Poker Tournaments

At every table in the tournament the players compete until there is only one winner or until one of the contestants loses all their chips. The remaining contestants then progress through to the following round, until there are only a few players left in the tournament. These winners then play against each other at the winners table to determine the tournament champion. Depending on the tournament structure, the prize pool may be divided among the top ranked players, or the winner might take it all.

Elimination Tournaments:

Each player is given the same amount of chips to begin with and play continues until one player has lost all their chips and is eliminated. Players are then reseated at fewer tables until only one table is left. The payout structure is set up to award all the finalists, with first place being awarded more than the second and second more than the third, etc.

Rebuy Tournaments:

These tournaments usually offer bigger jackpots than others because the players are periodically allowed to rebuy chips. The betting is normally quite aggressive in these tournaments as players are allowed to buy more chips if they've lost everything.

Shoot-out Tournaments:

As opposed to elimination tournaments where the players are reseated after each player is eliminated, shoot-out tournaments are played until there is only one player left at each table, the winners then play at a final table for the grand prize.

Satellite Tournaments:

These have no prize money; instead the winners of satellite tournaments are allowed to enter the main event. Satellites are only preliminary tournaments and the entrance fees are usually much lower than the entrance fee of the main tournament.

Stanley Majors is an experienced online poker journalist who writes articles on a range of poker topics.

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