Detailed Look At Online Poker Tournaments Best Suited To Beginners To Online Poker
By Planet Mark
We all started our online poker tournament journey somewhere, and this article is specifically for players who want to find the best places to learn and profit from tournaments with the minimum of fuss. Here I highlight 10 great beginner poker tournaments - explaining why they are great for beginners and what to expect at the tables.
Your profits are affected by many factors including: BIG differences across poker sites in the playing skills of opponents, the different incentives and guarantees available, and both the quality and quantity of the tournaments offered. Read on for my fully refreshed guide to the best poker tournaments for beginners - I'll highlight the easiest games and the most profitable for you!
Planet Mark's Top 10 Beginners Online Poker Tournaments
1. Pokerstars 180 Player Sit N Goes - Great Choice Buy-Ins From $2.50c Up
Pokerstars are the number #1 online poker site and their 180 player sit and goes are extremely popular. These fill up very fast and pay the top 18 places, lasting around 3 hours in the process. The key reason I like these is that they are a great way to gain experience in online tournaments for a limited outlay in both time and money!
Turbo and Standard speeds are available, with popular buy-in levels including the $2.50c ($123.19 for 1st), $8 ($396.42c for 1st) and $15 ($743.64 for 1st) levels. You can read my detailed 3-part guide to the Poker Stars 180 SNGs which includes 180 strategy here.
Pokerstars have awesome software and he best player loyalty program anywhere – check them out today - use Marketing Code PSP3108 when you register to claim your initial 100% to $600 in bonuses - Click Now To Check Out Stars' 180's For Yourself!
2. Party Poker New Player Lucky Dollar - Extra-Easy Games For Brand New Players!
Party Poker have made sure their first-time and brand new players do not get fed straight to the sharks with the "New Player Lucky Dollar" tournaments which run several times a day. These are restricted to players who are in their first 7 days at the site after their initial deposit... with the buy-in at just $1 you can gain valuable poker tournament experience without risking much money. Once you complete this one, Party specialize in smaller buy-in tournaments - may of them with guaranteed prize pools in the $500 to $2000 range.
With the big Party Poker brand attracting huge numbers of first time players, the games at this site are some of the easiest to beat anywhere online. I recommend first time online poker players learn their game here - once you feel comfortable with the format you can then branch out onto other sites. Party offer a lot of bonuses to their players, starting with a 100% deposit match up to $500 (bonus code = SNGPLANET), check out Party Poker For Yourself Now!
3. Titan Poker $4,500 Gtd Nightly $5+50c Freezeout - One Of Many Great Beginners Guarantees!
Titan Poker is one of the fishiest poker sites around, and regular SNG Planet readers will know that I am a big fan of this site! I have chosen the evening $5.50c $4,500 Gtd at 20:10 UK / 21:10 EU time for my list, though really this is just one example of a smaller buy-in tournament with a big guarantee at Titan - there are many similar examples I would have been happy to highlight.
Tournaments at Titan have some real advantages for beginners. Firstly they feature some of the softest fields you will find anywhere online, making them very profitable for thinking players. Secondly, the fields are often measured in the 100's instead of the 1000's - reducing variance and keeping the total time played reasonable too. Add to this the long list of small and medium guarantees and you will start to see why Titan have become my top recommendation.
One more thing! SNG Planet readers can claim $20 in free cash on top of the already huge 200% matched welcome bonus (up to $2k max). Simply use bonus code SNGPLANET when you register and deposit $30 or more and I'll ensure you get the extra $20 in your account within 48 hours! Click Here Now To Check Out The Softest Tournaments Online At Titan Poker!
4. Carbon Poker $3+30c Nightly Rebuy - A Nice Daily Guarantee For Beginners, US Players Welcome!
Carbon Poker are the biggest poker site on the smaller Merge Network, I have been a fan for a while and strongly recommend this growing site for US based players. I have picked out the 20:00 ET $5k Gtd $3 Rebuy at Carbon as a great beginners tourney - though this is one of a huge list of smaller to mid buy-in events.
With the 'grinders' gone, Carbon Poker attract a lot of recreational players who enjoy their 'fun' software - which includes the ability to trigger animations on the screen when you type in special words. Add to this great loyalty rewards and innovative promotions - and you will begin to see why I rate this site so highly.
I have a great offer at Carbon for SNG Planet readers, you can claim a 200% matched welcome bonus + cool free calculator / HUD with bonus (coupon) code CARBONPK and just a minimum $30 deposit. Click Here To Check Out The Great Beginner Tournaments At Carbon Poker Now!
5. Lock Poker 6-Max Turbo $3+30c - Lock Welcome US Players, And Their MTT Schedule Is Growing!
Players who enjoy high octane action will enjoy the fast and furious 6-max $3 turbo tournaments which run throughout the day and up and coming poker site Lock Poker. Since buying the old Cake Network (and renaming this as the Revolution Network), Lock have sparked new life into the US friendly poker scene, creating a rivalry with Merge which is benefiting players in many ways... including more choice and increased guarantees. I am tipping Lock to be the big US success story of 2013!
