Everything you need to know about how poker tournaments work

Arguably one of the most popular casino games of all time, poker has sparked inspiration for countless songs and movies, from Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas to the more recent hit movie Molly’s Game. It has even left its mark on the English language with the coining of the phrase ‘poker face’, meaning to display an expressionless or unreadable facial expression, which relates back to poker players who bluff their way to a great win.

However, like most games, when poker is played too often, it will eventually get boring. So if you’re a poker player yourself and are looking to shake things up a little, there’s nothing quite as exciting as joining a poker tournament.

Don’t worry! If you don’t know how poker tournaments work, here’s everything you need to know!

Poker Tournaments and What You Need To Know Beforehand

Before the Tournament: Registration, Rules And Regulations

Before registering for a poker tournament, players need to know that there are many different playing formats and types of tournaments. Depending on the players’ abilities and experience, some tournaments may fit them better than others.

The most common poker tournaments are buy-in tournaments, whereby players are required to pay a registration fee to participate. All participants will be given a fixed number of chips to play with, and those losing all their chips would be eliminated from the competition.

The buy-in for these tournaments can range from as low as $10 to $10,000, so depending on the players’ stomach for risk, they can choose whichever suits them best. However, players should take note that tournaments with a higher buy-in and a bigger prize pool could often attract professional and more experienced poker players, so competition would be tougher.

For those who would rather not risk large sums of money or who are new to the tournament scene, there are also competitions that are free to enter. Also known as freeroll tournaments, most players in these competitions are less experienced, which makes these tournaments a great place to get a feel of how tournaments are typically held.

Typically, freeroll tournaments are supported by various sponsorships, which would explain why the prizes in these competitions are less luxurious than buy-in tournaments. As players get more experienced, most move on to bigger tournaments.

Poker Tournament Prizes and Winners

After The Tournament: Prizes And Winners

When the tournament is over, the last few players will be given the winning awards. Most of the time, the prizes given out would include a sum of money, and perhaps a trophy or a title if it’s a wellknown event, such as the WSOP.

Most of the time, prizes are split in one of two ways among players, either in a fixed manner or proportionally. Fixed prizes would be pre-determined and made known to all players before the beginning of the tournament, whereas proportional prizes could vary depending on the number of participants.

Regardless of the type of poker player you are, there is bound to be a poker tournament somewhere that will suit you. To find out where poker tournaments will be held, players could look through

online poker calendars, or check in with their local casino to see when their next competition will be held.

If you’re used to playing online and are contemplating joining a live poker tournament, or just playing live at a landed casino, here are some aspects of live poker that you may want to know beforehand Live Poker: What Are The Rules & How to Play?