Beginners Online Poker Tournament FAQ
This section of the site is dedicated to poker players looking to improve their understanding of online poker tournaments. Below you will find info on beginners poker tournament strategy how to choose the right online tournament for you and a tournament's FAQ.
- Which Sites Have The Best Online Poker Tournaments?
- What Kind of Profits Can A Beginning Online Tournament Player Expect?
- What Kinds Of Multi-Table Online Tournament Should I Play?
- What Kind of Poker Bankroll Is Needed For Tournaments?
- Do Tournament Entries Count Towards Clearing Poker Bonuses?
- How Many Players Should I Expect?
1. Which Sites Have The Best Online Poker Tournaments?
The first question that beginning players ask – and the most important one… where can the best online poker tournaments be found? If every player were identical this would be a simple question. The fact is that each individual starting or improving their tournament play is different –so the answer must come from your personal requirements. We have created a ‘Best Tournament Site’ Matrix that compares popular sites on many factors relevant to the tournament beginner including softness of opponents, number of $10 and below buy-in events, field sizes and available bonuses.
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2. What Kind of Profits Can A Beginning Online Tournament Player Expect?
The greatest thing about tournaments is that a big pay-day is just around the corner. While cash game players can make a steady profit, online tournament players have the chance to win 100’s of times their investment from just one final table appearance! Returns over time are calculated as a percentage of the buy-in money spent – known as ROI (‘Return On Investment’). An excellent player at each level can expect a ROI of over 100%+ and good player from 50% to 80% over time.
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3. What Kinds Of Multi-Table Online Tournament Should I Play?
The choices out there are incredible. Game types and buy-in levels are available to suit every taste and pocket. In addition to different betting structures (No-Limit, Pot-Limit and Fixed-Limit) tournaments are usually differentiated in the following way.
 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.
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- Freezeout Tournaments:
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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.
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- Rebuy Tournaments:
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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.
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- Turbo Tournaments:
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Some tournaments have extra fast blind levels. These ensure that play is loose as players desperately try to stay ahead of the blinds.
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- Double Stack Tournaments:
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Starting with more chips and usually with slower blind levels, double stack tournaments suit those players who enjoy playing after the flop.
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- Satellite Tournaments:
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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.
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4. What Kind of Poker Bankroll Is Needed For Tournaments?
This will depend on the player once again. A Beginner playing poker both for a leisure activity and for profits will need a smaller bankroll than an online professional. A minimum of 20 buy-ins for the level you are playing is recommended to avoid a single run of bad cards wiping out your roll. For the more serious player this should be moved up to 50 buy-ins and for the full-time internet pro 100 buy-ins is considered safe.
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5. Do Tournament Entries Count Towards Clearing Poker Bonuses?
Yes, Poker sites will award points based on the buy-in level of the tournament. Exactly how fast each bonus clears depends on which poker site you choose. This is included in the ‘Best Tournament Site’ Matrix below for easy comparison.
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6. How Many Players Should I Expect?
Online poker tournaments range between a single table SNG and a huge 15000 player field (the Pokerstars Sunday $100k). Most multi-table tournaments will range between a few hundred players and over 1000. As a beginning tournament player it is important to gain experience at the different stages of an online tournament. In order to do this we would recommend avoiding the very largest and very smallest events, choosing tournaments with 200 to 300 players would be ideal.
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Also In Our Beginners Tournament Section:
In the meantime why not check out our Multi-Table Tournament Strategy Articles section.
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