I'am new to this site so please bear with me. I would like to get into a blackjack tournament but am unable to find out about the rules of play. Are the rules diff. for tournaments , does the casino guarantee your entry fee? I hope this is not a stupid question. I live near the Turning Stone casino in upstate NY but I can't seem to find out from their web site what exactly the rules of play are. The calendar of events on this site gives a list of tournaments but not any of the rules of play. I may not be looking in the correct place. Any clues?????????
Tournament rules Harry, The basic rules of blackjack don't change whether you are playing at a table or in a tournament. Dealer still beats you if they get a better hand than you without busting. The unique element of tournament play is that you are not really playing against the dealer in tournament play as much as you are against the other players. The dealer's hand just affects the outcome of each of the individual players hands in determining win or loss on each round. A good place to find an example of rules in tournament play is the Las Vegas Hilton's million dollar blackjack tournament site. Here is the link.. http://www.lvhilton.com/index.php?PID=RULES The rules in tournament play generally cover items like how they determine the order of play, the number of hands to be dealt, minimum and maximum bets per hand, number of rounds, rebuy opportunities, wildcards, etc. You will find all of these explained in a rules list at the casino when you register for a tournament. It is always good to be sure you read the rules and ask questions before play begins. Generally before a tournament round begins the tournament director will recap the rules just to be sure everyone knows them. The dealer at you table is also there to answer any questions before play begins. Usually the items that might vary between tournaments are how many hands you can split, whether you can double after split, whether surrender is an option and whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. There are housekeeping rules too like whether you can eat, drink, or smoke at a tournament table; keeping your chips visible to other players; and time limits on decisions. Some casinos comp players entry fees, others require all players to pay. There is no guarantee that you will get your entry fee back in winnings. I wish they did, I would be a lot better off. I know there are several people on this list that play at Turning Stone. I am sure some of them will post something about the rules and conditions of tournament play there. Good luck. Pat
additional help Try clicking into the "Blackjack Tournaments (Land based casinos) forum, then go back a few pages to the thread: "Turning Stone Resort & Casino Blackjack Tournaments" began in January by ThePitMgr (he appears to be instrumental in running their tournaments).
Search ability There is an excellent search tool available on this forum. Note at the top of your screen are several pull down menus. One I use a lot is new posts. Whenever you get online you can use this tool to just read any new posts since your last login. This saves a lot of time and helps you avoid overlooking something. Just to the right of it is a search link which provides you a box to enter key word or phrases to search for. Just type in the words "turning point" and it will provide you with a list of threads where that set of words were included in some post. This is a great tool to look up any topic you may have an interest in to see if anything has been posted in the past. Good luck with your search!
Every tournament is different, but most do have the official rules available which will address these kinds of issues.
