Poker Tournaments

The biggest poker tournament of them all is the World Series of Poker. Held annually since 1970 and organized by Caesars Entertainment Corporation, the World Series of Poker has a total of 74 events.

The Main Event is the biggest draw, of course. WSOP covers almost all the major poker variants, with most events sticking to Texas Hold’em. The massive prize pool rewards the top players with millions of dollars, making the tournament one of the most lucrative in history.

Sit & Go tournaments are highly popular nowadays. They differ from all the other types of poker tournaments in the notion that there’s no scheduled time start time – they just start when the tables are full. This type of tournament can be a heads-up tournament or feature a thousand players in satellite and cash format.

Spin & Go poker tournaments are a type of buy-in tournaments with only 3 players. Before the game begins, a random draw determines the prize pool. The prize pool is generally larger than the buy-in might indicate, making Spin & Go tournaments popular with poker fans.

A variant of Spin & Go tournaments, Spin & Go Max tournaments have an even bigger prize pool and more players as well. This tournament gives players more variety and ways to maximize their winnings, with the top prize going as up as 10,000 times the buy-in. After a pre-determined number of rounds, the tournament enters the All-In mode, where all players must bet everything they have.

Satellite poker tournaments are events where the prize doesn’t come in cash – it’s an entry into a bigger tournament. These are ideal for players who find it expensive to enter a major tournament. Satellites are the less expensive way and that’s why they’re a favorite of many players.

The usual buy-in for satellite tournaments is $20, with the main tournament’s buy-in often going 10 times higher than that. Only the top contestant enters the main tournament in cases of 10 players. If there are 20, the first two contestants will gain entry into the top event. The rest of the money is distributed among the runners-up.

In regular multi-table poker events, players are moved from table to table to balance out the number of contestants. The few remaining players in the end are moved to a final table where they play for the top prize. This, however, isn’t the case with shootouts. In this type of poker tournament, players must win their original table before moving to another and repeating the process all over again.

There are three groups of shootout poker tournaments – single, double, and triple shootouts. In single shootouts, you need to win at one table before moving to another. The other terms are self-explanatory – double shootouts require winning at two tables, while triple shoouts require you o win three.

In general, shootouts are played with nine players per table, but if the number of contestants isn’t satisfactory, the early rounds may consist of tables with an unusual number of players.

Progressive knockout tournaments are pretty popular right now as they give players the opportunity to earn cash whenever they knock out an opponent. They are a variant of KO Poker with a fun twist. Whenever you KO a player, you also take a part of their bounty. Over time, the bounty can get pretty big, painting a target on your back.

Half of the buy-in for these is added to the pool prize pool, while the other half remains on your ‘head’ as a bounty. It’s a pretty fun poker tournament that breaks away from conventional rules and makes things more exciting.