Elimination Blackjack
by
Henry Tamburin
Elimination blackjack is a new and
exciting
format for
blackjack tournaments.
Why a new format with Elimination
Blackjack for tournaments?
Even though
traditional blackjack tournaments have been popular for quite some
time, the
few that were televised was simply too boring for viewers. The reason
is that
the best strategy in traditional blackjack tournaments is to bet
conservatively
for the majority of the hands in a round and then make your move over
the
course of the final five hands. This is a good playing strategy but
boring for
viewers.
It was decided to make these tournaments more exciting for
viewers
with Elimination Blacjack.
In elimination
blackjack tournaments, players are staked with a
$25,000 playing bankroll.
Each table has 6-7 players and the
minimum bet is $1,000 and
the maximum bet is $25,000. A maximum of 30 hands are played and the
top one or
two players with the most chips at the end of the round advance to the
next
round to play other table winners.
The big change is the
elimination hands,
which are hands number 8, 16, and 25. The player with the lowest chip
count on
each of these designated elimination hands is eliminated from the game.
It
doesn’t matter how many chips you’ve won; if you are low man, you are
out.
To add the element of bluffing, each player is given one
secret-bet and action card that can be used at any time during the
round. When
a player wants to conceal how much he wants to bet on his hand, the
player can
write the amount of his bet on a card which is placed in the betting
spot and not
revealed to other players until after all the players and the dealer
complete
their hands.
Players are only given one opportunity to make
a secret bet in a
round so they have to pick the best time to use it (late in the round
is best).
If a player decides to make a secret bet, he can also conceal whether
he
intends to surrender, stand or the amount of his double down wager.
These
twists allow players to often bluff their opponents into thinking they
are
going to bet big when they bet small, or vice versa.
The change that was made is to reveal the dealer’s hole card
to viewers. Viewers know what the dealer has, but
players do not.
One other twist introduced to elimination blackjack
tournaments is all the double down cards are dealt faced down and not
revealed
until after all the players have completed playing their hands.
If
a player who
acts before you decides to double down on a 12 you don’t know whether
or not he
busted because the double down card is not revealed. This makes for
some very
interesting play.
The rest of the playing rules are standard: 6-decks of cards
are used, dealer must hit soft 17, players can double on any two cards,
doubling-down is allowed after pair splitting, and you can split pairs
up to
three times (except aces – you can’t resplit them).
Also the
rules allow
players to surrender their hands, which is another element which makes
for some
exciting play. And like traditional tournaments, the betting order
rotates from
one hand to the next.
The skills you need to master to be successful in these elimination
blackjack
tournaments are:
Keeping track of the chip
count of
other players.
You
won’t know how much to bet if you don’t know the
bankrolls of your
opponents.
Knowing
when it’s best to go for
the high (betting enough so that if everyone wins, you have the highest
chip
count), or to go for the low (keeping the most unbet chips so that if
everyone
loses, you have the most chips).
Knowing
when to correlate (bet the
same as your opponents bet), when to increase your bet, when to bet the
opposite of your opponents, or to simply bet the minimum.
Being
able to mentally determine
the outcome of a player’s bet (i.e., what his bankroll would be if he
won,
lost, or pushed his hand).
Knowing
how to lock out an
opponent so no matter what the outcome of the hand, you will advance.
Knowing
the importance of betting
position (betting first in an elimination hand, or final hand, puts you
at a
distinct disadvantage compared to betting last).
Knowing
when and how to deviate
from the basic playing strategy.
How
and when to use the secret bet
and action card.
The
use of surrender as part of
your overall playing strategy.
How
to be more aggressive in your
betting if you are first to
bet in an elimination
hand.
Elimination
Blackjack is followed by Standing on 17-21
OR
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