Online Poker Tournaments, A Two Part Primer (Part 2)

In the first part of this article we discussed in general terms how an online poker tournament works. In this article we'll go into detail about the different types of tournaments.

Multi-Table Tournaments

Multi-Table tournaments are big tournaments; some can have 2,000 players or more. In a multi-table tournament, you compete against the players at your table, the winner of that table moves on to another table. This keep going on until there is only one player left. As you can imagine, multi-tables can last for quite a few hours.

Single Table Tournaments Or "Sit and Go" Tournaments

These are reasonably small tournaments, usually nine or ten players. You're only competing against the other players at your table. These types of tournaments usually start when the required number of players has registered. These tournaments tend to be shorter then mult-table tournaments, often lasting around one hour. These tournaments often have only one winner.

Free Roll Tournaments

These tournaments are free. Pokerrooms periodically hold free rolls. Entry into one of these may be given away as a comp to existing players or as a bonus for making a deposit. In any event, it costs you nothing to enter, and you have a shot at willing real money.

Satellite Tournaments

Satellite Tournaments are smaller tournaments in which the prize is entry into a bigger tournament. At some pokerrooms, you can "satellite" your way all the way up to free entry into the World Series of Poker held in Vegas.

Here's some additional info

Re-buy or Addons: some tournaments allow you to purchase additional chips after the start. There are usually specific rules about how much and when you can purchase. Also, the ability to purchase additional chips usually ends at a certain point in the tournament.

Blinds: During most tournaments, blinds increase periodically on a specific schedule. This is to help to shorten the length of the tournament, by making it more costly to simply keep folding. Larger blinds force players to play more aggressively.

NL/PL: These stand for No Limit and Pot Limit respectively. No Limit means a player can always bet all of his or her chips. Pot Limit means the maximum bet size can only be equal to the amount of the pot.

Well, I hope these two articles have given you a sufficient intro to online poker tournaments. The next step is up to you, if you think you're ready for it. Good Luck!