool will then be divided between the winners and runners up according to the payout schedule.
Anyone who has played Blackjack knows that there are subtle differences between the rules of the game as applied at one casino or another. Does the dealer hit or stand on soft 17? When can cards be split or re-split? When doubles can be made? The rules impact not only the house advantage but also player strategy, so be sure to study them well before playing.
In much the same way, subtle differences in the rules applied to Blackjack tournaments can have a huge impact on how you play and whether or not you finish in the money. Is there a time limit on making decisions during play? Can a player sit out one or more hands during a round? Are any special rules in effect, such as “knockout” deals that eliminate the player with the fewest chips? Are “secret” bets allowed so that the amount wagered is hidden from view?
The better you understand a Blackjack tournament’s rules before you play, the greater your likelihood of winning it. Don’t be the player who has to be reminded of them by the dealer during play. Set you sights on being the chip leader and use the rules to your full advantage.
Elimination Blackjack is a tournament format of blackjack invented by Russ Hamilton, that was played on the Ultimate Blackjack Tour and in various casinos. It combines the game of blackjack with elements of No Limit Texas Hold'Em. Unlike Texas Hold'Em tournaments, players are still competing against the same dealer that is why the results of most players at the table are likely to be the same.[1]UltimateBet, a sponsor of the Ultimate Blackjack Tour, offered online elimination blackjack tournaments prior to bankruptcy.
Rules[edit]
A round of elimination blackjack in most cases is thirty hands in length. Depending upon the organization hosting the event, a player will start with between $10,000 and $100,000 in chips. While certain organizations have their own house rules, elimination blackjack usually follows the following rules:
- The house must hit on soft 17 and anything below, and must stay on hard 17 and anything above.
- A player may split pairs up to four times with the exception of aces. Some rule sets also allow splitting different cards valued at 10, such as a queen and a jack.
- A shoe of six decks is used.
- A player's bet must stay within the minimum and maximum bet allowed at the table (this rule is excluded in the World Series of Blackjack). The maximum bet is usually at least several times bigger than the starting chip stack.
- A player may surrender their hand and thus recover one half of their original bet.
- A player may buy insurance if the up card for the house is an ace.
- A player can only double down with two cards.
- A maximum of seven players is allowed per table.
- A player has twenty five seconds in a normal hand to make a decision. In an elimination hand a player has forty five seconds.
Blackjack Tournament Rules Bet
Some organizations allow a secret bet where the players at the table do not know the value of that player's bet, until after that player's hand is concluded. In most games, this option can be used only once during a single round of the tournament.
Eliminations[edit]
Depending on the organization hosting the event, a player is eliminated from the tournament in three ways:
- Losing all of his chips.
- Not having enough chips to meet the minimum required bet.
- Being the player with the fewest chips after a certain number of hands are played. In this case, the usual cutoff points are hands #8, #16, and #25 (so-called 'elimination hands'). A player is always eliminated from the game in an elimination hand, even if a player has been eliminated in the previous hand.
Winning[edit]
Usually the last player left at the table is the winner, or the player with the most chips after 30 hands have been played. Blackjack is sometimes played in a multi-table tournament format where one or more players advance to the next round after the others have been eliminated. If there are too many players left after 30 hands, the players who advance are determined by chip stacks.
References[edit]
- ^'Blackjack Tournament Strategy Basics'. BlackjackInfo.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.