Glossary of Blackjack Tournament Terms
A quick reference for terms used throughout our tournament coverage and strategy guides.
Accumulation format - A tournament format that tracks total chips won across a set number of hands or rounds, rather than eliminating players along the way. See our formats guide.
Add-on - An optional chip purchase offered at a set point in some tournaments, boosting a player's stack for an additional cost.
Bubble - The point in a tournament just before payouts begin, where the next elimination means finishing without a prize.
Buy-in - The entry fee required to enter a tournament, typically split between the prize pool and an administrative fee. See our guide to buy-ins and prize pools.
Chip leader - The player with the most chips at a given point in a round or tournament.
Elimination format - A tournament format where players are cut based on chip counts after each round, narrowing the field toward a final table. See our formats guide.
Final table - The last group of players remaining in a multi-table tournament, competing for the top places.
Guaranteed prize pool - A minimum total prize pool a casino commits to regardless of how many players enter, making up any shortfall itself.
Late surrender - A surrender option available only after the dealer checks for blackjack, as opposed to early surrender.
Min-cash - The smallest payout awarded to a player who finishes within the paid positions.
Rebuy - An option in some tournaments to buy back into the event after being eliminated.
Satellite - A smaller, lower-cost tournament where the prize is an entry into a bigger event rather than cash. See our guide to qualifying for a tournament.
Shootout - A small, self-contained tournament round, often a single table, where the winner advances directly. See our formats guide.
Soft 17 - A hand totaling 17 that includes an Ace counted as 11 (e.g., Ace-6); whether the dealer hits or stands on this hand is a common rule variation. See our rule variations guide.
Tiebreaker - A predetermined method for resolving identical chip counts between players at the end of a round, such as an additional hand.
Tournament director - The person responsible for overseeing tournament procedures, rulings, and fairness across all tables in an event.