Comparing regular blackjack and blackjack tournaments is like comparing apples and oranges. So it seems logical that you can’t play the two formats the same way, based on rules variations.

Anyone who has played enough casino blackjack knows the basic strategy of the game. You split aces. You always double on 11. You never take insurance – unless you can count and the count is favorable. These are the basic tenements of the game that have handed down from generation to generation since blackjack became popular in casinos in the mid 20th Century.

But if you’ve also played enough blackjack tournaments, you know that you can often throw the book out the window. You will often have to deviate from basic strategy to come out on top in a blackjack tournament. The rule variations alone account for some of the differences.

Sometimes an unorthodox tournament play like doubling on a hard 17 is absolutely necessary on the last hand of the round; unorthodox, but really a standard deviation to increase the odds in your favor. For example, you have $1,400 in chips and have bet the $500 max on the last hand of an online blackjack tournament. Your opponent has $2,100 and bet $150 to protect his lead. If you are dealt a hard 17 you must double it. It’s your only chance at winning the tournament. And if you are dealt a 19? Same play. Just pray for an ace or deuce.

You will also have to double down occasionally on a blackjack in a tournament, rather than accepting the 3-2 payoff. If you’re in one of those final hand situations where you are more than a max bet behind then you have to try for the higher payoff if it will make the difference in the match.

You also must take insurance in certain situations, which you would almost never do in regular blackjack. If the dealer shows an ace and a second-place player who is just behind you in chip count takes insurance you should take insurance too, which you can bet will help your odds. Otherwise, if the dealer has the blackjack, you will lose your lead in the tournament, and wish you had taken the insurance.

In regards to splitting, you will have to make some seemingly foolish splits on the last hand. Consider the basic doubling example above. If you were dealt two 10-value cards in that situation against a dealer 10 you would be forced to split. It’s a bad play generally, but here it’s your only chance at winning the blackjack tournament.

Sure the odds are certainly against you in the above situations, but you have to make the right play and hope for a miracle. Don’t be the player who passes up his only chance of winning because he didn’t consider making a basic play he would never generally think of making. In blackjack online tournaments, basic strategy is often left behind.