Poker tournaments are similar to other tournaments in that the tournament, or game, plays until there is one winner. Poker tournaments usually have low buy-ins with a hefty pot up for grabs. In poker, the goal is to win the chips off all your opponents. During single poker games, players are able to leave the game when they want to, and each hand typically sports a separate winner. During poker tournament games, players are required to play every hand until there is a single winner overall. Poker tournaments are an excellent way for novice players to learn how to play poker, and for intermediate players to gain more experience.
This is precisely what makes poker tournaments so popular. Poker can be played with a variety of gaming variants, but the most common are 7 Card Stud, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hold'em, Badugi and Razz. With the rise of Internet gaming, there are scores of players from around the world who actively participate in online gaming. Online poker tournaments are very similar to casino poker tournaments except that during online poker games the players are not in the same physical space. The betting procedures, rules and strategies of online and casino tournaments are basically the same. Players can find almost any kind of poker game or tournament at online sites in this day and age. Poker tournaments generally consist of about 10 people for small tournaments, and upwards of thousands of players for large tournaments. That having been said, there is a wide variety of tournament types available.
Single Table Tournaments (STTs)
Single table tournaments, or STTs, are arguably the most popular types of tournaments. STTs have only a few players participating. A full poker table is the most common type of STT and consists of 9-10 people. The structure for payouts is the best out of 3: the 1st place player gets about 50% of the pot, 2nd place gets 30% and 3rd place gets 20%. In STTs, you are only playing against the players at your table. These tournaments begin when a sufficient number of players have registered for the tourney. STTs usually last an hour or less, from start to finish and the tournament is complete when one player has won all the chips.
Multi-Table Tournaments (MTTs)
Multi-Table Tournaments, or MTTs, are large tournaments where a large number of competitors play on several poker tables simultaneously until just one table remains; this is the final table and has 9 players at it. The 1st place prize pays the most, but MTTs usually pay many more players than STTs. Generally, the players in the top 5%-10% will get a cut of the massive prize pool.
Freeroll Tournaments
Freeroll tournaments are Multiple Table Tourneys that have no buy-ins but do pay out real-cash prizes. Players can enter these tournaments at absolutely no cost. Freeroll tournaments are great for beginners. They provide the ideal platform to learn how to play poker and to gain experience without losing money. And the best part is that they provide loads of opportunities to win tons of money.
Turbo Tournaments
During a Turbo Tournament, the betting level is raised at a much faster rate than at other poker events. The level of betting will usually increase at 5 or 6 minute intervals, rather than 15 minutes in regular poker tournaments.
Freezeout Tournaments
A freezeout, or elimination tournament, is the broadest type of tournament. There is a required buy-in for all players and all players also receive the same amount of chips ranging from 800-1500. The structure of the freezeout tournament forces a player to employ a sound gaming strategy. When a player loses all his/her chips, that player is immediately removed from the tournament. The winner of the tournament is the player who takes all his/her opponents' chips. In general, the higher you are when you get eliminated, the more money you will win. Usually the prize pool is split between the Top 10 players.
Re-Buy/Add-On Tournaments
Re-buy tournaments are different from elimination tournaments, as players are able to buy additional chips after the start of the tournament. There are rules that determine when and how many chips players can buy. In re-buy tournaments, you can buy, or re-buy, more chips. This is usually done during the 1st hour of play only. When the re-buy period expires, the tournament moves into a freezeout tournament where players are taken out as they lose chips. Re-buy tournaments may also have add-ons, or a period where players can buy more chips after the re-buy period expires. Generally all players are allowed to use the add-on function.
Satellite Tournaments
Satellite tournaments can be played in Sit & Go or Multi-Table Tournament formats. A satellite tournament is a unique type of tournament that is used as a qualifier for larger tournaments. These tournaments are a popular way for players to qualify for large tournaments such as the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the Aussie Millions, the World Poker Tour (WPT) and others. The goal of satellite tournaments is to provide an opportunity to talented players to get into tournaments they could not have otherwise have qualified for.
Sit & Go Tournaments (S&Gs)
Sit & Go tournaments have no set starting time. They begin when every seat is filled at the table. This is the only difference between Sit & Go's and other poker tournaments. S&G tournaments can be played in many versions, like Multi-Table Tourneys, Single-Table Tourneys and Heads-Up Tournaments.
Heads-Up Tournaments
A Heads-Up Tournament is played by 2 players, battling 1 on 1. These tournaments require solid poker strategy, great poker instinct, knowledge and aggression. These are some of the toughest tournaments to play in. Players in a Heads-Up Tournament are paired up after each round; much like in a sports playoff platform.
Guaranteed Tournaments
A Guaranteed Tournament is a Multi-Table Tournament (MTT) with a guaranteed minimum cash prize, no matter how many people buy-in to the tournament.
Shoot-Out Tournaments
Shoot-Out Tournaments are similar to Multi-Table Tourney elimination contests. All players start with the same number of chips and all tables have to declare a single winner in order for the tournament to move to the next round. The winners of each table will go to the final table to face-off for the prize.