Reading the rules of a blackjack tournament sounds like a pretty boring job, and in truth, it is. But unless you are already very familiar with an event, you are shortchanging yourself if you neglect this important part of preparing to play. For an illustration of this, consider what happened to me recently in a major event.

Harrahs New Orleans recently hosted a $250,000 blackjack tournament with a $1000 entry fee. Since my entry fee was comped, this excellent event was a freeroll for me. The format was much like a typical mini-tournament with all play completed in a single day. Each first round table had seven players with one advancing to the semifinal round. From the semifinals, one player from each table again advanced to the final table where the bulk of the quarter million in cash was disbursed.

Starting bankrolls were $10,000 with betting limits of $100 to $10,000 each hand. Going into the next to last hand of my round, things were going pretty well for me. With a bankroll total of $29,000, I had a lead of several thousand over second place. The only other player remaining at our table was in third place with a total of $14,900. Unfortunately, the next to last hand didn't go well for me. I pushed the hand while the third place player managed to get all his money in the circle on a double down, and won it. In one swift change of fate, I am now in second place going into the final hand.

Here are the bankroll totals, in the order of our play on the final hand.