An increasingly popular way to play poker is in TOURNAMENTS

In a poker tournament, all players start with an equal amount of chips, and then the game goes on until all

players have lost all their chips. Except for the one player left who is the winner.

Finishing Place

Your finishing place in the tournament is decided by the number of players that are left on the table when you lose your last chip. If five players remain, you came in sixth place.

The prize pool

In poker tournaments, the winner does not normally win the whole prize pool. Instead, the prize pool is divided among the best placed players.

Increasing blinds and antes

To make sure that the tournament reaches its end within a time frame, the blinds or antes are increased in fixed intervals.

Types of Tournaments

Poker tournaments come in different varieties. There are Full tables of 10 players, Short Handed Tournaments which are for up to 5 players, heads up which are up to 2 players and Other tournaments gather hundreds or even thousands of players.

Multi-table tournaments

A multi-table tournament (MTT) starts at a precise time. It can be open to hundreds or even thousands of players.

Heads-up tournaments

In a heads-up tournament, two players sit down with an equal amount of chips and play until one of them has all the chips. The blinds or antes are increased during the tournament.

Satellites

A satellite is a tournament where the first prize is not a cash payout, but a seat to another tournament. The idea is that you can enter an expensive tournament by winning a tournament that is not as expensive.

REBUYS AND ADD-ONS

A tournament with no rebuys or add-ons is called a freezeout.

However, some tournaments actually allow you to buy more chips - make a rebuy - but only during the so called rebuy period at the beginning of the tournament. Depending on the rules of the specific tournament, you may make a limited or unlimited number of rebuys. When the rebuy period ends, you may make a last rebuy, called also an add-on.

After the rebuy and Add on period, the tournament will go on as a normal tournament, until all players lose their chips except for the last player who is the winner. The rebuys and add-ons are added to the prize pool.

Sit and Go tournaments

A sit-and-go tournament (S&G) begins as soon as the table is full. Usually, an S&G consists of nine or ten players around a single table, but there are also S&Gs which are Short Handed Tournaments which are for up to 5 players, heads up which are up to 2 players