Online Poker Tournaments 10 March 2011

Poker Tournaments 101

Poker tournaments are hot, especially at online poker rooms. While the sheer number of options may seem overwhelming at first glance, PlayerDigger.com put together this article to help shed some light on the similarities and differences between the most common types of poker tournaments. There are many different variations of poker tournaments available but they generally fall into the following categories: Sit-N-Gos (SNGs), Multi-Table Tournaments (MTTs), or Heads-Up (HU) Tournaments.

Poker Tournaments: Sit-N-Gos

Sit-N-Go poker tournaments begin once a certain number of players, typically 9 or 10, are registered and the tournament is over when one player wins all of the chips. Since SNGs start as soon as the required number of players are registered and dont take very long to finish (the typical SNG lasts about 45 minutes), this is a great way for players to learn the ropes of tournament poker. Almost every online professional poker player started out by playing SNGs as they are fairly easy to learn, theyre available at any buy-in that your bankroll can handle, and they can be very profitable.

Poker Tournaments: Multi-Table

When most people think of poker tournaments theyre thinking of Multi-Table Tournaments. While SNGs are limited to one or two tables of players, MTTs can have hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of players. And, MTTs have a set start time so instead of having a limit on the number of players there is a time limit on registration. There is no typical timeframe for a MTT as it depends on different factors like the number of entrants. Some MTTs are over in a few hours while others like the World Series of Poker Main Event take place over the course of two weeks. Like SNGs and other poker tournaments, MTTs end when one player has won all the chips from every other player.

Poker Tournaments: Heads-Up

While poker tournaments like SNGs and MTTs involve playing at a table with multiple opponents, players are faced with only one opponent in Heads-Up (HU) poker tournaments. One-on-one is how all poker tournaments end but only HU poker tournaments begin this way. Typically a HU tournament will be an SNG, meaning that it doesnt have a set start time but instead begins once two players register. HU poker tournaments are very fast and its not uncommon for HU poker tournaments to be over within a few hands.

Poker Tournaments: Payouts

Despite the differences between types of poker tournaments, the basic principles are the same. Each player begins with a set amount of chips that can only be used in the poker tournament. If a player has lost all of their chips, the player is eliminated from the game. In order to bring the tournament to an end, the blinds are raised at set time intervals (15 minutes for most online poker tournaments).

Poker tournaments award cash prizes to the players who finish in the money and payouts are based on the players ranking when the tournament ends. The typical 9 or 10 player SNG will pay the top three players, most MTTs will pay the final 10% (roughly) of the entrants and HU tournaments only pay the winner.

In both SNGs and MTTs, the prizes are based on the position where players finish. For example in a typical $10+$1 SNG with 10 entrants payouts would be: $50 for 1st place, $30 for 2nd place, and $20 for 3rd place. MTTs usually have a much larger number of players and also significantly larger prizes. It is not uncommon for a $10+$1 MTT to have a thousand players and a first prize of $1,500 or more.

From Texas Holdem to Omaha and beyond, these are the most common categories of poker tournaments that youll find at online poker rooms.

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