The Quick Guide for Different Tournament Genres

There is a huge array of different tournaments on the internet that range from high stakes all the way down to the freerolls. Whether you like playing sit n go tourneys or huge multi-table action, there are some important things to remember. The biggest difference in the money games vrs. freerolls is how the competition plays. The same is true to describe the difference between sit n go’s and multi-table games. Read on to learn some easy strategies that will increase your chance of playing winning poker.

Sit n Go’s

These tournaments consist of usually 10 people all at one table that are playing for the top three positions. Of course there are many variations of this style, but the aforementioned structure is the most popular. The payout schedule is as follows: 50% – 1st place, 30% – 2nd place and 20% – 3rd place. The general rule is this: the lower the stakes, the looser the game. It is a known fact that people will make much crazier plays if the buy-in was $1 compared to $100. The way you can play well in a loose game is to wait for 2 or 3 people to be eliminated before you start to make moves. If you are playing higher stakes, many players will be tight at the beginning and you can take advantage of this by being more aggressive. You need to feel the game out for yourself before making any decision about how to play. These are only the general trends and they are not always true.

Satellites

This tournament structure means you pay a buy-in of small value to try and win a buy-in for a bigger tournament. This is a good ways for low stakes players to earn their way into the big games. If you are playing in a large satellite, the start of the game will be much like any other large tournament. Some people will be acting like loose cannons, while others play like air tight chambers. You should play somewhere in the middle and be aggressive when you are in the hand. That being said, you have to know when you are beat and cut your losses. The way satellite tournaments differ from other large games is on the home stretch. Because there are no cash prizes, the difference between 1st place and the last person to qualify is non-existent. Therefore, you should not try and win a satellite tournament, you should try and not lose.

Freerolls

These tournaments are perfect for new players to get their feet wet with online poker. Freeroll means you pay nothing to buy-in, but you have the chance to win some money. Usually the payouts are very small, but it is a good way to start playing big tournaments. More than half of the players in the freerolls are not playing seriously. They will put all of their money in right away in an attempt to build a large stack as fast as they can. You can also do this tactic if you wish, but it will only work about 10% of the time. You can also do well in freerolls if you play normally. The major difference is that you can make some looser calls because you know people will be going crazy.

The Best Websites for Tournament Poker

Party Poker Review
This is definitely one of the best websites to play freerolls. They have some of the biggest freeroll payouts than any other website and they also offer tournaments that only require the payment of 1 player point. With these different kinds of free and ultra low buy-in tournaments, Party Poker would have to be the best place to play these games.

There are generally a lot of people that entry these freerolls at Party Poker, more than other websites, but it is worth it is you can make it to the final table. With freerolls going off every hour, and sometimes more often, you can play in a lot of games throughout the day. Party Poker even offers freerolls that will earn you a seat into a higher stakes freeroll game. This is a good way to increase the prize pool for a free tournament.

Low stakes cash tournaments at Party Poker is not a good investment for most players. Unlike many other websites that charge only 10% on a $5 buy-in, Party Poker charges 20%. If you want to play a larger number of low stakes sit n go’s or multi-table tournaments, you need to go to a different website that offers a smaller house take.

Poker Stars Review
This website is the perfect place to play if you want to do low stakes sit n go tournaments. Of course, Poker Stars also has a nice variety of freerolls and low stakes multi-table buy-in games, but it is really one of the most lucrative websites for good sit n go players. The best part is that the buy-in only requires a house rake of 10%. That means you will be able to play in more tournaments than other websites like Party Poker.

There are a lot of good players on Poker Stars, but nothing out of the ordinary. There is one really good way to make money playing in the SnG’s at Poker Stars, and any other website for that matter. Depending on more much information you can process at one time, it is a good idea to play more than one tournament at the same time. Here is a quick overview of a solid SnG strategy.

If you open 4 games at a price of $11 ($1 to the house). That means you have $44 invested. The winner of each game will take down 50% of all the money in the pot. That is equal to $50. Therefore, if you take first place in just one game, you are up $6. If you take 3rd place in two games and lose the other two games, you win $40 which means you actually lose $4 overall, but you are still in good shape. Basically, all you need to go is place 2nd or better in one game and 3rd or better in another game to win money. If you can play consistently well over a long period of time, you will find this is a really great way to make money online. You will also develop a good strategy and be able to cash at a high percentage rate. This strategy can work at any stakes level because the payout remain static.