Elimination Blackjack Tips
It's always interesting to identify new trends in the world of gambling, and to see the ways in which they alter traditional modes of thinking. For instance, in the mid-1990s when Texas holdem began its unprecedented charge toward global dominance of both professional and amateur poker play, there was a huge amount of speculation about how this brand of community card poker would affect the approach to other time-tested variants such as stud and Omaha. One of the hottest trends of the moment is the online elimination blackjack tournament, a phenomenon that continues to attract more and more adherents at an accelerated pace. One predictable outcome of this development is that many seasoned blackjack players are casting a critical eye toward their overall strategy, looking for new angles that might serve them well in the elimination format.
While there's no question that elimination tournaments contain a certain number of discrete characteristics (especially during the dreaded hands 8, 16 and 25) at its core this variant still clings to timeless precepts of blackjack strategy. Let's review some basic tenets that will be sure to assist your chances of survival.
When seated in an online elimination blackjack tournament, one key rule to bear in mind is that you will always want to hit a hard eight or less. No exceptions. The flip side to this rule, which must be applied with equal consistency, is that you will always want to stand on a hard 17 or better. These guidelines are never broken, and therefore are the easiest to remember. You'll have no excuse except for cognitive failure if you get eliminated by failing to respect such rules.
When it comes to stiff hands (which can be designated as hard 12s through hard 16s), you will probably experience the same kind of anguish in online elimination blackjack to which you are already accustomed. These hands are no fun at all because most of the time they're not strong enough to beat the dealer's hand, while at the same time they come loaded with a very real chance of busting.
On a brighter note, there are those potential double-down hands you are apt to be dealt from time to time. A hard nine through a hard 11 is often considered a good hand for doubling down, even in the elimination format. When it comes to splitting, use your common sense. You always will want to split aces and 8s, regardless of what the dealer is showing. On the other hand, under no circumstances do you want to split 5s or 10s. Yes, this is something you already understand, just don't assume it's the kind of rule that gets altered in an online elimination blackjack tournament. The numbers are still the numbers.
At the end of the day, that's how it boils down. Any adjustments to your overall strategy will probably fall in the psychological category. Stick to your trusty charts and with luck you can avoid elimination.
