The online blackjack tournament was introduced as an answer to players who enjoyed the excitement and challenge of tournament play but preferred blackjack to poker, the traditional online tournament card game. While the tournament format was a welcome introduction, the people at UltimateBet.com thought even more could be done with blackjack as a tournament game and hence introduced elimination blackjack. Online elimination blackjack tournaments add new strategic elements to the tournament game that make it that much more exciting and a greater test of skill. If you want to win an elimination blackjack tournament online, the first thing you’ll need to know is the rules.

How Do You Play Online Elimination Blackjack?

Elimination blackjack is played just like any online blackjack tournament. You get the same number of chips as your opponents, usually 25,000 in the preliminary rounds, 100,000 at the final table. You can bet anywhere from a minimum bet of 500 or 1000 depending on the round, to a max bet of the amount of chips you started the game with (not necessarily the amount you currently have). There is a rotating button which determines who acts and who bets first. At the end of 30 hands, whoever has the most chips advances, or wins if it is at the final table.

What Makes This Type of Blackjack Tournament “Elimination” Blackjack?

Elimination blackjack has two very special rules that make it unique to blackjack tournaments and gives it its special flavor. There are three hands over the match, hands 8, 16 and 25 that are sudden death Elimination Hands. Whoever has the fewest amount of chips at the end of each of these hands is eliminated from the competition. In addition, each player has one Secret Bet that they can use any time during the match. This allows a player to place a bet without opponents knowing how much they have bet, and therefore without knowing how much they will have after they win or lose the next hand – this is the key element in blackjack tournament strategy.

How Do You Win Online Elimination Blackjack Tournaments?

To win any blackjack tournament, you’ll need to get a little lucky no matter how skilled you are. However, there are elements of skill as well, so just getting lucky isn’t going to get it done. You’ll need to practice. In addition to understanding basic strategy, you’ll need to get a feel for when the elimination rounds are coming, how to react to them, and how to handle the Secret Bet. The more online elimination blackjack tournaments you play, the easier this will become. Practice for free or at a low limit until you get a feel for the game, then move up to the big leagues.