What are Poker Tournaments?
Poker tournaments are structured competitions where
players compete against each other to accumulate all the chips in play. In
"normal" casino games, each hand is unrelated to any other. Players can
quit whenever they want. In tournaments, players can not quit and cash out
their chips. Play continues until there is a winner.
There are different types of poker tournaments: "Elimination" tournaments
are the most common type. In this structure all players begin with the
same amount of chips, and play continues until one player has accumulated
all the chips. As players are eliminated, the active players are re-seated
at fewer and fewer tables. While the winner of the tournament is the
player who accumulates all the chips, the payout structure rewards several
players. For example, if ninety-five players start a tournament, commonly
the "final table" of nine players would receive prize money -- with eighth
getting a larger prize than ninth, seventh getting more than eighth, etc.
"Rebuy tournaments" have structures where for an initial period of time
players who lose all their chips are allowed to "rebuy" more chips and
continue to play. Rebuy tournaments generally feature more aggressive play
earlier on as players do not face the prospect of elimination if they lose
all their chips. Rebuys often lead to larger total prize pools being
played for than would be standard for the initial entry cost.
In "shootout tournaments" tables are not combined as players are
eliminated. Rather, each table plays down to a single winner. Then table
winners proceed to a finals portion of the event. So, if a tournament
starts with sixteen tables, the sixteen table winners then compete
elimination style until there is a winner. Shootout tournaments normally
last several hours less than elimination events.
"Satellites" are preliminary, "mini" tournaments. For example, prior to a
tournament costing $1000 to enter, ten players each put up $100, with the
winner advancing to the main event.
-- Steve Badger
The information is taken from a site Poker Tournaments |
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