Tournaments
Think you’re a poker ace? Why not pit your wits against other players
in a Poker Tournament?
Tournaments are played by a group of participants, all paying a fixed buy-in
and fee to a pool (see section below), this pool is used to pay the winner(s).
All participants receive the same number of chips (see Bonus Chips section
for exceptions to this) and play until they’ve won all the other participants
chips – or until they’ve lost all their own.
The tournament winner is he/she who finishes the game with all the participants'
chips to themselves!
Unlike traditional ring games, the risk in tournament play is limited to
the initial sign-up fee. With only this amount to lose, tournament gaming
makes an ideal starting point for anyone wishing to experience the potentially
lucrative thrill of real money poker!
Multi-Table Tournaments
Tournaments are played on multiple tables simultaneously, unless the tournament
happens to be very small in numbers. When participants are ‘knocked-out’
of the tournament, players are moved to other tables to keep numbers balanced
and games more enjoyable. When enough seats are free a whole table will
be removed, until only one table remains…this table will include the
winner player!
Buy in and Fee
To enter a tournament the player must pay the buy-in (this amount goes into
the prize pool!) and a fee for the hosting of the tournament. There is no
rake in tournament hands.
Starting Chips
After you’ve posted your buy-in and fee, each player will receive
a number of chips for the start of the tournament. The number of initial
chips may vary from tournament to tournament but is typically 1,500.
Starting Chips Bonus!
In selected special tournaments, it’s possible you’ll be awarded
bonus starting chips. These are added to the players starting chip stack.
Satellites - Tickets & Qualifiers!
For your chance to win the big prizes, you can play in the big tournaments
through qualifier satellites. This way you can join the really high stakes
tournaments for just a few dollars.
In the qualifier tournament, instead of cash prizes, the winner is awarded
tickets to another tournament. The ticket is valid as a buy-in, so you will
not have to pay any additional fee.
There are different qualifier tournaments with different buy-ins. The number
of tickets awarded depends on the buy-in and the cost of the ticket for
the final. E.g. in the $11+$1 Grand Prix Qualifier, there will be a ticket
for every 10 participants. (Ticket prize of $100+$10)
Aside from the pure qualifiers, where all the prize pool goes to qualifying
tickets, some of the other tournaments also award tickets beside the cash
prizes.
To play a tournament you need a ticket. These are either transparently bought
when registering or can be awarded as a prize in a previous tournament or
some kind of promotion. This way a chain of qualification tournaments can
be created, leaving a very healthily accumulated prize pool at the end.
All tickets will have an expiry period. This will vary and will be displayed
in the information regarding the tournaments. To start with, the tournament
will have a long expiration time to let players find the correct tournaments.
In the tournament schedule and in the client, a tournament to which you
have a ticket is denoted with an arrow in the tournament list.
Free Rolls and Added Cash a little extra from !
Occasionally adds a little extra spice to tournaments in the
shape of ‘free-roll’. A free-roll tournament is a tournament
with prize money, which is absolutely free to join! The purpose of these
tournaments is to help players sharpen their tournament tactics, or perhaps
try a tournament for the first time.
Free-rolls are generally extremely popular and you should be quick to register
to avoid disappointment.
Added Cash: An added cash tournament is a tournament with prize money added
by on top of the regular prize pool! This is a bonus for the
participating players. The added cash can be distributed between all the
cash winners, or sometimes only to the gamer in pole position.
Keep an eye out for Added Cash & Free-Roll tournaments!
Scheduled Tournaments
For all major tournaments at you’ll find a weekly schedule.
Please use this information to gain information on current events and find
the tournament that fits your style.
Scheduled tournaments have a fixed starting time and you can usually register
prior to these starting times. When the tournament time approaches, all
players registered (up to the given limit) will participate in the tournament.
The length of tournaments is dependent on the number of players.
Sit & Go
As well as scheduled events, you'll find "Sit & Go" tournaments!
These are single table tournaments, normally with 10 players.
A Sit & Go tournament will start as soon as all the seats are filled
and the prize pool is fixed.
Some Sit & Go tournaments are available 24-7 and some (like the special
satellite tournaments) are only available at certain times of day. See the
Sit & Go Satellite Schedule for a complete overview of these details.
Re-buy and Add-on
During a tournament, if you run out of chips, you’re usually knocked
out of the game. In some tournaments, however, you’re allowed to post
another buy-in to get more chips when you run out.
Re-buys are limited though – both in number (e.g. once in a tournament)
and in time (only within the first hour). The re-buy will affect the prize
money and it is therefore not possible to make a re-buy after the first
winning person has been knocked out.
It’s possible, if permitted, to make a re-buy during the tournament,
as long as the players chip stack is less or equal to, the starting chip
stack.
An ‘add-on’ is a special re-buy available at the very end of
a re-buy period. The add-on is available for all players, regardless of
the size of their chip stack.
There is no fee for the re-buy or add-on.
Hand by Hand
At the end of a multi table tournament, ‘hand by hand’ play
is adopted. This means that a new hand at a table will not be played until
the current hand at all tables is finished – to ensure all tables
are played at the same pace.
Blind Increase
To compensate for increasing chip stacks as players are eliminated, and
to ensure the tournaments will in fact end, the blinds will continuously
increase. This occurs either after a number of played hands, of with specified
time intervals.
Registering
Register directly at a single table Sit & Go Tournament by going to
the table. For scheduled tournaments, either register in the client by going
to the specific tournament lobby, or via the website.
After the tournament starts, you’ll be taken to the tournament table
automatically if your browser is open.
Tournament payout structure
Single-Table Tournaments
The prize structure for a standard Sit & Go single tourney is as follows:
1st place is 50% of prize pool
2nd place is 30% of prize pool
3rd place is 20% of prize pool
All prizes are also minus your initial buy-in, e.g. for a $10+1 buy-in tourney 2nd place prize is $30 - $11 = $19.
Multi-Table Tournament
For multi-table tournaments the payouts structure vary. To view this information please
visit the weekly calendar. There you will find a list of all scheduled tournaments.
To view the payout structure. single left click on the tournament of interest and then click on the view payouts link in the prize pool section.
