Online Poker Advice

Guide to Playing Poker in Tournaments

Do you watch televised poker tournaments with interest?  Do you want to know how to play in tournaments and how different it plays against regular games?  If this is you, then you will learn a bit about poker tournament strategies as we discuss poker tournaments structures and game play.

Of course, we will assume in this case that you are already knowledgeable of playing poker at ring games or cash games.  You should also think of playing poker in tournaments only with enough playing experience, good knowledge of the game play and knows the strategies of winning in real money games.

Once you are comfortable that you understand poker and poker gaming, you can now start thinking about tournaments.  As in any new endeavor, you have to learn a lot about these tournaments before you head on to registering in a tournament.

In here, we will discuss some information you have to know about tournament structure before you register. 

Poker Tournament Structure

Tournament structures differ in many ways.  Some of the differences lie on the game to be played, betting structure and payouts.  Knowing these details will help you understand the strategy you will use when you play. 

• Game to be played

Usually, the game play you see on televised tournament final table is the no limit Texas Hold'em game.  However, this is not the only game that is played in tournaments.

Some tournaments play Omaha, while others, play, H.O.R.S.E.  H.O.R.S.E. is a combination of poker games such as Hold'em or Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Razz, Seven-Card Stud and Eights-or-Better.  In this case, you have to know the game play of each of these games before you will succeed in the tournament involving all of them.

If you do not have an experience in any of those games, you have to avoid joining a tournament that involves a game you do not know about.  Of course, you can always practice your game but in a skill game like poker, one or two games may not be enough to understand the game play and likewise prepare you on tournaments.

Thus, you have to look at the game to be played before you register.

• Betting structure

Betting structure in poker tournaments usually change every hour otherwise known as levels.

The betting structure especially if you are playing Hold'em usually starts at a blind level 10/20 without ante.  Every hour, it will increase and at a certain point, there will be ante to be posted on top of the blinds.

Knowing the betting structure will help you play the games well.  You may also gauge the strength of your position in the table by understanding how you are going to bet and when you may be busted out because of the increasing blinds. 

• Payout Structure

The payout structure is another important information you need about tournaments.  This is because some tournaments are top-heavy, while some tournaments payout structures are more liberal and somewhat leveled.

Top-heavy payout structure is a tournament that pays the most money in the top three positions or top two positions.  There are payout schemes only up to 10% of the playing field.

In some tournaments, however, payout scheme is computed up to 20% of the players and thus, more players can get cash from the tournament.

While you surely want to win first place in tournaments, not always will you get that far and thus, if you can reach the top ten percent of the players, you may have some money in your pocket.

This is one difference in a regular ring game, in tournaments, even if you loose all your chips but you ended up within the top players, you will get some money from the prize pool.  At ring games, when you loose all your chips, you go home empty handed.

After you have done your homework in checking out the tournament, it is time for you to register.  Tournaments have a certain buy-in requirement, which will go to the prize pool plus 10% as entry fee.

However, lately because of satellite games offered by popular poker sites online, you can enter these tournaments at fraction of the cost.  While that is a neat way to enter because your return on investment will be higher, some do prefer the cash buy-in.  If you can afford the buy-in, there is no problem but if you cannot. Then, taking the route of satellite games may be important.

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