Most games at this site are between the $5 and $30 level, and many guarantees in the $1k to $3k range, these are not the huge tournaments that my US readers had access to previously - however they are great for beginners.
These combine 6-minute blind levels with the short-handed structure which emphasizes the importance of position early and aggression late! Lock Poker offer a huge 200% sign-up bonus (max $4k (with bonus code SNGPLANET)) + really strong promotions and loyalty rewards which can see players at all levels landing some huge prizes. I strongly recommend you check out Lock Poker for yourself and experience one of the best remaining US-poker sites now!
Planet Mark's Half Way Thoughts! This is a long article, so I thought I'd add a couple of pointers at the half way point for any players lost in the list! If I had to make a choice there would be 2 favorites here... for complete beginners wanting to get their feet wet, Party Poker's Lucky Dollar games would be my recommendation. For those who already know how the games work and are looking for to build a bankroll while they gain experience - my rec would definitely be for the 180s at Pokerstars. If you do not agree I'd be happy to hear your suggestions, contact details in my blog!
6. Pokerstars $3+30c Rebuy - An Evening Institution, Incredible Prizes For A Small Outlay!
Back to Pokerstars for the next entry in our top beginners poker tournament guide. The $3+30c rebuy tournaments usually attract huge fields… and have huge guaranteed payouts too, between $15,000 and $40,000 depending on the time of day. These great beginner poker tournaments are scheduled in the evenings for most major time-zones, the one at 20:30 UK time is particularly busy, the $40k guarantee is usually passed, with more than $10k for the winner more frequent than not!
Once you gain experience, there are $5, $10, $20 and $50 rebuys before the high-roller games start. Pokerstars is the number #1 for many good reasons - you can check them out while you clear your 100% to $600 sign-up bonus ( claim with affiliate marketing code PSP3108 on registration) - Click to see Pokerstars.com for yourself now!
7. Party Poker $2 to $11 Speed Tournaments - For Those Who Enjoy Turbo-Charged Tournaments!
Certainly not for the timid, Speed tournaments have blinds which go up every 5 minutes. For the first few levels things seem pretty much normal - however, once the blinds get higher things start to move fast. These are fun games, and often have a rebuy option. On a more serious note there are some big prize pools guaranteed for Speed Tournaments, including $6k for some $11 games and $2k for the $2 games. Worth checking out while you clear your 100% SNGPLANET Party Poker Bonus!!
8. Titan Poker Satellites To Live Events - Nowhere Better To Win Tickets To Some Great Events!
Qualifiers to live events, known as Poker Satellites are available at most of the major sites. For me Titan Poker stand out in their offerings of these qualifiers, in terms of a great choice and the easiest games too. The live events offered will change with the time of year and ranges from the World Series Of Poker to smaller events like the Irish Winter Festival. Qualifiers run in a 3-stage system, which gives players with smaller bankrolls a chance to work their way to the 'supersatellites' where packages including live tournament entry, hotel stays + travel expenses are awarded. Check out the satellites at Titan Poker Now (bonus code = SNGPLANET)
9. 888.com Poker $1, $5 and $10 MTTs - Loose Opponents And 3d Graphics!
Going to use these last 2 spots to add a couple of smaller but definitely worthy sites into the mix. 888.com Poker (who have been branded as Pacific Poker) are part of the empire which includes the biggest online casino (Casino-On-Net). This supplies a huge number of crazy gamblers to the poker tables... making the games soft and entertaining. Combine this with the innovative 3d tables (red / blue glasses required) and you have a great combination for all experience levels! Check out 888Poker for yourself now!
10. Red Kings Poker - OnGame's Great Software + Nice Selection Of Smaller Buy-In Games
Last is certainly not least for Red Kings Poker. This site is part of the excellent OnGame Network, and offer a great range of smaller buy-in tournaments, more of a community feel than many other sites - and some great bonuses too (including a choice of up to 6 sign-up bonuses). Looks like they have discontinued my favorite 'Fishmarket' tournament, however the range of guaranteed events with buy-ins between $2 and $11 still looks great. Finally, I know this is a tournament article, however the extra $500 bonus awarded the first time you lose holding the 2 red kings in a cash game deserves a mention! Check out Red Kings Poker for yourself, I'll see you at the tables!
Best Beginners Poker Tournaments – Mark's SNG Planet Verdict (And A Very Clear Winner!!)
The sheer variety of lower buy-in tournaments to choose from make it difficult to look beyond the no #1 online site, Poker Stars. This site not only has beginners tournaments running 24/7 but will have the variety and range of buy-ins to keep you challenged and occupied as your poker bankroll grows – simply a must-see for anyone serious about multi-table tournament poker. Use Affiliate Marketing code PSP3108 (when you register)to claim 100% to $600 at Pokerstars which can be claimed over your first three deposits!
