Sergio Mora

Many new poker players especially those trying to get the hang of online poker tournaments or tourneys, as the seasoned hands call them, tend to get confused about the nature of so many diverse games out there. This article aims to de-mystify the entire concepts underlining the winning side of these exciting card games and their variations.

Among the most popular types of poker tourneys followed by beginner as well as advanced level players includes poker events tagged as single table, multi table, those involving the freeroll, a qualifier or satellite game, the Sit and Go style, those allowing Rebuy and Freezeout.

Steps, turbo and shootout are other types of poker tourneys that are steadily finding more takers among modern poker players too. However, in the basic overview of the poker tournament types currently followed by the majority of the organizers of such events, it is quite possible to find tourneys that are a combination type of the styles mentioned above. This means, you should be prepared to discover poker games that integrate the Satellite with the multi table!

If you are out to pick a tourney, having an overview of the various kinds of poker tournaments can help you select the right one according to your preferred playing style, level of expertise and winnings expected.

* Play money poker tourneys v/s real money or freeroll tournaments – as the first name suggests, the participation requires play money and the winnings also consist of play money amounts, so it is easy to understand that these events are typically for newbies who need the practice before playing with the next level. At this stage comes real money (needed for the buy-in or to make the deposit). Finally, freerolls is a popular poker term and refers to the best kind of poker tourney one can play with loads of playing opportunities without having to invest any real money, so there’s nothing to lose even if one doesn’t win. All one needs to do to earn these freerolls is be a frequent player and stack up ‘points’ that can be exchanged for playing money games or winning real money.

* A scheduled tourney or a Sit-and-go event – the first kind starts at a fixed time with all participants required to sign in prior to entering the lobby of the poker room, with most requiring a specific number of players to begin the game. In the latter kind, there is certain spontaneity to the tourney with most being single-table events (or at the most, 2 tables); these are aimed at helping beginners build their experience of a final table feel.

* Regular and Satellite tourneys – the WPT Poker winnings here are for real money in regular tourneys while if you win in a satellite event, you usually qualify for the next tourney, which typically requires a higher buy-in amount. So a $30 satellite may qualify you a seat for a $9000 tourney!

* Rebuy tourneys and the nature of freezouts – tourneys that allow players to buy more chips once they are out of their initial buy ins are termed as rebuys; these turn out more profitable than at the start, since it is restricted to a few rounds at the most. There is a possibility of ‘add-on’ after which, a ‘freezeout’ point may be reached. This prevents further rebuys of additional chips.

* Single table v/s multi table – one table for the entire game where the aim is to collect all the chips on the table and players getting eliminated on losing theirs are termed as single table tourneys. Understandably then, the person winning all the chips wins the tourney. In a multi table event, there can be hundreds or thousands of poker players with new players taking the seats of those eliminated (lost their chips); other rules are similar to the single-table tournament.

Of course, organizing authorities may have their own rules and customize the above tourney functioning to suit their player preferences so it is advisable to find out more all the details of the tourney you are interested in before signing up for it in order to enjoy the game.