Poker Tournament Structures
Poker tournaments structure is a valuable concept to understand. Poker tournaments form a huge section of the online market, a market which is currently booming. A Poker tournament is a gathering of poker players each paying a set amount for an equal portion of chips each trying to win the tournament by winning all the chips in play. We set out the typical poker tournament structure of blinds in a tournament situation.
To gain entry to a poker tournament you will need to "buy in" to the tournament. The concept of a buy in is exactly as the name suggests. The "buy in" will get you entry to the tournament and acts as a purchase for the starting chips. A "buy in" will usually get you 1500 chips, although it will be 2000 or 3000 in some higher stakes tournaments. The structure of poker tournament is such that the pay outs will usually be split between the top 20% of finishing places. First place usually receives between 22 and 30% of the total tournament prize pool.
Every poker tournament has blinds (big and small blind) throughout the contest. These are automatic bets which have to be made. In each round of betting 1 player will have to cover the big blind (first automatic bet) and 1 will have to cover the small blind (second automatic bet). The "dealer chip" passes round the table continuously and indicates who has the big and small blinds (first 2 players left of the dealer chip cover blinds). The dealer chip moves round the table clockwise. Throughout a tournament the blinds increase steadily, usually over 10 minute intervals.
The figures below indicate how the blinds structure increase in a typical poker tournament for multi Table and Sit and Go.
Round |
Time |
Blinds |
Limit |
1 |
10 Min's |
$10/$15 |
$20/$30 |
2 |
20 Min's |
$10/$20 |
$20/$40 |
3 |
30 Min's |
$15/$30 |
$30/$60 |
4 |
40 Min's |
$25/$50 |
$50/$100 |
5 |
50 Min's |
$50/$100 |
$100/$200 |
6 |
1 Hr |
$75/$150 |
$150/$300 |
7 |
I hr 10 Min's |
$100/$200 |
$200/$400 |
8 |
I hr 20 Min's |
$150/$300 |
$300/$600 |
9 |
I hr 30 Min's |
$200/$400 |
$400/$800 |
10 |
I hr 40 Min's |
$300/$600 |
$600/$1200 |
11 |
I hr 50 Min's |
$400/$800 |
$800/$1600 |
12 |
2 Hrs |
$500/$1,000 |
$1,000/$2,000 |
13 |
2 Hrs 10 Min's |
$750/$1,500 |
$1,500/$3,000 |
14 |
2 Hrs 20 Min's |
$1,000/$2,000 |
$2,000/$4,000 |
15 |
2 Hrs 30 Min's |
$1,500/$3,000 |
$3,000/$6,000 |
16 |
2 Hrs 40 Min's |
$2,000/$4,000 |
$4,000/$8,000 |
17 |
2 Hrs 50 Min's |
$3,000/$6,000 |
$6,000/$12,000 |
18 |
3 Hrs |
$4,000/$8,000 |
$8,000/$16,000 |
19 |
3 Hrs 10 Min's |
$5,000/$10,000 |
$10,000/$20,000 |
20 |
3 Hrs 20 Min's |
$7,500/$15,000 |
$15,000/$30,000 |
21 |
3 Hrs 30 Min's |
$10,000/$20,000 |
$20,000/$40,000 |
22 |
3 Hrs 40 Min's |
$15,000/$30,000 |
$30,000/$60,000 |
23 |
3 Hrs 50 Min's |
$20,000/$40,000 |
$40,000/$80,000 |
24 |
4 Hrs |
$30,000/$60,000 |
$60,000/$120,000 |
25 |
4 Hrs 10 Min's |
$40,000/$80,000 |
$80,000/$160,000 |
26 |
4 Hrs 20 Min's |
$50,000/$100,000 |
$100,000/$200,000 |
There are of course different types of poker tournaments that you could play in. When playing online it is a good idea to make sure that you look at the tournament type to make sure there are no surprises. The structure of the different types of tournaments you will come across are listed below.
