In order to participate in a blackjack tournament, players must pay an entry fee, or buy-in. The buy-in fees are usually combined to form the prize pool, though some tournaments have set prizes and the entry fees go to the house. Listing of upcoming casino tournament events, blackjack tournaments, craps tournaments, baccarat tournaments, 3-card poker tournaments. 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.
What is a blackjack tournament?
- 100k Blackjack Tournament Carnival Magic May 5th 2018.
- Playing in a Blackjack tournament is quite different from sitting down at a table in your favorite casino. Instead of playing only against the dealer, you must also play against all of the other players seated at your table.
Unlike normal casino blackjack play, in a blackjack tournament you are competing against your fellow players. While each of the players still wins or loses against the dealer, your real goal is to finish with more chips than the other players at the table.
A typical blackjack tournament consists of several short rounds of play, with tables of 6 or so players competing against each other in each round. The format is usually an elimination format, where only 1 or 2 players at each table will advance to the next round of play.
Each round consists of a set number of hands and players begin the round with a equal amount of chips. At the end of the round, the player or players with the highest bankroll advances to the next round. A typical round is anywhere from 15 to 30 hands in duration. Some tournaments use live money chips while others are played with non-negotiable tournament chips with no cash value.
Rather than the dealer always starting to deal at the first seat, a button is placed on the table in front of a player indicating that player is “first base” for this hand. The button then moves consecutively around the table with each passing hand. This is an important point because the betting and playing order rotates with the button, and players who must bet and act early on a given hand are at a disadvantage.
Most tournaments consist of 3 to 5 elimination rounds. A typical format might have 2 players from each table of 6 advancing from the first round, 1 player from each table of 6 advancing from the second round, and then the final table. This format with 6 players at the final table would allow for 108 entries at 18 first round tables. Often in smaller tournaments, the first round will be split up into several qualifying rounds, so that if you do not advance, you can re-enter for another first round seat.
Why should you play a blackjack tournament?
The prize pool for a tournament is usually 100% of the entry fees paid by the players. This means that the casino has no advantage over the players in the tournament. Indeed, the skillful player can have a huge advantage over the other players if those players are less experienced in tournament strategy. Many casinos will guarantee the prize money even if the tournament does not fill up with entries. In these cases, the casino is literally paying the players to play the tournament! From the casino’s viewpoint, it is a good marketing play, since they are drawing new players to the tables between the tournament rounds.
Since the larger tournaments often include special room rates and free food, you can save some money on your vacation to Vegas by booking it around a tournament. If you’re headed to a casino destination anyway, scheduling your trip to coincide with a tournament can save you some money and give you a chance to play for a big prize with minimal risk.
What are the typical prizes?
The prize money varies widely as you may expect. Smaller tournaments might have an entry fee of $10, and pay $500 or $1000 for first place. Most tournaments pay at least 6 places. Larger tournaments might have an entry fee of $300-$500, with a correspondingly larger payout. The largest events have entry fees of $1000 or more and sometimes feature prize pools of over a million dollars.
Where can you get more information?
Visit our sister site BlackjackTournaments.com where the free calendar of upcoming blackjack tournament events includes literally thousands of events all around the country.
For more articles on blackjack tournaments and tournament strategy, you can:
Return to the Blackjack Tournaments Section, or
Move on to the next article Basic Concepts of Tournament Strategy.
Blackjack Tournaments, whether played online or at land-based casinos, offer one of the best values in the gambling world. Since tournament players are competing against each other instead of against the casino, a smart player can get a big edge by learning to play better than the average gambler.
Articles about Blackjack Tournament Play
Free Blackjack Tournament Online
| Blackjack Tournament Introductory Articles | |
|---|---|
| Introduction | A basic introduction to blackjack tournaments |
| Strategy Basics | Basic concepts of tournament strategy |
| Blackjack Tournament Strategies | |
| Position | Explains the importance of seat position in tournament strategy |
| Catch-Up Bets | How and when to make a “Catch-Up” bet to take the chip lead |
| Free Hits | Getting something for nothing – “Free Hits” in tournament blackjack |
| Doubling for Less | A powerful strategy to use in tournament play |
| The Rule of 2, 4, and 5 | A shortcut for finding an optimal bet in a hurry |
| Beyond Wong | Tournament Tips Uncle Stanford Never Told You, by Anthony Curtis |
| Tools for Strategy Decisions | |
| Dealer Outcome Charts | Table of exact dealer outcome probabilities |
| Double Down Probabilities | Table of exact probabilities for doubling down any 2-card hand |
More Tournament Tips from Ken Smith
Want more tips from tournament expert Ken Smith?
Ken has written an E-book that contains a wealth of information about tournaments, and powerful tips and strategies for competing.
Available for immediate download at a price of $14.95, How to Win More Blackjack Tournaments – Volume I is a professionally produced 98 pages of information that will supercharge your game.
This E-book contains everything you need to take your tournament game to the next level. With material for every skill level, and many concepts that have never before appeared in print, this is a must-read if you are serious about blackjack tournaments.
The 98-page PDF book is available for immediate download after purchase.
A second book is now available as well: How to Win Even More Blackjack Tournaments – Volume II, also at $14.95. Or, you can get a specially priced bundle of both E-books for $24.95.
Blackjack Tournament 2020
Much More Available at BlackjackTournaments.com
Our sister site BlackjackTournaments.com is the definitive spot for discussion of table game tournaments and tournament strategy. Many of the best players in the world participate on the active message board there. There is also a free listing of upcoming blackjack tournaments all around the country, with literally thousands of events listed. It is a goldmine of tournament information.
About Ken Smith
Ken Smith has been competing in and writing about blackjack tournaments since 1994. Like many avid tournament players, he had a lot of early success, winning a considerable amount of money in events in his first year competing. Ken lives in South Mississippi near the Gulf Coast, where the casino industry was still brand-new in the mid-90’s. At that time, the Mississippi casinos were competing for business and there were weekly blackjack tournaments literally every night of the week at the various casinos. In the weekly events, players could pay a $50 entry fee and compete for $10,000 in prize money. Larger events were held several times a year.
Since tournaments were new to the area, many of the players were unfamiliar with the appropriate strategies and were at a significant disadvantage to the sharper players. Week after week, the same names appeared at the final table, and Ken was among them. He played often, learned a lot, and made a nice supplemental income.
Ken’s appearances on televised blackjack tournaments include all four seasons of the World Series of Blackjack on GSN, the Ultimate Blackjack Tour on CBS, and the Las Vegas Hilton Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament on the Travel Channel.
More information about Ken is available here.