Now here’s where things get a little more interesting. In this section I will explain about the different types of poker tournaments you can get involved in.
Why are tournaments so interesting? Well tournaments – or ‘tourneys’ as they’re known – rather than single table cash games can be a very good way to maximise your profits from poker. With tournaments, especially multi-table ones, you generally receive a much better return on your money and a much bigger first place prize. They’re also very, very exciting! Whether you’re playing for a few thousand or a few hundred thousand, there’s nothing quite like the feeling when you outplay everyone else on the table and walk away with the cash!
I got involved in tournaments after about a month of first starting to play online. I started off by depositing £100 into my online account and played single table tournaments. These ranged from a £1+20p all the way up to £500+£30 (remember the + part is the percentage the site takes for organising the tournament). I played the £5+50p single table tournaments where you can choose between a ten player tournament and a six player tournament, also known as a ‘sixpack’.
I also tend to prefer sites that host guaranteed tourneys. This means they guarantee a minimum prize pot even if there are not enough entrants to make that amount. For instance, one site I use does a daily £10,000 guaranteed tourney which has a £25+£2 buy in. So for the prize pool to reach £10,000 there would need to be 400 entrants. But if there are less than 400 the prize pool will still be £10,000 because it is guaranteed. In simple terms a poker tournament is a poker game in which each player starts with an equal amount of chips. All of the players in the tournament continue to play until one player has amassed all of the chips. Each tournament has a buy-in as well as a fee. The buy-in is put into the prize pool. The fee is kept by the casino or gaming room. The size of the prize pool depends on the number of people playing in the tournament and will be paid out in its entirety to the winners.
There are two main types of tournaments, scheduled and ‘sit and go’ :
Scheduled Tournaments
These tournaments have a fixed starting time announced in advance. If you want to play in these you must sign up before registration closes. The time will be announced in the site’s lobby.
Sit And Go Tournaments
These tournaments are available at all times. They start as soon as the necessary number of players are seated at the table.
Sit and go tournaments are offered in a variety of games with buy-ins typically starting as low as $5. Players will be blinded/anted off if they are not present. All seats are assigned at random.
Now a little more about multi-table tournaments and shootouts :
Multi-Table Tournaments
Multi-table tournaments are probably the most popular tournaments in the world today. They challenge your poker skills and give you the chance to win big prizes with small wagers.
Each multi-table tournament usually has a buy-in as well as an entry fee which can be up to $50. The buy-in is added to the prize pool, while the entry fee is kept by the gaming room. The prize pool is the product of the buy-in and the number of players in a tournament.
These tournaments feature many players with several tables starting off simultaneously. As players are eliminated from the tournament, tables are combined, reducing the number until there is only one table left.
Shootout Tournaments
Shootout tournaments are offered by many gaming rooms and are an exciting variation to the standard multi-table tournament format. Generally they have more payouts, shorter tournaments and are more fun …. but also more tense! A shootout tournament can be one, two, three or four rounds depending on the number of players that enter.
Each different gaming room has their own rules about how tournaments progress, the blind structure and the payout structure so do check these out before you play.
In round 4 the round is played out in a standard multi-table tournament format. Payouts in round 4 follow a standard multi-table payoff schedule based on the number of players that enter the round and the remaining prize pool
Here’s an example of how a Shootout tournament works: Number of Entrants : 110
Round 1 :
This round will begin with 11 tables, 10 players per table. The round will finish when there are three players left at each table. There will be 11 first place finishers, 11 second place finishers and 11 third place finishers – all of whom will be paid and will advance to Round 2.
Round 2 :
This round begins with four tables, which will consist of three tables with eight players per table and one table with nine players. The round will finish when there are three players left at each table. There will be four first place finishers, four second place finishers and four third place finishers – all of which will get paid and advance to Round 3.
Round 3 :
This round begins with two tables, six players per table. The round will finish when there are three players left at each table. There will be two first place finishers, two second place finishers and two third place finishers – all of which will get paid and advance to Round 4.
Round 4 :
This round begins with one table seating six players. The round and tournament will finish when only one player with chips remains. Round 4 payouts are based on a standard multi-table format (if less than 10 players begin Round 4 then the payouts will be 50% to first, 30% to second place and 20% to third place). In this example the first, second and third place finishers from Round 4 will be paid.
To start a tournament each player is dealt a card. The player with the highest card starts the game as the dealer. Each player’s goal is to amass as many chips as possible. Players who lose all of their chips are out of the tournament. As the tournament continues, more and more players are eliminated until only one remains …. the grand winner!
Games proceed in a tournament exactly the same as in a regular game. However, you need to adopt a slightly different strategy to win in a multi-table tourney. You need to play a lot tighter, be a lot more patient and you need to keep your concentration for longer periods of time. It took me a while to discover and adapt to this different method of play but with time and a bit of money I became a more competent multi-table player.