Poker Tournament Variation Structures
Most poker tournaments play with the same structure of blinds and chips. Depending on the site you play at. Some start with 1500 starting chips, others maybe 2000, I’ve even seen starting stacks at 1000, ouch. Blinds are usually wide spread the same, usually 8 minutes, but again it varies on the site/network.
Freezeout Tournaments
These are your typical tournaments you see and most people play. It is uniform to poker and the variants branch off the freezout structure. You buyin, and if you lose your chips your out. Usually the top 10% is paid out.
Satellite Tournaments
Satellites are known as the little guy getting into the big game. You buyin hoping to win, like a winner take all, and what you win is a ticket to a bigger buyin game. In a typical tournament the prize pool is equal to the tickets. So if you have winning ticket worth $50 and there is $100 in the prize pool, generally 2 tickets are paid out.
Turbo Tournaments
Turbo’s usually have a 5 minute blind structure, some sites have it as 2 minutes. Generally the action in these tournaments are all in pre flop. These tournaments you really need some luck on your side, either by getting good cards early or sucking out.
Deep Stack Tournaments
My personal favorite. Deep Stacks give you more starting chips. Giving you more play for your money. Not only that, it gives you the chance to actually make “plays” and “moves” at the table. For online poker, the Deep Stack tournament gives you the bigger buyin feel at the lower buyin tournament. There are Deep Stack tournaments at higher levels too, which is where you will find better poker.
Re-Buy and Add-On Tournaments
Lets start with the prize pool after registration is closed. On the tournaments the prize pool is what it is. In the Re-Buy and Add-On Tournaments it never stays that way. If you go broke or go below starting stack you have the option to Re Buy back in. The Add-On comes after a certain time period, usually first break. Here you can buy some more chips on top of what you already have.
Winner Take All Tournament
You buyin, if you win… you take down the entire prize pool. $cha ching$
Double Thru tournaments
Normally these are 10 player Sit N Go’s. Half the players in the field will double their buyin back, the other half walk away empty. Personally I like these tournaments while I multi table.
Bounty Tournaments
In a Bounty tournament, a percentage of the prize pool will be taken to put a bounty on the heads of players. The overall prize payout structure remains the same, but the extra value is found as you knock out other players and receive a cash prize for every elimination
