Beginners Poker Tournament Guide

Aimed At The Intelligent Beginner Our Poker Tournament Guide And FAQ Gives A Plain Overview Of The World Of Online Poker Tournaments, And Provides All The Links And Resources You Need For Profitable Poker Tournament Play!

Our Top 3 Recommended Game For New Players

#1 Pokerstars 180 Player SNGs: from just $2 these are a great way to build tournament experience with a small field size and soft opponents… read our Poker Stars 180 SNG Guide for more.

#2 Full Tilt Poker Knockout Bounty Tournaments: ranging from just $3 you’ll receive a cash bonus for every player you knock out… read our Knockout Bounty Tournament Guide for more.

#3 Lucky Dollar Tournaments: New players at Party Poker can enter the daily ‘lucky dollar’ tournaments which have cash added to the prize pool… read our Party Poker Review for more.

Types of Online Poker Tournaments

Sit and Go Tournaments:: These can vary between 1 table right up to 180 players. These tournaments have no scheduled start time – they begin when the required number of players join the game.
Freezeout Tournaments:: These are the ‘Standard’ tournament structure, they start at a fixed time and have a starting chip stack of between 1500 and 2000 chips. Once those chips are lost a player is out and can not buy more chips.
Rebuy Tournaments:: These online poker tournaments have a ‘rebuy period’ (usually the first hour) where players have the option to buy more chips when they lose their starting stack. This can lead to some wild play. Rebuy tournaments usually also offer an add-on at the end of the first hour where for an additional fee players can boost their stacks.
Turbo Tournaments:: Some tournaments have extra fast blind levels. These ensure that play is loose as players desperately try to stay ahead of the blinds.
Double Stack Tournaments:: Starting with more chips and usually with slower blind levels, double stack tournaments suit those players who enjoy playing after the flop.
Satellite Tournaments:: These can take many formats and award entries into big buy in online tournaments as prizes. Strategy is different in at the end of satellite tournaments as several players get the same prize while the last player out gets nothing.

What Kind of Profits Can A Beginning Tournament Player Expect?

One of the great things about poker tournaments is that a big pay-day is just around the corner. While cash game players make steady profits, tournaments involve big wins followed by runs of only small cashes – meaning your income will be varied in the short-term. Tournament profits are measured in terms of return on investment (ROI). While an expert can expect 100%+ ROI, beginning players with solid basic poker skills can easily aim for 35% to 50% while they learn tournament specific strategies. How much you make is then down to the number of games played!

Introduction To ROI And Bankroll Management For Poker Tournament Players looks at this subject in more detail, including guidelines on the amount of buy-ins you need to hold in your poker bankroll.

What Kind Of Poker Bankroll Is Needed To Play Poker Tournaments?

As mentioned in the question on profits – tournaments involve the occasional huge win, followed by dry spells with only small cashes. This means that to profit over the long-term you need to have a big enough bankroll to withstand the swings. While pros keep 100 or 200 ‘average buy-ins’ for the levels at which they play, a smaller number is required for the beginner not relying on profit from tournaments as their main income. We recommend 30 buy-ins for those starting out, if variance strikes early you can always stick to the lower buy-ins and grind back up again!

Poker Tournament Bankroll Management explains the facts and figures behind poker bankroll management… and why this is something every player needs to be aware of.
You can see how what level of play your bankroll suggests with our interactive Poker Bankroll widget.

How Many Opponents Should I Expect?

Huge diversity means that you get to choose the size of the fields you compete against. This can range from a single table sit n go tournament up to 25,000 in the largest online tournaments held at Poker Stars. Popular choices include 10 or 20 table sit n goes and smaller buy-in rebuys which attract several 1000 players. Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time for the larger events, as these can finish in the early hours of the morning.

We recommend the 180 player sit n go tournaments found at Poker Stars as a great place to start for beginners, the $4+40c games start every few minutes and are a great way of gaining experience in poker tournament situations for a limited outlay. Check out Poker Stars for yourself today – remember Marketing Code PSP3108 (registration) and Bonus Code STARS600 (deposit screen) will net you a bankroll boosting 100% to $50 sign-up bonus, find out for yourself what makes Poker Stars the world’s most popular site today!

We aim to make this easier in several ways. Firstly we only recommend established and reputable poker brands and advise readers to stick with these rather than risk their cash with any 'unknowns'. Secondly we give readers several different routes to finding the best site for them. Including detailed reviews, our patented 'Fish-O-Meter' (widget which shows you the fishiest opponents based on your inputs)

We Recommend Pokerstars To Beginning Tournament Players More Than Any Other Site Click To See What Makes Pokerstars The World’s Most Popular Poker Tournament Site Now!

Use Marketing Code PSP3108 (when you register) and Bonus Code STARS600 (when you deposit) to claim your 100% match bonus up to $600.

Do Tournament Entries Count Towards Clearing Poker Bonuses?

Yes, Poker sites will give you points based on the tournament entry fee. The amount of the bonus varies from site to site and is generally between 20% and 50% of your entry fee returned. You will also be able to collect VIP points at many sites which can be used for further tournament entries, cash bonuses or even goods from site’s online stores. Players seeking the latest bonus offers, promotions and profitable loyalty scheme information should check out our dedicated Best Poker Sites And Bonuses section.