Blackjack Tournament Strategy

I don't have time to buy and read a book by this Saturday so I'm looking for any online articles on blackjack tournament strategy. Any recommendations? Any tips from some savvy players? It seems that it is all about the betting, keeping track of your opponents chip stacks, and order of play. I don't have high hopes for my first tournament but I'd like to hang in there for awhile to get some experience!

I answered a very similar question about craps tournament strategy and I believe what I have learned from craps tourny's are applicable.

its a tournament - GET YOUR MONEY ON THE TABLE!

Trust me, someone at that tournament is going to be splitting 9's against the dealers 6 showing and then doubling down and all kinds of wierd stuff.The guy at the other end of the table will be going "all in" on every single hand, and then some newbie in the middle of the table, will be betting the table minimum waiting for everyone else to tank.

I stood beside a guy that won $50,000 at the Hiltons craps tournament and he won by putting $1,000 on the number 3 (one roll chance at 30 to 1!) and it hit! who would do that!...........yup, the winner!I came in 5th and won $4,000

When and where is the black jack tourney? its hard to find but the Hilton has its BJ tournament rules on line. I think it was 25 hands and your done, highest at the table moved to the next round. Oh and very important, they had a "muligan" chip that cost you $100 out of pocket but is a must have. Check the rules to your tournment closely.

Good luck and let us know how you do.....we need the trip reports bad! weggie

What weggie said

I won my first tournament table by doubling down on a hard 16 on the last hand.
I ended up pulling a 5 and the dealer hit 20 and everyone else either lost or pushed.

The tourney is on Saturday at Red Rock. I think it is invitation only (at least I hope so since my odds will be better with fewer entries). If I win anything, I will post here first!

Hey Lauren,

From everything that I'm understanding about Blackjack Tournaments, they are definitely quite different than from normal play since you really are vastly playing (and definitely betting) against the other players and so playing strategy needs to be a lot different in order to win (or place high).

There will be times when you will be better off in doing very abnormal things like Doubling Down when you normally wouldn't do that.

But I really do urge you to take the time as soon as you can to read Wong's book so you can be even better for future tournaments.

RecVPPlayer

BJ tournaments are played much differently than live games. As stated by other posters here, you will see a wide variety of strategies employed. End play (the last few hands) get pretty intense and it's all about the money and how your chip stack compares to the other players'. Every player develops their own strategy. The good ones stick to it no matter what. Newer players would do themselves a favor and watch a few rounds (stand behind the players) and see how different folks play their game. If you can watch the Final Table players, you will get better information as most of them did not get there by luck but rather by applying a solid winning betting and playing strategy. Unfortunately, there are very few books written on the subject that give solid advise. Stanford Wong's casino tournament strategy has been the gold standard for tournament play for a long time. Unfortunately, there is only a single chapter dedicated to BJ tournament play but it is essential information and the strategies are employed by many top players.
Ask the tournament director (the guy you buy in with) for a Rules Sheet for that tournament and READ IT. There are a couple rules that will change from tournament to tournament i.e. whether tucking a Natural will still pay 3:2 or even money, betting limits, etc.
Most tournaments have more than one prelim round so if you get knocked out in the prelim and want to try again, buy in for a second go at it. Above all have fun and don't be upset if you bust out. Even good players get knocked out more often than they advance as there is a fair amount of luck that has to go along with a solid playing strategy.

Depending on the tournament setup, your play may vary. No matter what, you are playing against the other players, not the house.

If you are in a situation where you have to win YOUR table to move to the next round, keep a good idea on the other players. I have watched some really stupid player on the last few hands that can not think straight. They bet so low that even if they win every one of the last few hands, they will still be behind the leaders.

Ok lauren, so far we have.....

#1 Get a copy of the rules and study them, you would be surprised in the differance from one tournament to another, and the stuff that you can do in a tournament and not at a regular cash table.

#2 Be prepaired to do the "un normal" black jack betting, infact dont be prepaired....Do it! Wouldnt hurt to watch a video or 2 about black jack so you know what "un normal" betting is! Do you have time to read a book?

#3 Do not bet like a girl! The tournament that I was in, you had to win that time slot, not just your table. There were 12 tables in my time slot, so my only choice was to go for it. I was proud of myself being up $1800 on top of the $5,000 they gave us at the end of the round until I heard the winning scores. They had 10 guys that were over $20,000 including the original $5,000.... I wasnt even close

#4 like zilwin says, dont get mad if / when you loose. I would add to learn from it making you a little more ready if and when another BJ tournament comes up.

Good luck

Accept the fact that you have little chance of winning, even if you are the most skilled regular Bj player there.
After you've accepted the simple fact that you will almost certainly lose, you'll have less trouble following this. Bet the max allowed your first four bets. If you get reallly lucky, you win them all and have a substantial amount of chips. If you lose them, so be it.

I've never had the cojones to enter a serious BJ tournament; I've played a few cheap ones on cruise ships (usually something like $30 entry, seven hands, winner of each table advances), but don't really know the strategy at all. I've heard it said that to win BJ tournaments takes about 20% blackjack skill and 80% tournament skill, and I just don't have that 80%.