Blackjack tournaments are becoming more popular. The novelty of trying to beat the other players on the table, rather than the house, adds some interesting twists to betting and playing strategies. Players take turns by means of a marker to place the first wager.

Everyone watches carefully other players’ total chips and wagers for that hand in order finish in a qualifying position for the next round. One or two shoes may be played before chips are totalled up. A reasonable amount of luck is required to be a first prize winner, however there are a few basic principles you can follow to give yourself a good chance at the top few prizes:

1. Make sure you are aware of all the competition rules, conditions and playing times!

2. Try to judge how many hands remain at any point during the last shoe.

3. Use Basic Strategy and don’t worry too much about card-counting.

4. Bet minimum until the final 10 hands.
If in a qualifying position at this point, bet your lead minus 1 chip if betting first, else bet a similar amount to everyone else.

5. If trailing a certain amount from a qualifying position, try a 3 hand progression of 1/7, 1/3 and your remaining bankroll to reach that position.

6. If this is not enough to catch up, bet contrary to the lowest qualifier. (Small vs Big, Big vs Small)

7. In the last 5 hands, be wary of doubles and splits that overbet your bankroll.

8. In the last 2 hands look for opportunities to lock up a lead with a minimum bet. If losing, play contrary if that will catch up, else bet maximum and consider unusual splits and doubles

There are other subtleties to tournament play which cannot be simply summarised. As the game is attractive to all levels of Blackjack player, the potential for profit for a good player is enormous. Usually all the entry fees are pumped back into the prize money and sometimes the casino will inject some money of their own. We would be very interested in hearing about your own playing tactics or tournament stories.

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William Hill Casino
William Hill Casino run monthly tournaments for their customers and DO NOT take a cut from the pot. Primarily BlackJack tournaments, although they do vary, the entrance fee is £10 and the winner gets 60% of the total pot, runner up gets 30% and 3rd place gets 10%.

The £10 Tournament entrance fee buys £1500 chips with a £1 minimum bet and £250 maximum bet. The tournaments generally last for about 14 days. For news of any forthcoming Tournaments…. watch this space or subscribe to our Casino newsletter.