Elimination Blackjack, invented by Russ Hamilton, is popular in many casinos and it is somewhat similar to poker tournaments. At least in the way that you play at a “card table” (and it does contain elements of No Limit Texas Hold’Em) against other players – the last one left is the winner.

The Rules of the Game

A game of elimination blackjack is usually thirty hands long and it each player will start the event with chips worth between $10,000 and $100,000 – all depending on the one organizing the game. The rules of the game are as follows:

·    The house must stand on hard 17 and above, and it must hit on soft 17.
·    Pairs may split up to four times. The only exception is aces.
·    Six decks are used.
·    All the bets have to stay within the allowed minimum and maximum betting numbers.
·    If the player surrounds their hand they get half of the original bet back.
·    If the house’s card is an ace you are allowed to buy insurance.
·    You can only double down with two cards.
·    No more than seven players can play at the same table.
·    You have to make a decision within twenty five seconds if it’s not an elimination hand – in this case you have forty five seconds to make up your mind.

The eliminations part

There are three ways to get eliminated from an elimination blackjack tournament:
·    You lose all of your chips
·    You don’t have enough chips to meet the minimum requirements
·    You are the player with the fewest amount of chips after a certain number of played hands.

The Winner

The last player left at the table, or the player with the most chips left after 30 played hands, is the winner!