Online Tournaments - The Knock out Tournament
Very common when playing online poker. The rules are simple. Each player after paying a "buy in" gets a set amount of chips and players are spread at random amongst as many tables as it takes to seat everyone. From this point play starts and as players are knocked out, the remaining players are moved about to balance the remaining tables. This continues and with the blinds increasing throughout the game. In the later stages of a tournament, you run a greater chance of being knocked out if you don't play enough hands as the blinds eat into your stack. Players continue to get knocked out trying to build chip stacks. Of course as the tournament progresses you should have more playable poker starting hands.
This continues until 10 players are left and the play moves to one table. From there poker is played until one player has all the chips, a winner.
Online Tournaments - The Limit Tournament
A 'limit poker tournament' is as the name suggests. Unlike the more popular "no limit" tournament which has no betting limit- i.e. you can move all your chips in at any time, a limit game has a betting cap and you cannot bet more that the limit allows. The structure of the tournament can either be a "knock out tournament " or a "Shootout Tournament". This is often more popular for those that have not been playing the game for such a long time (for obvious reasons).
See:
Online Tournaments - The No-Limit Tournament (NL)
A no-limit tournament is very popular within poker rooms. There is a very good reason for this. A theory perhaps- give a gambler the chance of glory on one hand...say no more. Play a No limit tournament and you can wager all your chips at any time during the tournament. Of course the blinds still work the same and the poker tournament structure is not affected. Poker sharks use the power of "bluff" to scare you off what is often a better hand...a true game of skill and wits.
Visit our poker games section to find all the different poker games. We have ranked all the poker rooms in terms of tournaments on offer. Check our rankings of Texas Holdem tournament sites.
Online Satellite Tournaments
Satellite tournaments are ever more common these days largely thanks to the rise in popularity of the World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker both of whom offer online qualifying opportunities to their top events. A Satellite tournament is simply a feeder to a larger tournament. If you want to play in a major tournament, lets say the WSOP, you have 2 options. 1- Buy directly into the tournament (this will cost you $10,000+) OR 2- play an online qualifier (satellite) which will give you the chance to win a seat for the buy in amount of the qualifier (this can be anything up from as little as $1!).
Many top players try online qualifiers before buying in to a tournament and many save a lot of money in gaining a seat so if you are looking to play in any of the top poker tournaments worldwide - try your hand at an online qualifier first. It could save you a substantial amount of money on the buy in.
Online Tournaments - The Shootout Tournament
A shootout tournament is slightly different in structure as the players are not shuffled around to balance tables as players are knocked out. Each table plays until there is one winner per table. All the winners then play against each other until there is one overall winner. This type of poker tournament is not used on online poker rooms and the standard poker room software uses the knockout tournament ideology.
Online Tournaments - The Re buy Tournament
When you begin a tournament you usually get 1500 starting chips. A re buy tournament allows you to buy another 1500 chips within the first hour as long as your chip count is less than 1500 (or whatever you started with). It could be 1499...thats ok, but a penny over and you cannot re buy If you have more than you started with the software will kick out an automated response to say you have too many chips. This option is available for the first hour only usually followed by an ad-on on the hour. Again for an add-on you would get the chance to increase your stack regardless of your chip count (but only by the value you started with).
There is a lot of players that do not like the re-buy option as it induces a lot of loose play (as players know if they lose, they can have another go..and so on). The fact remains that many of the top tournaments played around the world feature re-buys so rightly or wrongly, it is still a common part of the game. On the positive side loose play means the chance to build a decent stack.
Why Play Poker Tournaments
There are many reasons for the sudden popularity of poker tournaments and satellites. Poker is the one sport that stands out from all the rest. Why? Because you don't need to be a professional to play with the professionals. All you need is enough money to pay for the "buy in" and you get your seat. This is part of the attraction amongst players. Online satellites offer anyone the chance to play for big money for a very modest buy in (well fairly modest). Besides satellites, some online tournaments offer huge payouts..and attracts the "what if" mentality.
Poker Tournaments are a great way to play poker knowing exactly what it will cost you to enter. It is very different from taking your stack to a no limit table. The reason that tournaments are so popular is that where else do you get the chance of being able to convert a $100 into $30,000, or $1 into $10,000.
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