More
and more casinos are offering
blackjack tournaments. They
can be fun, but before you
enter, it's best that you know
the basics of how to play blackjack
under tournament conditions.
Tournaments
work like this. Every contestant
is assigned to a table and
every player will begin with
the same bankroll. Players
will play blackjack over a
specified period of time (or
number of hands) and at the
end, the player with the most
amount of money is declared
the table winner. Table winners
then compete against each other
until you end up with 6 (or
7) finalists, who compete for
the top prize.
What
makes tournaments popular is
the competition amongst players.
Unlike traditional blackjack
where it's you against the
dealer, in tournament play
it's player against player.
There
are two types of tournament
formats, elimination and non-elimination.
In the elimination format ,players
compete against each other
at each table with the player
(or in some cases top two players)
with the most money advancing.
The other table players are
eliminated from the competition
(hence the name "elimination
format"). In a non-elimination
tournament, players compete
against all the other tournament
players with the goal of trying
to win the most money after
several rounds. In this format,
no players are eliminated.
Of the two formats, the elimination
tournaments are more popular.
Most
blackjack tournaments charge
an entry fee. Make sure that
the sponsoring casino returns
all of the player entry fees
in prizes. You can determine
this by requesting details
about the tournament from the
casino. You need to know the
amount of the prize pool, the
number of players the prize
pool is based on, and the entry
fee. For example, suppose the
casino entry fee is $100 and
the prize pool based on 200
entrants is: 1st - $10,000,
2nd - $5,000, 3rd - $2,000,
4th - $1000, 5th thru 8th -
$250 ($1,000), and 9th thru
13th - $100 ($500), and 14th
thru 23rd - $50 ($500). To
calculate the return percentages,
add the total of all the prizes
($20,000) and compare this
total with the total amount
of entry fees (200 entrants
times $100 = $20,000). If the
total of all the prizes to
be given always equals the
amount of the entrance fees,
then the return to players
is 100%.
Some
tournaments return less than
100%, but they may include
free rooms for tournament players,
free meals, and even a tournament
gift. You may have to factor
the worth of these freebies
in computing the overall return
percentage.
If
you have difficulty determining
the return percentage, don't
be afraid to call the marketing
department of the host casino
and ask them for the details.
There are plenty of 100% return
tournaments so don't settle
for less.
In
some tournaments, you must
put up your own cash as bankroll.
Others often use special tournament
chips (they cost you nothing),
but not always, the tournaments
that offer very large cash
prizes require players to bankroll
each round.
There
are several different approaches
to playing in the popular elimination
tournaments. Some players like
to bet big from the start in
an effort to accumulate an
early lead in the round. Others
tend to bet conservatively
and wait to make their move
with bigger bets if it's necessary.
My advice is to use the latter
approach.
It's
important that you be able
to estimate how much money
(chips) your fellow players
have as the round progresses.
If you find yourself behind
the leader, then you should
try a different betting strategy
than him/her to catch up. For
example, if you trail the leader
by $200 and he bets $400, how
much should you bet to catch
up with him on the next hand?
You should either bet more
than $600 or less than $200.
If you bet $610 and both of
you win the hand, you'll be
ahead. If you bet less than
$200 and you both lose the
hand you will be in the lead.
If
you are in the lead, your best
strategy is to match the bets
of players who are trying to
catch you. That way if you
both win or lose you will still
have the lead.
The
most important hands are the
last ones. Many players lose
their rounds because they make
bad bets down the stretch.
How you bet depends on whether
you bet first or last and whether
or not you are ahead or behind.
Most tournament players take
the all-or-nothing approach
and will make the maximum bet
on the last hand if that is
what it will take to win the
round. If you must bet first
and if one of your opponents
can catch you by making the
maximum bet and winning the
hand, then you should also
make a maximum bet. If no one
can catch you by putting all
their chips on the last hand
and winning, then make the
minimum bet. The best position
to be in is to bet last on
the final hand. This gives
you a chance to see how much
your opponents bet and calculate
how much bankroll they would
end up with assuming they win
the final hand. Based on that,
you would need to bet enough
to end up with more money assuming
you also win the final hand.
One
more tip: Many players will
make very strange plays on
the last hand in order to overtake
the leader. I've witnessed
players double down on 10/7,
for example, in order to get
more money on the table to
catch the leader. Here´s
a good one; In the very first
tournament offered in Atlantic
City, I lost the round when
one of my fellow players doubled
down on a blackjack hand. The
3 to 2 payoff on his blackjack
would not have been enough
to overtake me, but the 2 to
1 payoff on a double down did
(yes, he drew a picture card
for a 21 and beat the dealer
hand). By the way, don't think
of trying this play the next
time you play blackjack because
it is no longer allowed.
Some
casinos offer inexpensive,
fun tournaments where the entry
fees are usually less than
$50 and tournament chips are
used. This is a good way to
get your feet wet and experience
what tournament blackjack is
all about. If you are serious
about advancing to a more expensive
tournament, there is an excellent
software program, Tournament
Blackjack, by Stanford Wong
that allows you to practice
and develop your tournament
playing skills using your PC.
