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To some people, poker is a thrilling past time. To others, it is a way of living. But no matter how you see the game, you'll never taste its full flavor until you try your hand at online poker tournaments. Online poker tournaments are the pathways that can lead you to your moments of glory in poker. Poker legends have traveled these paths. Skills are brought to greater heights through online poker tournaments. Allow us to show you why.
Online poker tournaments are structured events where players compete against each other to amass all the chips in play. An online poker tournament will go on until there is a winner. Unlike ring games where you can come and go anytime you please, online poker tournaments require that you stay from the start of the play until your chips run out or until a winner emerges. All players also start out with the same amount of chips. Online poker tournaments are where you can hone your skills; learn the importance of staying alive in the game, and where good decision-making reaps big rewards.
So how do online poker tournaments work? You first have to register and pay a particular fee, except if the online poker tournaments you�re joining are freerolls or giveaways. You get your chips, the play starts and if you run out of chips, then you�re out of the tournament. In online poker tournaments, the winner doesn�t take all. So if you�re one of the last remaining players, you still have reason to smile. In online poker tournaments, all players that remain in the final table will get a share of the loot.
Game Structures and Variations
There are many variations to choose from when it comes to taking part in online poker tournaments. All your favorite poker variants can be played in online poker tournaments. Texas Hold�em, Omaha, Omaha Hi � Lo with betting structures Limit, No Limit and Pot limit.
The choice is yours. But first let�s take a closer look at the different game structures of online poker tournaments.
- Single Table Tournaments (STT) - These are known
to be the simplest form of online poker tournaments. Action
takes place at just one table with 8 to 10 players taking
part. Nobody takes the place of players who have run out
of chips so players become fewer and fewer.
- Multi Table Tournaments (MTT) - Thousands take
part in these online poker tournaments everyday. Each
player is assigned a specific table. Once players break
out, surviving players are moved to empty seats, thus
decreasing the number of tables. Eventually, a showdown
between two players takes place with one player winning
all the chips. As always, the prize pool in these online
poker tournaments is divided among the top 5% or 10%.
- Sit and Go - Among all online poker tournaments,
Sit and Go is the most informal type. As soon as enough
players sign up for this tourney, you get to start playing
in the final table.
- Scheduled - Most big online poker tournaments
are scheduled. You have to sign up in advance and show
up on time for these kinds of online poker tournaments.
- Buy-in - Many online poker tournaments require
each player to pay a certain amount to join a tournament.
In online poker tournaments, buy-ins may vary. Poker rooms
such as Golden Palace and Blue Square have buy-ins that
range from $3, $6, $10 and $198 for satellites and bigger
events.
- Freeroll - This is highly recommended for beginners
in online poker tournaments. You don’t have to make
any cash-out but you get to win real money. Not all sites
offer freerolls, but you can find them at Doyle’s
Room, VC Poker and even Paddy Power.
- Satellites - Special online poker tournaments where
the prize is an entry to a big, prestigious event. Satellites
are gateways to great tournaments such as the WSOP, WPT
and many more that begin as online poker tournaments.
Satellite prizes usually include the buy-in to the main
event, plus travel expenses and even hotel reservations.
- Freeze outs - In most online poker tournaments,
once you run out of chips you’re out. This format
is called freeze out.
- Rebuy - Some online poker tournaments offer the
rebuy option. When you run out of chips or your chips
are getting low, you are allowed to buy more chips. Buy-in
amount is usually the same as the rebuy amount, and in
some cases, even less. Rebuy period is only allowed during
the first few rounds of online poker tournaments. The
add-on option takes place at the last round of rebuy,
before freeze out starts.
Brick & Mortar Tourneys VS Online Poker Tournaments
So why are more and more poker players turning to online poker tournaments? While a lot of poker enthusiasts still thrive on the game the old-fashioned way, online poker tournaments are here to stay. Here�s why:
- Online poker rooms such as Victor Chandler, Doyle's
Room, Golden Palace, Blue Square and Paddy Power offer
a wide variety of online poker tournaments.
- Unlike B&M poker tournaments which are so few and
far between, online poker tournaments offer 24/7 action.
- Buy-ins to online poker tournaments are offered in
different denominations
- Freerolls and Giveaways are available, all the time
for online tournaments.
- You always get to choose between Single Table or Multi
Table online poker tournaments.
- Online poker tournaments include satellites which will
qualify you in huge events such as the World Series of
Poker.
- The pace of online poker tournaments is twice as fast
as B&M tourneys. In online poker tournaments you wouldn’t
have to contend with as much dealer activity. Table combination
is also instantaneous in online poker tournaments, whereas
players have to get up and be seated once again when tables
are combined in B&M tourneys.
- If you feel like playing poker the whole day long,
it would be more practical to take part in three different
online poker tournaments than in one very long B&M
tournament.
- After playing in online poker tournaments, you can
simply turn off your computer and do other stuff.
So if you�re daydreaming of the moment when you get your first ever championship ring and the loot to match, your face filling up the TV screen, your momma watching proudly as you beam in front of the ESPN camera, snap out of it, save it for bedtime and start playing in online poker tournaments now. Go. Trust us; you�re taking the same path that the poker greats took. And look at where they are now, all thanks to online poker tournaments.
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