Blackjack Tournaments

There are not that many big blackjack tournaments around  but when you can find them they are very often great for good players. When you enter a blackjack tournament you are not playing against the casino but against other players, this means that if you are a good player your odds are better than playing against a casino. In online casinos you are more likely to find blackjack tournaments than in land based casinos. In a blackjack tournament you play against other players but not in quite the same way as when you are playing in a poker tournament.

The blackjack tournament will usually start with many players and many tables but during the first few rounds most of the players will have been knocked out to leave only one or two players per table. At the start of a blackjack tournament all players will have an equal number of chips and the number of hands per round will have been determined. The number of hands per round can be anywhere between 20 and 50. Sometimes tournaments are played with real money chips but normally they are played with special tournament chips. In a similar way to poker tournaments, to avoid any advantage being taken by position on the table, the blackjack tournament dealer will use a button (small plastic disk)  to indicate who is going to be dealt the first card. The button rotates around the table after every hand so that each player takes a turn at being the first or last player during the game. At the end of the set number of hands all chips are counted and the two or three players with the most chips will go on to play in the next round and the others will be eliminated. This continues until eventually there will only be six or seven players left who will battle it out in the final round to reveal the winner. This is different from a poker tournament where players need to lose all their money before being knocked out and it also means that the length of a blackjack tournament is much easier to predict. The amount of prize money in a blackjack tournament can vary as it depends on the numer of entries and of course the entry fee. The prize money is not usually 100% of the total entry fee as the hosting casino normally takes a small cut as it would in a poker tournament. This often has an advantage as the casino normally guarantees a fixed amount for first place. This way when you enter a tournament you know exactly what amount you can win and you are not dependent on the number of entries.

Blackjack tournaments are normally only held in popular gambling places like Las Vegas where there are always enough gamblers who will take part. During tournaments drinks and food are very often free for the players, this means that your entry fee also allows you to eat and drink. The amount of money that you can win can vary a lot. If you enter a tournament, which has an entryfee of $ 5 or $ 10, then the prize pot is usually at least $ 1000. But if you are entering a tournament with an entry fee of lets say $ 500 then the prize money is obviously a lot higher, this can vary from tens of thousands to even 1 million. When the entry fees are high in a tournament then the prize money  is usually divided over a number of places so that everyone playing in the final will receive something. If you want to try your luck in a blackjack tournament then it is often best just to give your local casino a call and ask when they have one planned. Tournaments are normally scheduled for every few months so finding one should not be that difficult but a good alternative is to use an online casino.

Online casinos have blackjack tournaments on a regular basis so check out your chosen online casino. Blackjack tournaments online come in two forms; firstly there are scheduled tournaments which start at a particular time and date and secondly there are sit and go tournaments which start as soon as the required number of players have registered. If you register for a sit and go tournament you need to stay online ready to start at any time. Ladbrokes Casino always has regular blackjack tournaments on the download casino and they play a variety of games including Vegas Strip Blackjack and Atlantic City Blackjack. There are even freeroll blackjack tournaments on offer occasionally.