Pot Odds

Starting Hands System

Sit-n-Go Strategy

Winning at No Limit

Betting to Win

Tournament Poker 101

Play Tournament Poker

If you enjoy playing games like poker but don’t want to put a lot of money at risk, poker tournaments can be a great way to go. You can play tournament poker at home with friends, at an online poker site or in a live casino. Playing tournament poker is simple, exciting and fun.

Getting Started Playing Tournament Poker

If you’ve played cash game poker before, you already know how to play tournament poker. The only difference is that instead of playing until you get tired or run out of money, tournament poker continues until one player has all the chips. That’s the basic idea, used both in home games and big events such as WSOP 2009 and the World Poker Tour.

That player does not win all the money, however. Players receive a payout on a sliding prize scale in order of their finish. The top 10 percent of finishers split the pool, with the bulk of the money going to the top three or four spots.

Differences in Cash Game and Tournament Poker

In tournament poker, the only amount of money you risk is your buy-in (plus additional buy-ins if it is a rebuy tournament), while the number of players who enter dictates the amount you can win. The most important distinction, however, is the rising blinds. Unlike a cash game in which the amount of the forced blinds is fixed, in tournament poker, they go up every round.

A round is a pre-determined amount of time, from five minutes to two hours, depending on the type of tournament. Since the blinds are always going up, players must have a more aggressive strategy to survive than they might exercise in a cash game.

Winning Tournament Poker

Those used to cash game poker may be expecting instant results, especially if they are winning players in the cash game. The reality is that you need to get lucky to win tournaments, so you shouldn’t be disappointed if you don’t cash the first time you play in one.

If you are a skilled player, just keep playing your game. If you enter enough tournaments, eventually you’ll take down a big enough prize to cover your previous entry fees and put a little extra in your pocket besides.