If you’re completely new to online poker, joining your first online tournament can be nerve-wracking. But there’s no need to worry. Take a look at Borgata Online’s guide for online poker tips and tricks to make your journey into the competitive online tournament scene as smooth as possible.
How Do Online Poker Tournaments Work?
When learning how to play poker, it’s important to highlight that although offline and online poker tournaments can differ in some ways, there are some key similarities. However, tournaments play very differently from regular cash poker games.
For example, in a regular cash game:
- Players typically remain at one table.
- There are minimum and maximum buy-ins.
- The blinds remain the same.
- A player can cash out at any time.
- If a player loses in a cash game, they can usually rebuy (buy more chips) and keep playing.
In tournaments, the format differs in several ways.
- Players can change tables (depending on the event)based on players busting out.
- The buy-in is fixed.
- The players all receive the same number of chips.
- Blinds increase at regular, pre-determined intervals.
- A tournament is only officially over after a single player has taken all the chips.
In many tournament formats, if you lose all your chips at any point, you’re done and can’t buy more chips or buy back into the tournament (this is also known as a freeze-out). However, some tournament formats allow another buy-in (also called a “rebuy”) or allow you to purchase more casino chips (also known as an “add-on”). More common is the reentry tournament, with an established number of times that a player can reenter a tournament after busting out before the registration period ends.The rules around rebuys and reentries vary from one tournament to another.
When players bust from a tournament, they are paid out according to the tournament payouts. This is based on the number of players, buy-ins minus fees, and the percentage of the field to be paid. When registration closes, the tournament staff or online poker platform will inform the players of the payouts and how long they must remain in the tournament to obtain any payout. In a 100-player field, for example, the event may pay the top 10% or 15% of finishers, and the payouts then start at a min-cash and escalate as the field thins. A first-place finish could see the player walk away with 50% of the prize pool, with each lower-ranking player getting a decreasing cut of the remainder.
Online poker tournaments can also be played in different poker variants, such as Omaha, seven-card stud, and Texas hold’em online poker.
Most online poker sites offer a variety of tournaments, from special events to daily or weekly ongoing tournaments that poker sites regularly host for people who like to play competitively. There are usually tournaments happening at all hours of the day and night, with the most offerings on evenings and weekends to include opportunities for recreational players.
Now that you have a better understanding of how a poker tournament works in general, take a look at some of the different tournament formats.
Types of Online Poker Tournaments
Just as there are many variations of poker, there are different types of online tournament events. Here’s a list of some of the most popular formats, many of which you’ll find on the Borgata poker tournament schedule:
Bounty (Knock-Out)
This tournament format spices things up by adding a “bounty” into the mix. This bonus is paid out whenever a player successfully knocks another player out of the tournament. This bounty is covered by a slightly higher buy-in fee for the event. These events are often called knockouts or progressive knockout (PKO) tournaments.
Deepstacks
In deepstack tournaments, you receive more casino chips to play with than in regular tournaments.
Freeze-Out
This is the most common and classic tournament format. Once you run out of chips, you’re (frozen) out of the tournament.
Guarantee
Where many tournaments base their total prize pool on how many players register to play, this type of format guarantees the prize pool’s value, regardless of how many players register for the event. Event organizers will make up the difference should turnout numbers be lower than expected, and this overlay is a positive for players.
Rebuy
A “rebuy” tournament allows you to buy back in after you’re knocked out, but usually only within a specific timeframe or set number of levels. Rebuys are also limited to a specific amount in cash terms, and they often come with the chance to “add on” extra chips for another fee.
Satellites
Unlike other tournament formats, where the money is the main prize, a “satellite” tournament secures the event winner a seat at another event. These are usually higher-profile events with a much higher buy-in. Many players use satellite events to bypass the large cost associated with larger events, as a satellite entry can cost as little as 5% of the high-profile events they’re connected to.
Shootouts
As the name implies, a “shootout” event is somewhat of a “last person standing” affair. At a shootout tournament, players must beat all the opponents seated at their table. Once they’ve done this, the winner goes on to the next round or the final table with the aim of taking home the tournament prize. Many players like this format, as it gives them time to adapt their play to the table they’re at.
