How to Play Elimination Blackjack

Elimination Blackjack is in fact a blackjack tournament played within the Ultimate Blackjack Tour and at some online and offline casinos. Elimination Blackjack combines the elements of Texas Holdem poker that is usually played in a tournament format.

Usually the round of Elimination Blackjack includes up to thirty hands played at a single or multiple tables. The betting limits may vary from game to game but in most cases the stakes are quite high, between $10,000 and $100,000.

Elimination Blackjack Rules

Elimination Blackjack is a quick-paced game and all the participants are given only about 30 seconds or less to make a decision. In case the player does not place a bet when the time is over the bet amount is automatically set at a minimum. If the player didn’t decide whether to Hit or Stand the hand stands automatically.

The basic rules of the game are the same as at the regular blackjack. The standard 52 card deck is used at the game and as a rule the players are dealt cards from six decks. The player can be eliminated from the game in two cases: when the player loses all his chips or when he has the lowest number of chips at the end of the Elimination Hand. Elimination Hand is the 8th, 16th and 25th hand in the round of the game. The player with the biggest number of chips at the end of the 30th hand wins the tournament.

Playing every hand at the Elimination Blackjack these rules are followed:

The game involves up to 7 players maximum.
The dealer must Hit on all soft 17s or less and Stand on all hard 17s.
The player is allowed to Split up to three times creating four hands.
In case the player Splits the Aces resplitting is not allowed.
The player’s bet amount must be within the set betting limit.
The Surrender option is available.
The Insurance option is available in case the dealer’s face up card in an Ace.
The player is allowed to Double Down on any two cards.
The blackjack pays 3 to 2.
In case the player holds the hand with the count of 21 after splitting the Aces this hand is not considered to be a blackjack.
If both the dealer and player have blackjacks there is a Push and the bets are returned.
At some Elimination Blackjack games the so-called “Secret Bet” is allowed. According to this rule the players do not know the bet sizes of each other until the hand is finished. Usually Secret Bet is used only once during a round.
Entry fee depends on the kind of event and the organizers of this tournament.