Microgaming is one of the few software providers that host tournaments across its online casinos. Most of the tournaments are based on slots machines, but there a few that run on blackjack as well. The most popular blackjack online tournament is Survivor. It is played over three rounds with eliminations and the best players surviving at the end. There are Survivor tournaments with two different betting levels. One has a buy in of $2 and a prize pool of $50. The other has a buy in of $3 and a prize pool of $100. The tournaments run several times a day and players can even register minutes before the start time. However, the field is capped at 140 players and hence early registration is advisable. The minimum number is set at 25 for the $50 tournament and at 35 for the $100 tournament. If the minimum number is not reached the tournament is scrapped and the buy ins are returned. But this rarely happens because the tournaments run across all Microgaming online casinos.

The $100 prize pool Survivor blackjack tournament is being used to describe the mechanics for the sake of convenience. The top four players share the prize pool. The top winner gets $40 and the others get $30, $20 and $10 in descending order. The tournaments are played on European Blackjack with six decks. Since the variant is same for all players it does not have an impact, except that the players should adopt the optimum strategy for European Blackjack while wagering. The key difference between European Blackjack and Vegas Strip Blackjack is that in the former the dealer does not check for blackjack up front before the players make their move. In terms of strategy this makes moves like split and double down, where players double their stake, a wee bit riskier. Optimum strategy advocates more caution for these moves.

At the start of the first round each player is given 2,000 chips. Six hands are played in the round with a five second gap at the end of the round. This enables players to get their breath back. The minimum bet is 10 chips and the maximum bet is 250 chips. Players generally wager aggressively, at least to start with since they have more than sufficient chips to cover all six deals at maximum bet. If they do well in the first few deals they may take is easier later on so as to conserve their chip balance.

Only 14 players are promoted to the second round irrespective of the number in the starting field. The second round is played in a similar manner with six hands and five second gap at the end. The wagering, however, gets more aggressive because players start with 3,500 chips and the minimum bet and maximum bet is 50 and 500 chips respectively. Seven players move into the third and final round. Four of these will share the prize pool. Players start with 5,000 chips and the minimum bet and maximum bet is 100 and 1,000 chips respectively. The more conservative players adopt a strategy of avoiding being at the bottom. The more aggressive players try to go for the top prize.

All Slots, River Belle and Platinum Play are some reputed Microgaming online casinos where the Survivor blackjack tournament can be played.