Blackjack Tournaments

Don't know what blackjack tournaments are? Well, you may have a basic idea about them since there have been a few celebrity blackjack tournaments on TV. But if you want to learn more about them and about blackjack tournaments strategies, all you have to do is read this section.

When playing in a blackjack tournament you are given an initial bankroll to use. After a specific amount of time or after a given number of hands, the player with the largest bankroll wins. This means that you are no longer competing against the house, you are competing with the other players at the table. The winner will be the player with the largest bankroll, even if that bankroll is smaller than your initial one.

Blackjack tournaments can be invitation only or open to the general public. In both cases you will have to pay a fee in order to participate. But if you pay that fee you are likely to receive a discount on your room (or even free a room) and take part in a reception and an awards banquet.

When playing in a blackjack tournament you have to use chips just as in a regular game. You will receive these chips for free, but you will not be able to exchange them for real money when the tournament is over. If you do not get the chips for free and have to buy them, then you will be able to cash them in whenever you want.

In order to determine the winner of the tournament, a series of rounds will be played. The order in which the players will seat at the blackjack table will be randomly drawn. Then all the players will have to play blackjack for a given period of time or a given number of hands. The player with the most money in the end will go on to the next round. This process will continue until only six or seven players are left. These players will have to play each other and the winner will be declared champion. This usually comes with a large cash prize. The other players that have made it to the finals will receive cash prizes also, but progressively smaller ones of course.

Casinos do not like card counters and if they catch somebody counting cards they will ban that person from the casino. But blackjack tournaments do not make this discrimination. They welcome players that do not count cards and skilled card counters. But do no assume that these expert card counters will have an edge. The game play is designed to make card counting if not impossible than at least extremely difficult.

All blackjack tournaments charge an entry fee. This fee can be as high as $1000, but it usually includes a free room for the duration of the tournament. The entry fee may be high, but if you are a skilled player you may get to win the big prize and even appear on TV, since most of these events are televised. If you do not have the necessary money, get an investor. He will provide you with the money for the entry fee but you will have to give him a cut of your winnings.

When choosing to participate in a tournament you must first consider if it is worth it. Anybody can be temped by the chance of winning a million dollars, but can you afford the entry fee? If the $1000 entry fee means nothing to you and you are a skilled player, then by all means, give it a shot. You may just win a million dollars. But if you have trouble finding the money to pay for the entry fee, then maybe you should compete in a less expensive tournament. Getting to the finals is very hard and you may end up a sore loser.

Handy tips to remember when playing in a blackjack tournament:

• There are two ways of betting in a tournament: aggressive or conservative. Aggressive bets may give you a head start, but conservative bets will allow you to assess your situation. If you know how your bankroll compares to that of the other payers then you know if you have to place larger bets or not.
  
  

• If you manage to be the leader of the table, then maintaining that advantage shouldn't be that hard. Just place the same wagers as your closest opponent. If you both win or lose then you will still have the advantage. But if you are not the table leader there are a few tricks than you can use. If you have a hard time keeping up with the table leader just place one large bet instead of several smaller ones. When the table leader will place large wagers, you place small ones. But when he will place small wagers, you place large ones.
  
  

• The last five hands and the last hand are the most important ones in the entire round. This is when a table leader can lose his advantage and consequently lose the round. The player with the largest bankroll will win the round and some players will modify their strategy dramatically in the last few hands in order to maintain their lead or catch up with the table leader.
  
  Especially when playing with non-negotiable chips some players will take risks that they normally would n’ot have taken. For example they will split a pair of 10's when splitting 10's is not advisable. Or they will double down on a card total of 13, when that is a sure way to bust. Sometimes you have to take chances because at the end of the round if you do not have the largest bankroll, you are out of the game.
  
  

• You must always bet smart and know how much to bet. This is especially true in the last rounds. Many table leaders have lost their advantage by betting to little or too much. You should bet according to how far ahead you are or how much more you need to get ahead. If you can see how much the other players bet, then you can figure out how much to bet yourself in order to get an advantage. If you do not know how much to bet in the last round, you can always bet all your bankroll.
  
  

• If you are not the table leader and will win the hand you may just become the new table leader. And if you lose, you weren't table leader anyway, but at least you took a chance. If all the other players at the table do the same, bet all their bankroll that is, make sure to keep one chip. If you all bust or are beaten by the dealer you will win. The other players do not have anymore chips, but you still have one. That one chip may ensure your progress to the next round.
  
  

• Remember that your blackjack skills directly influence your odds. The better you are at blackjack, the greater your advantage over the other players at the table. So if you want a shot at that million dollar prize, all you have to do is keep playing and keep improving your blackjack skills.