Poker Tournaments Explained

If you like to play Poker and you want to feel more excitement, then you should consider entering Poker tournaments. One of the biggest attractions of these competitions held at land-based casinos and online are large prize pools they offer. If you have been wondering how to lay your hands on a share of them, stay with us as we bring you the most important details on Poker tournaments.

What is a Poker Tournament?

Just as its name says, a Poker tournament is a competition in which you play Poker for a chance to win a share of the prize pool. They can be freerolls with no buy-in required or you may need a buy-in which can vary in value. Poker tournaments come in different formats and to understand them, you need to know the differences between standard cash games and these competitions. One of the main differences is in the fact that a cash game is played at a single table while tournaments can be played at multiple tables at once.

When you play a cash game, you buy chips with money. Yet, in tournaments, you have a set buy-in and all competitors get the same amount of chips. When playing a cash game, you can quit anytime you want and turn your chips into cash. On the other hand, a tournament is over when only one player has all the chips and competitors are paid based on their ranking. What’s more, you can always purchase more chips to continue a cash game whereas losing all your chips when playing a tournament means you have to leave the table.

How to Enter

The answer to this question depends on the type of tournament you choose. We will discuss them later in the article. However, whether you want to enter the tournament online or offline, you should be there at the time when the tournament should start. Every competitor will be given the same amount of chips and the tournament starts. Before you enter the tournament make, sure to know all details about the game you will play.

What you should know about Poker tournaments is that they are played through levels of a set length. Levels can last 1, 5 or 10 minutes or even 1 hour. Keep in mind that each level starts with higher blinds and you should pay attention to it because you can easily run out of chips. As we have mentioned earlier, the tournament is finished when a single player has all the chips. However, the prize pool will be shared by a number of players, which depends on the type of tournament you enter.

Types of Poker Tournaments

To further understand the concept of a Poker tournament, you should know more about the forms this competition can come in.

Freeze Outs

This is the most common Poker tournament format. What makes it stand out from the crowd is the fact that it doesn’t allow participants to purchase rebuys. It is all set in advance including the number of chips you start with. In case you lose all the chips, you have to leave the table.

Rebuy Tournaments

This tournament format allows you to purchase a buy-in in case you lose all your chips. Some of these tournaments may allow you to rebuy chip multiple times within a set period of time while others allow you to buy add-ons or additional chips until the first break. It is a more relaxed type of tournament as you don’t have to worry that you will be done once you run out of chips. However, when the rebuy period expires, you continue playing according to the rules of a freeze out tournament.

Sit & Go Tournaments

The type of tournament you will easily stumble upon on the gambling sites. It can take place at a single table or at multiple tables and all you need to enter such a tournament it to sit down. At some online casinos, you will find them as SnG tournaments. Just pay an entry fee, take a seat and wait for the last player to sit down. At this point, the tournament starts. Typically, the three best players share a prize pool.

Closing Thoughts

As you can see, there are many ways in which you can participate in a Poker tournament. We have listed only some of the most common and popular tournament formats, but you can find others too depending on your preferences. Taking part in this form of entertainment can be more exciting than playing standard Poker games. What’s more important, it can come at a lower cost than playing standard cash games and a potential prize can be larger. If you think you are ready to enter a Poker tournament, make sure to find one on a game you are good at. Once you enter it, apply a proper strategy and do your best to win a share of the prize pool.