Celebrity Blackjack tournament rules

[rockshadsun]

I am on a December cruise on the Summit and am curious about the rules for the $35 buy-in Blackjack tournament.  

Is there a winner for each table that progresses to the next round or is it top $$ from all preliminary rounds?

Is surrender allowed?

Double after splits?, etc.

 

Thanks.

[NutsAboutGolf]

You buy in, you receive a card with your round number; they do all the rounds then take the top seven in chips.  They generally pay 1st and 2nd place.

 

Can't surrender and can double after splits.  

[mahdnc]

46 minutes ago, rockshadsun said:

I am on a December cruise on the Summit and am curious about the rules for the $35 buy-in Blackjack tournament.  

Is there a winner for each table that progresses to the next round or is it top $$ from all preliminary rounds?

Is surrender allowed?

Double after splits?, etc.

 

Thanks.

 

Here is what I posted for my Dec 2016 experience on Infinity:

 

 

Last month I played in a Blackjack tournament on Constellation and the experience was nearly same.  The first difference is that the buy-in price is  higher.  The second difference was on the grand final round, the first base playing position was rotated which they should be doing all the time.

 

GENERAL RULES 

$500 in starting play chips.

7 hands per round.

You can register to play more than once in the same tournament. Something you could do if you were not satisfied with your score.

There was a max bet imposed on the 1st 6 hands ($300?), no limit on 7th and final hand.

Minimum bet was $25 (or was it $50?).

Total chip value for each bettor was announced prior to the 7th hand.

One blackjack table used for the whole tournament.

No Surrender.

Double after splits.

One card dealt to split aces.

I cannot remember what the rule was for max number of splits.

Dealer hits soft 17.

Natural is paid out 2:1.

No insurance.

 

 

Blackjack tournament, preliminary round, Oct 26 2022, Constellation

Edited November 14, 2022 by mahdnc

[Arizona Wildcat]

Prizes have varied but only on the final round.  Strategy is simply get enough points to move to the next round.

Once there were top two and other time top 4.

[rockshadsun]

Is there a "winner" from each table in the first round that progresses to a 2nd round?  Or is there only one round for all entrants and the top winners are picked by comparing chip counts of all entrants from all tables?

Makes a big difference regarding playing strategy. 

 

[mahdnc]

9 minutes ago, rockshadsun said:

Is there a "winner" from each table in the first round that progresses to a 2nd round?  Or is there only one round for all entrants and the top winners are picked by comparing chip counts of all entrants from all tables?

Makes a big difference regarding playing strategy. 

 

 

For the sailings I have been on, the top 7 scores from the preliminary round advance to the final round.  So the "winner" from a given table is not guaranteed to move to the final round.

Edited November 14, 2022 by mahdnc

[SHIP TRAVELER]

The rules on the ship are not the same as for Las Vegas casino mini tourneys where textbook (Wong) strategy helps.  We no longer play in the ships tourneys because it is more a go for it max bet, all in, free for all.  You are either lucky, or you are broke in the first few hands.  This is just my observation. 

If you are trying to use OBC, I would advise you buy the promo chips and play regular black jack or Ultimate Texas Holdum at the tables.  If you buy promo chips before sailing you get a 10% bonus.

Good Luck if you decide to invest in the Tourney, you will need it.

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

The rules on the ship are not the same as for Las Vegas casino mini tourneys where textbook (Wong) strategy helps.  We no longer play in the ships tourneys because it is more a go for it max bet, all in, free for all.  You are either lucky, or you are broke in the first few hands.  This is just my observation. 

If you are trying to use OBC, I would advise you buy the promo chips and play regular black jack or Ultimate Texas Holdum at the tables.  If you buy promo chips before sailing you get a 10% bonus.

Good Luck if you decide to invest in the Tourney, you will need it.

 

I agree with your observation although I still participate.  The ship's tournament is not rigorously run like a real competitive blackjack tournament.  It is more like a slot tournament.

[ChampagneandFanfare]

I did the tourney on Solstice last week and the rules were explained at the start. They were a bit different than my previous sailing - so I think there is some level of discretion on the part of the host. Most of the rules published above held true - in our case it was the top 7 scores from the preliminary rounds and only one winner. Our final round was $1000 vs. the preliminary rounds of $500. Minimum was $25 bet. Max was set at $500 for final round of preliminary and everything but final last round. Our host allowed 2 people to buy back in on preliminary #4 as that round was 2 people short. (On an April cruise I took they allowed unlimited buy back ins and it really ruined the tournament as he announced that rule after the first preliminary round was completed. Given that - I always ask at the beginning to make sure all the rules are disclosed.)

[mahdnc]

8 minutes ago, ChampagneandFanfare said:

so I think there is some level of discretion on the part of the host.

 

I totally agree.