Blackjack may drive Poker out as the number one tournament game. No one can dispute the fact that poker has gotten a huge boost through the advent of televised poker tournaments. These days you can't turn on the TV without seeing poker championships, whether in the World Series of Poker or the World Poker Tour or celebrity poker tournaments. Texas Hold'em has become #1 in large part because of television.

Not to be left behind, the game of blackjack decided to go with a big-money televised blackjack tournament, as well. A few years ago, the cable network, GSN, introduced the "World Series of Blackjack," which became an instant hit. It is a closed blackjack tournament, which means that players are either invited to play or can win a spot via an official open tournament (previously broadcast, as well).

To its first tournament GSN invited a hand-picked group of 40 blackjack amateurs and pros. GSN knew that despite blackjack's popularity the series needed big names to attract viewers, so they invited pros like Kenneth Smith, and celebrity players and writers like Stanford Wong. Mixed in with the famous card sharks were unknown card players and the hope was that the potential for an upset would keep viewers riveted. Blackjack fans took the bait - the show was a hit.

In the first season of the "World Series of Blackjack" the prize money was a "mere" $300,000. This jumped to $500,000 in the second year, half of for the big winner. In the third season, the prize pool was increased to $1,000,000, with a $500,000 jackpot for the first-place winner. The show is professionally produced with creative camera angles, a state-of-the-art set, and a live studio audience to keep the atmosphere electric.

The format of the World Series blackjack tournament is simple. In the first round, the 40 players are split into 8 tables with 5 players each. Winners at each table advance and second-place finishers are put into a "wild-card" group. Including the post-season games - the semifinals and finals - there are 13 shows per season/tournament.

To keep viewers continually interested, GSN introduced changes and modifications along the way. In the third season of the show, for instance, a "knockout" card was added to each shoe. When the knockout card appeared in the course of a hand, the player with the lowest chip total at the end of the following hand was eliminated from the blackjack tournament. The knockout card also signaled an increase in the minimum bet per hand.

The other change was called the "Burger King Power Chip." Each player received one Power Chip per game and it allowed the player the one-time chance to discard one card from his hand and exchange it with the next card from the shoe. The World Series of Blackjack is committed to keeping their fans in front of their TVs. You can be sure the tournament will continue to serve up bigger, better, and bolder blackjack