Poker Tournament Types

A poker tournament is a structured event in which players compete against each other to acquire all the chips in play. Unlike cash games, players cannot simply get up and walk away from a tournament. Play must continue until one player has all the chips.

Elimination Tournaments
The most common poker tournament is the elimination tournament, also called a freezeout tournament. The structure of this tournament allows all players to begin with the same amount of chips, and play continues until one player ends up with all the chips in play. In multi-table elimination tournaments, as players are knocked out, active players will have to move seats to minimize the number of active tables. While the last player standing will be the first place prize winner, there is typically a graduating payout structure that pays past the first few places, at least. Higher finishers will get paid more. Depending on how large the player field is at the start of the tournament, these events can often go on for days before a single winner is determined. Most live poker tournaments are elimination tournaments, such as the majority of events in the World Series of Poker.

Sit N Go Tournaments
The most frequently played elimination tournament online is the Sit N Go, which typically starts out with up to 18 players and begins immediately once all the seats are full. You can buy into these types of tournaments for as little as $1 at most online poker rooms, and typically, the top three finishers are paid. The reason these are so popular is because a good player can win consistently by playing Sit N Gos.

Shootout Tournaments
In shootout tournaments, each table plays through until one single winner has accumulated all the chips at the table. Unlike in elimination tournaments, players are not re-ordered to condense active tables. Each individual table is played out until each table has one winner; the top finishers at each table will then be put together after all tables have played out. For example, in a 9-table shootout tournament, the winner of each table will then later come together at one table to knock each other out until there is one final winner. These tournaments can last for many hours, and preliminary winners will often have to standby for other tables to finish before the final round can take place.

Satellite Tournaments
Satellite tournaments are the preliminary events for larger tournaments, often referred to as qualifiers. Usually the top finisher will advance on to either another satellite event or will win the grand prize, which is typically a buy-in package for a very large live or online tournament, like the WSOP. Sometimes a big event will have satellites starting at a few dollars. Winners of these events will graduate to the next level satellite that would otherwise cost more to enter. Players can work their way up to the highest level satellite event to compete for the actual prize package that will often include the buy-in price to the large event and many times additional cash for travel expenses if the event is a live tournament.

Many amateur poker players have made their way into professional territory by winning satellite tournaments to big live events and then going on to prosper in that live event (e.g. Chris Moneymaker’s historical satellite win that landed him in the WSOP Main Event where he went on to win the title of champion in 2003).

Bounty Tournaments
Bounty tournaments are new to poker and have become especially popular online. The twist on these tournaments is that every player has a “bounty” on their head. By knocking out a player, you receive the bounty. Technically, winning this tournament isn’t that important because you are consistently gaining cash by knocking out your opponents throughout the tournament. You don’t have to last until the final hand in order to come out ahead. In general, half of the buy-in to a bounty tournament will be the bounty on you, and the other half will go into the prize pool for tournament finishers.

Re-buy Tournaments
In re-buy tournaments, players are given a certain amount of time to re-buy chips once they have lost all their initial chips. These tournaments typically show more aggressive play early on due to the fact that players will not be eliminated for losing all of their chips; they can simply re-buy if their risks don’t pay off. If early risks do pay off for some players, then they are at a large advantage early on. This is different from typical other tournaments in which players start off playing very tight in order to wait for other players to go broke first. These tournaments typically have a higher prize pool in relation to entry cost than other standard tournaments.

Add-ons
Add-on tournaments are similar to re-buy tournaments, but you don’t necessarily have to wait until you are broke to buy more chips. At certain times throughout the tournament, players will have the opportunity to purchase more chips; hence, adding on to their chip stack.

Freeroll Tournaments
Freeroll tournaments cost nothing to the player to buy into, with no entry fee, but do award real prizes. These are usually promotional tournaments, so many freerolls have stipulations attached. For instance, they may be for new players only or require a certain number of loyalty points to register. It is quite possible to build up a decent sized bankroll by starting out at a freeroll, winning real cash, and then moving your way up the limits.

Turbo or Speed Tournaments
A turbo tournament, also called speed tournament, is structured so that the blinds increase very quickly in order to get the tournament over with. These tournaments will be enticing to very avid players who are more experienced and can make decisions quickly.