A poker tournament is a fun game form in which the emotion is much higher than what may be in a cash game “current”, because in principle each hand may be the last. The entrance, Price or “Buy-In”
A poker tournament has an entry or buy-in, the amount it costs to participate. All participants get the same amount, which goes directly to the prize pot or prize pool. Often the tournaments also have an “entrance fee” that goes to the house, in return for the tables, delivery, letters and cards provided. Often the fee is 10% of the entry.

Internet tournaments listed as “100 $ + 9 $”, where the entry is $ 100 entry fee and $ 9. In total therefore participate costs 109 $.

A poker tournament without payment of entry is called Freerolls, and are enough online.

The procedure
It circumvents a chair for each player, so that, unlike a cash game, you can not decide for itself where it sits. All have the same number of chips to start. These chips are for the tournament and have no value as money. The Americans speak of “dollars”, but “points” would probably be more appropriate.
The chips have no monetary value, because you can not finish the tournament and go to the cashier to exchange them for money. It is “virtual money” that acquires value only when you win the prize. Then all players start as the normal rules, trying to get the chips from other players. By the time you have lost all the chips are out of the tournament. The tournament continues until one player has got all the chips that are played, when it ends and we know who won.

Limits
Can you imagine if a tournament starts with a hundred people, may well last a year before declaring the winner. All the coins remained in the game, so the surviving players get more and more chips. To accelerate this process of elimination, the limits increase periodically (the blinds and the minimum bet). In No Limit Hold’em tournaments are often added prior bets called “before”, so that there is still more money into the pot before dealing cards, so the move in a round costs a lot more chips.

The result is that players at any given time are forced to play hands because the blinds (and previous bets or “before”) will eat your stack. That provides a very exciting time, because with growing limits people goes all in (all-in), so that their stay in the tournament is at stake.

The phenomenon of “stealing blinds” is therefore an essential part of their survival strategy. In this “stealing” is more about timing than letters. This may seem surprising that seen in this videoclip . It is a personal interview with the website Gutshot.com, with English Neil Channing, who for 2 days of the 2004 WSOP tournament attempted to steal the blinds with J6, and someone in the blinds had aces face down … Click click here

Awards
As players are falling, the tables are being depopulated and the players have to go to other tables where “bind.”

The last remaining players still in the tournament, usually the last 10% of participants had a proportion of the prize money. In major tournaments, is rounded to a specified number of tables, for example, 100 players split the money from the last table, and 160 participants for the last two tables.

Tournaments are always very difficult, often 60% of the prize money going to the final 3 players. If the amounts are high, treatment is usually done between the last players (2 to sometimes 6). The money is spread more between them, often based on chip count (chip count), so as not to allow thousands of dollars depending on the hazards of a cards dealt. Most casinos are against the treatment and have been banned, but the only consequence is that the deals are done so in services (WC). So your goal should always get to the “final table”, where most of the prize money, in ways that might get a deal for you if the chances of victory are starting to diminish.

This is a logical consequence of the large differences between the awards, which is characteristic of tournament poker. Often you just for example with the number 15 and get back entrance, but if it ends with the number 1 sometimes get 40% of total prize pot. It’s always good to finish “leverage” (in the money) so that in any case has not lost money in that tournament.

The period of ‘money cut-off line’ or ‘bubble’ (bubble) is always the most exciting phase of the tournament. The player who at that time was running gains nothing, and the rest stay with the prizes. The bubble is the worst situation where you end, has played a long time to finally having to go home empty-handed. Many players do not want to end up in the bubble and do not dare to play more hands, so their chances of victory disappear too.

Delay
A widely used trick is to waste time (stalling). If for example there are 10 places paid, and there are 11 players, played at two tables. You think it takes five minutes in each hand, waiting for someone to disappear in the meantime another table, to gain entry to the awards.

To prevent this, at this stage the game goes often hand to hand the two tables begin a hand at the same time, and waits until the other table spread finished before hand. On the Internet you have 15 seconds to think, but in some places also have a “bank of time” (time bank) of 120 seconds that can be used during the tournament when he has to make a difficult decision. Many people use their bank of time to stretch, but hand in hand thanks to this strategy no longer valid.

In a live tournament can ask the dealer time “time” if you think a player takes too long to think about the play. The head of the tournament comes to the table to have a minute, and if the player has not made a decision, your hand is “dead.”

If a hand out two players at the same time, starting the hand with more chips get a higher rank. In some casinos the two players must nevertheless share the prize. Ensure in each case to be aware of these rules, before beginning the tournament, so that is not unpleasant surprises.

