Nowadays it’s easier than ever for someone to find a trusted online poker site. Opt for a platform that exudes reliance, and the simplest way to do that is by checking online reviews. If you’re an avid player with some experience, playing for real money from the start shouldn’t be a problem. Beginners are advised to try out the freeplay games first.
Downloading the software
Now that you have website and the cash, your next move is to download the software. It’s free and it’s all just a matter of click-click-finish. Register for an account (also free), make a first deposit (it usually comes with some added bonus) and head over to the lobby to pick a tournament. Make sure you have enough money to participate.
Types of tournaments
There are various types of poker tournaments to choose from. Let’s check them out:
- Freeze-out – most common type; players are given a fixed amount of chips and they play until one of the players takes it all
- Satellite – low cost tournaments that offer tickets to bigger tournaments
- Re-buy – if you run out of chips you can make a rebuy for a specific (or unlimited) amount of time
- Shootout – single table satellite games where there’s a winner at each table; those winners will move on to the next round, and so on.
- Heads-up – one-one matches
- Deep-stack – tournaments with a higher number of chips at the start of the match than an average poker tournament
- Turbo – poker tournaments with very short blind level rounds and low chip stacks
It’s paramount for a poker player to take risks at the beginning of the tournament because that’s the time when bad players give away their chips. Speculate as much as you can, make raises and limp in with hands like suited connectors, pocket pairs, and suited A-x.
Prior to venturing yourself in all kinds of tournaments you know very little about, answer yourself the following question – what type of player are you? Deep-stack tournaments demand a lot of patience and fortitude. Blind levels rounds can last for 20 minutes, so at a $10 buy-in and 300 players you should be ready to spend at least 6 hours at that table. If you’re not the patient type and you’re really fast in making decisions, turbo tournaments are your best bet; or if your budget is limited, maybe it would be smart to try your luck in a freeze-out.
The choices are limitless, you just have to find that type of tournament that best fits your demands and expectations.
