Getting 21 is the key to the door of winnings!

| Dealing what’s in the cards »

Table tournaments

When playing tournament table games, such as blackjack and craps, just remember one important point: Whoever finishes with the highest total of chips advances from each table. So even if you have a great run, all your “profit” is worthless unless you win your table and advance, which creates some wild and wacky finishes.
Unfortunately, no one-size-fits-all advice applies to every type of game. The tips that help you in blackjack may have no bearing at all in a Pai Gow tournament. With that caveat in mind, the following principles are helpful for craps, blackjack, and Pai Gow tournaments.
- Keep tabs on your opponents’ chips. In most craps, blackjack, and Pai Gow tournaments, in order to advance you must end the round as winner at your table. Consequently, keeping track of your opponents’ chip stacks is critical to see where you stand, especially down the stretch. Chip counting is a tough skill to master, but tournament rules do require all chips to be kept on the table in uniform stacks, making the task a little easier.
- Focus on the end play. Much of the strategy in these tournaments revolves around the end play, or the last hand, and the consistent winners are the ones who know exactly how much to bet in order to seize the lead.
- Vote conservative. At least during the early part of the tournament, adopting a conservative approach is a sound strategy that helps keep you in the game and a shot to win at the end. Watching several other aggressive players flame out early by losing their big bets isn’t uncommon. The elimination of any opponent at your table greatly increases your chance for advancing.