Rebuy Tournaments
Most tournaments are no repurchase (Freezeout), where if you run out of money has to come out. But they are also called rebuy tournaments (Rebuy), especially in real casinos.
Here, if they have run out of chips during the first three levels can buy again, for a fee ranging from the ticket price and a limited number of times for only 25% of it and unlimited within the deadline. Sometimes if you can repurchase the same or less than their original amount, this differs depending on the tournament.

At this stage of the tournament some players took more risks, hoping to accumulate chips so that they have an advantage if you’ve completed the repurchase period. Also can often make an addition (add-on) at the end of the buyback. Here you can purchase points no matter how many chips you have. Often accomplish more than a buyback, so almost everyone takes the add-on. A good rule is that if an addition could increase your battery 30% or more, then it is a meaningful investment. If less, often has enough chips to be discarded.

With all the rebuys and add-ons of course the boat has greatly increased. However, the other side is that in this way inverts (much) more money in the tournament, which dramatically lowers your expectations for it. Some players make so many rebuys that they should take the fourth place to be at peace. This is not a good strategy for the average player.
There are of course exceptions. Daniel Negreanu, in the tournament Rebuy $ 1,000 WSOP 2004 threw 27 buybacks. In this interview Gutshot.com with staff explains what happened … do click here

Is financially interesting poker tournament?
These discussions and last for a time and each one has their opinion. The most annoying of a tournament is that you can make tens of boats, yet always able to go home without a prize. In a cash game every boat that wins is the benefit that goes directly into your pocket.
His game is often more oriented to run less risk and survive than to get more benefit from the pot. In a tournament is more about winning the pot to see how much gets into a hand.
It is difficult to gauge their expectations before the tournament begins, for it must take into account the repurchase, the number of players, number of bad players and certainly the structure of the blinds. If the blinds go up very quickly (as in tournaments Casinos de Catalunya) luck plays a bigger role, because at one time normally should have cards to win a pot. Please leave the cards, has no chance of winning because the blinds eat you.

In tournaments with a slow structure (such as the main event World Series of Poker, where they give 10,000 points to start with 25/50 blinds increasing every two hours), have all the time for quiet play. Not have to take unnecessary risks, so luck plays a minor role and the “ability” is decisive.

The king of the tournament Erik Seidel says his expectations in every tournament are about five buybacks. This is obviously a vague appreciation, because you can lose in 60 tournaments and win soon after, which again has benefits. If you can not win, you can be happy if you finish in peace. The poker tournament takes a long time and financially has higher fluctuations and is more unpredictable, but a monstrous profit potential.

In a cash game can quickly earn more (and safer), but a reward equivalent to a first place in a tournament can not be achieved so quickly. This is the beauty of a tournament, a small investment with no possibility of a huge boat.
One sure thing is that in each tournament is someone home the first prize. And why can not you be you this time?

Types of tournaments
A multi-table tournament is the most known, but there are other kinds of tournaments.
Satellites are tournaments qualifying competitions more expensive. If for example play a satellite tournament for $ 1,000, $ 1,000 for the boat is given a ticket for the “tournament goal”. Satellites are often re-buy tournaments, so that no more tickets to forgive.

There are also single-table tournaments, also called Sit & Go. Small tournaments with a table of 6, 9 or 10 players, in which the first two or three get money. This approach is immensely popular tournaments on the Internet. It also has single-table satellite tournaments, but often the “winner take all”. In Las Vegas for example can play a single table satellite for $ 1,000, where the winner gets a ticket to the tournament $ 10,000 world championship.

A variant is called the tournament “Double Shootout”, where each table is a separate tournament and only the winner continues to the end, where players ultimately vie for the prize money. In the western poker movie “Maverick “Is this kind of tournament.

Also popular are heads-up tournaments. These have heats of one against one, comparable in structure to a tennis tournament.
Are held each year in May World Championships Mano a Mano (World Heads-Up Championships) in Barcelona, where 128 of the best players in the world sometimes 8 hours fighting man to man. Fun to watch and even more fun to play.

Tournaments Strategy
There are many books on poker tournaments. Besides the strategy “current” there are many more factors to take into account that are not applicable to a cash game:

•How many chips do I have about the blind?
•How many chips do I have on average?
•When going back up the limits?

•What percentage of my stack hand cost me not to play a round?
•How many players must leave before I get the prize?

•How many players have fewer chips than me?
•How many cards does the player on my left?
•How many cards does the player on my right?
•How many cards does the player who hit the jackpot?

•Do not you dare the player to play any hand more in the big blind, or shown superagresivo?

•… and more.

For each form of tournament was implementing various strategies, which are a number of “specialists” who are dedicated, for example, only a Sit & Go or satellites.
If you want to disappear into tournament poker seriously, please read a few books that delve tournament on these concepts. “Tournament Poker for Advanced Players “By David Sklansky is recommended in this area.
If you study well and practice a lot hope to see you soon at the final table!

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