Blackjack is one of the world's grandest and most established gambling games. Unlike other casino games, it dates back over 500 years, although some historians and experts believe it could be even older. The game's true origins are unknown, but many similar games emerged throughout China and across Europe during the first half of the last millennium.

Given that this sustained popularity has spanned countries, platforms, language barriers, film and TV, it’s no surprise that casino bosses are constantly looking for new ways to mould blackjack into a new type of gaming.

Those who have spent decades in online casino gaming will be fully aware of how many attempts have been made in the past to revamp blackjack. CasinoTopsOnline has spent several years ranking the best blackjack sites out there based on several factors, but rarely does the quality of tournaments factor into the final rating – not to the extent it does for professional poker tournaments, anyway.

Today, we will explore the unique element of the tournament structure, its global popularity and how it could replace the traditional game as a contemporary way to play an old, card-based classic.

Exploring the rise of Elimination Blackjack

Elimination Blackjack is one of the latest tournament designs in the vast universe of online casino gaming innovations. But for those who enjoy a blackjack game or two, does this fresh tournament style raise enough interest to become a significant part of the market, or will gamers insist on playing versions of the game that they are more familiar with?

While Elimination Blackjack does call on some of the elements and knockout structure we have seen in some of the world’s most prominent poker tournaments, it has nuances. Created by professional poker player Russ Hamilton, it doesn’t have the prize pool of WSOP, but it has maintained a steady audience since it originally launched in 2006.

The idea was to fuse some of the finer elements of professional poker with some of the nail-biting tension that can emerge during a blackjack game. The appeal of blackjack comes from its quickfire rounds, and bottling this into an exciting knockout tournament format, similar to many of the top sports events, is precisely what Elimination Blackjack looks to do.

The appeal of blackjack tournaments

Unlike poker, which has enormous appeal and has a viable avenue for players to become professional, blackjack lacks the strategy and game duration to fall into a similar tournament structure.

For some gamers, this means channelling into the rapid, quick betting that some casino gamers prefer, rather than the sometimes slow and strategic gameplay of poker tournaments that can go on for hours.

Basic rules of Elimination Blackjack

Some rules are non-negotiable and help to expedite the speed of the games, and consequently, the tournament. They include:

• A maximum of seven players per table.

• Once the cards are dealt, players have 25 seconds to make their move. However, this timer increases to 45 seconds during an elimination hand.

• Each game requires a shoe containing six decks.

• The house must stand on hard 17 or above, and hit on soft 17 and below.

If you want to enter an Elimination Blackjack tournament, the minimum required entry is usually ,000 – but some tournaments set a minimum entry of 0,000 for high rollers. Read the rules before registering, and ensure you gamble within your financial means.

The unique format of the tournament

Depending on the type of Elimination Blackjack, the tournament format could be specific to one table or spread across the casino floor. Each tournament round consists of 30 hands, and players can be eliminated in any of three ways:

1. If they have the lowest number of chips during the cut-off points, which are during rounds 8, 16 and 25.

2. If they are unable to meet the minimum required bet due to too few chips.

3. If they have no chips available.

If it’s a large tournament, the players who emerge victorious from each table move on to the next round. For instance, if dozens of players are left, the players who go through are those with the highest chip stacks.

The winner is usually the last player left at the table, or the player who emerges with the most chips after the 30 hands. The whole point of the tournament dynamic is to encourage quick-fire gaming and rapid rounds that can generate excitement and interest, and quickly boil down to the final few entrants within an hour or two.

Final thoughts

While a busy game of Elimination Blackjack follows a fairly similar pattern to that of poker tournaments, the game’s flexibility makes it unique. Not only can it adapt based on the number of players and tables, but the multiple elimination methods and various ways players can find themselves with their backs to the wall make for quite the spectator tournament.

It’s not for the faint-hearted, especially those with an eye on the high-roller tournaments. However, the unique tournament format has allowed the game to develop into an intriguing part of the blackjack world. While the jury is still out about whether it has the longevity to remain, it shows that there’s still a massive market for innovation right across the casino gaming spectrum.