Tournaments

Introduction

Tournament poker has been steadily growing in popularity over the last few years. In a poker tournament, every player starts with the same amount of chips and the game goes on until everybody has lost all his chips. Everybody but one player : the winner !

Your Tournament Ranking

Your final tournament ranking is defined by the number of players still in the game when you lose your last chip. If five players are left, you finish at the sixth place, and so on.

Winnings

Generally, the winner doesn't get all the prize money: it is divided among the best ranked players. Yet the winner takes the lion's share, so it is still more profitable to win the tournament ! Very profitable, indeed…

Increasing Blinds and Antes

So as to make sure the tournament end in a reasonable amount of time, blinds and antes are regularly increased. Therefore, if you don't manage to grow your stack, the blinds and antes will start to hurt you severely.

Tournament Types

There are several types of poker tournaments, from a few players on a single table to thousands of players playing simultaneously on hundreds of tables.

"Sit and Go"

A « sit-and-go » (S&G) starts as soon as the required number of players have registered. As a rule, a S&G starts with ten players (single table), but there are also S&G with two or three tables (20 or 30 players).

Multi-Table Tournament

A multi-table tournament (MTT) starts at a predefined time, set in advance. Hundreds and even thousands of people can register.

"Heads-up" tournaments

In a « heads-up » tournament, two players sit down at the same table with the same number of chips, and play until one of them gets them all. The blinds and antes increase regularly during the game.

"Satellites"

A satellite is a tournament where the first prize is not paid in cash, but gives the right to play a bigger tournament. The main idea is to be able to participate in an expensive tournament by qualifying through a cheaper satellite.
For instance, if ten players start a $10 satellite, the winner can win a seat to a $100 tournament.

Rebuys and Add-ons

Tournaments are different in that you cannot reach for your wallet and buy extra chips, as you would in a ring game. When you don't have any chip left, you are out of the competition.
However, some tournaments allow you to buy additional chips, called a "rebuy", but only during the rebuy period, in the first stages of the tournament. Depending on the tournament, you may be able to rebuy once, several times, or even as many time as you want. When the rebuy period ends, you can make a last rebuy, called an "add-on".
Once the rebuy period is over, the tournament goes on like any other tournament, the players being eliminated when they have no chip left.
Rebuys and add-ons are added to the prize pool.
A tournament with no rebuy and no add-on is called a « freeze-out ».

Tournament Tips

Avoid Bankruptcy

In a ring game, if you go all-in with a slightly favorite hand, you'll be a long-term winner, even if you lose the pot from time to time. However, in a tournament, if you lose in this kind of situation, you are out of the tournament. This is why it is advised to be more patient in tournaments and wait for stronger hands.
Note that your opponents will also be more prudent, and this is something that you can exploit to your advantage.

Make Your Way To The « Payout Structure »

The payout structure refers to the finishing places that earn a part of the prize pool.

The worst place in a tournament is the one just before the payout structure (therefore the last place not earning any money). It is best to play very cautiously and not to take risks near this stage.