A poker tournament is defined as a poker game in which all players pay a set entry fee and are given a predetermined amount of chips in return. Once a player runs out of chips, they are eliminated form the tournament. The player who finishes the tournament with all the chips, is the winner.
The following article will explain how tournaments work, and the most common terms and definitions used in a poker tournament.
Entry Fee
The Entry Fee is a predetermined amount of money which each player must pay to enter the tournament. This is usually displayed in the following format $30+$3. The $30 represents the amount of money taken from each player and added to the prize pool (see prize pool section). The $3 is the amount taken by the “house” i.e. PokerStars as an administration fee for playing in the tournament, this amount is not added to the prize pool.
Prize pool & Payouts
Once each player pays their entry fee the Prize pool is established. The prize pool will then be divided into smaller amounts, which are then redistributed to players who finish in the later stage of the tournament. This is called a “payout”. Usually payouts are given to the top 10% of the field, with most of the prize pool being paid to the final 9-10 players, known as the “Final Table”. A typical payout would see first place receiving up to 25% of the total prize pool, second would receive roughly 12-13%, third 5-6% and so on so forth until the final 10% is paid. For example, in a 1000 player tournament the top 100 players will receive a payout.
Types of Tournaments
There are several different styles of tournaments, below is a list of the most common tournament types you would find online:
Freeze out Tournament
This is the most common tournament. Each player pays the same entry fee, and are given the same amount of chips. Once you lost all your chips, you are eliminated from the tournament.
Re-Buy Tournament
A re-buy tournament is a tournament where, for a designated amount of time (typically 1 hour from the start of the tournament), players are allowed to purchase additional chips. Typically the re-buy amount is the same as the entry fee, and a player can only re-buy if they have less than their initial chip start bank. For example, in a $30+$3 tournament you are given $1,500 in chips (called a “Start Bank”. If you drop below your initial $1.500 you will be allowed to re-buy an additional $1,500 in chips for $30. Once the first hour of the tournament is over, players will not be allowed to re-buy for the rest of the tournament. However, at the end of the re-buy period there is usually an “Add-On” this is an option given to all players regardless of their chip stack, to purchase an additional bank of chips for the re-buy amount. In the previous example you could receive an additional $1500 in chips for $30 regardless of how many chips you currently have. This can only be done once by each player, and only once the re-buy period has elapsed.
Satellite Tournaments
A Satellite tournament is a tournament where the prizes are not distributed as cash, instead you will receive an entry into a bigger tournament. For example, there is a $500 monthly tournament on PokerStars. Some players do not wish to pay the $500 up front, so instead they play a satellite tournament. The buy-in for the satellite can start from as little as $1, and can either be a re-buy tournament or freeze out. For example, you play in a $50 freeze out satellite for the $500 tournament taking place at the end of the week. For every 10 players who enter the tournament, 1 player will advance to the $500 tournament. So if 300 players enter, the top 30 players will receive a seat into the tournament. Once the 31st player is eliminated, the tournament will automatically stop and advance the remaining players into the next tournament.
FPP Tournaments
An FPP tournament plays exactly the same as a cash tournament. However instead of paying cash to enter the tournament, you can play using FPP’s (Frequent Player Points). Please see the FFP section of the PokerStars website for more information on how to obtain and use FPP’s.
Freeroll Tournaments
A Freeroll tournament is where players are allowed to play for free, and cash prizes (provided by the host site) are distributed to the players. These are usually targeted at new players who want to learn how to play a serious tournament without outlaying any cash, and also as an incentive reward for frequent players.
The preceding information covers the different types of tournaments. There are still 2 ways to play these types of tournaments.
Multi Table Tournament
This is the most common tournament style. The tournament starts at a set time on a set day, and advertised well in advance. It is open to a (usually) unlimited amount of players, players are randomly assigned a seat and play concludes once there is only one player remaining.
What is a Sit and Go?
A Sit and Go (SNG) is a single table tournament where each participant pays an entry fee and is given the same amount of chips to begin with. The name of this style of tournament is derived from the fact that the event begins once all the seats on the table are filled. Once all the players have sat down the event is set to GO! All of the entry fee’s are put into a prize pool which is then distributed to the players who perform well. Generally a SNG starts with 9 or 10 players (depending on the site or venue) and the top 3 finishers get paid. This is also known as ‘being in the money’ or ‘cashing’. Usually the payout structure is as follows:
- 1st – 50% of prize pool
- 2nd – 30% of prize pool
- 3rd – 20% of prize pool
SNG’s are a great place for you to start playing poker. Here is why :
- You know the maximum you can win or lose in any event from the start. For example if you enter a $5 SNG you will need to put up your entry fee $5+1 which includes the $5 that goes into the prize pool and a $1 fee or juice. The maximum you can lose in this event is $6.
- These games fill up very quickly on most online sites resulting in on demand action around the clock. No waiting around for a game to start.
- They last around 45 minutes before a winner is announced. Fact paced action from start to finish
- Most players in these events are beginners so as your poker skills develop you will find that there is immense value in these games and they are a great place to start building your bankroll
- The strategies learnt playing these games all apply to and will help you in bigger multi table tournaments where there are hundreds of players.
- Learning how to beat these games will give you the fundamental basics of poker that will help you develop your game further and move up the limits quickly as well as creating a foundation for you to eventually play in cash games.
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