Sit & Go
This type of tournament, sometimes called a sit-and-go or SNG, is characterized by the way it starts. Simply sit at a table, and once the table is full, you start playing (or “go”). This format originally started with online games but has also become a popular style in live poker tournaments. SNGs online are also popular with jackpot prize formats and play when just three or four players register.
Turbo
In a turbo poker tournament, the blinds increase at a much faster rate than in other events. This is a popular multi-table tournament (MTT) format, as it’s much quicker than regular MTT events. Many satellites also play with turbo formats.
Online Poker Tournament Structure and Strategy Basics
After some time spent learning the ropes (and different hands) in poker cash games, online poker tournaments bring a new learning curve: the tournament structure. While the structure is sure to differ between tournaments, generally, you can expect escalating blinds and antes, forced bets that steadily increase in pre-set time windows, compelling players to act or risk being devoured by the rising stakes. Every player begins with a starting stack of chips, and it’s up to you to use these chips to place your bets however you see fit. Players are eliminated when they lose all their chips, and the tournament continues until only one player remains.
Mastering poker tournament strategy is an art form — the key is adapting at every stage based on the blinds and antes, your chip stack, your opponents’ stacks, and your opponents’ strategies and playing styles. For example, it’s best to stay patient during the early stages rather than diving “all-in” at the first sign of a decent hand. Tight play is recommended — carefully choose which hands to proceed with and focus on survival as other players begin to bust out.
As the tournament reaches the middle stages, the blinds begin to bite, opening opportunities for a bit more aggression. Stealing blinds, accumulating chips, and maneuvering into favorable positions are your goals at this critical time. If you reach the late stages, you’re in for some real action, where the game turns into a high-stakes showdown. This is when you should embrace aggressive moves, push all in, take calculated risks, and exploit opponents’ vulnerabilities.
Online Poker Tips and Tricks for Beginners Playing Their First Tournaments
Now that you understand some of the most popular tournament formats and the basic structures, here are some beginner poker tournament strategy tips you can use when playing in a virtual poker tournament.
Ensure You’ve Cleared the Time To Play
If you think a poker tournament will only take a couple of hours, remember that it will vary depending on your performance in it. Overall, some are designed to be only a few hours long, while special events can be scheduled for multiple days. Still, it’s important to confirm those details before you sign up and pay the buy-in.
Begin With Low-Stakes Tournaments
While you may be fairly hot stuff when playing cash games, tournaments are a different beast. This is why it’s a good idea to begin with low-stakes tournaments, so you can learn how the different formats play out and which poker tournament strategies work best for specific formats.
Don’t Play MTTs When You’re Starting Out
As a beginner, you should focus on learning the ins and outs of tournament poker, so a multi-table tournament (MTT) might be too much at the very start. It’s recommended that beginners start with the one-table tournament format.
Learn How To Handle Tilt Before the “Big Leagues”
Even the best poker players can succumb to tilt (feeling frustrated because of a losing streak, often leading to overly aggressive play), so it’s essential to learn how to control your emotions as much as possible before entering high-stakes tournaments. The good thing is that there are lots of low-stakes online tournaments that you can play to cut your teeth and develop this skill.
Avoid Bluffing Too Much When Starting Out
Once you gain more tournament experience, bluffing will become a vital part of your toolkit, but when you’re starting out, you shouldn’t rely too much on it. You may prove too easy to read.
Enjoy Competitive Online Poker With Borgata Online
Ready to explore the new and exciting realm of online poker tournaments? Put your newfound knowledge to the test and sharpen your skills at Borgata Online. The Borgata poker tournament schedule is full of options, including dailies and weeklies, sit-n-goes,, and many other competitive poker events with varying buy-ins and structures. Register at Borgata Online to get in on the poker tournament action. You can also choose from a massive range of other online casino games to play on the site, including jackpot slots, live dealer casino games, and table games. Borgata Online is exclusively available to players in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.ly available to players in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.