So, you want to know all about free online poker tournaments. Well, for a start, the tournaments are held online and not in a casino, so you can play from the comfort of your own surroundings.
A free online poker tournament is a set number of seats which allows from 100-500 people to join. The free poker type is, as the name says, free to enter, no buy in is required. Others you'll find do charge an entry fee (buy in) such tournaments tend to have larger cash prizes due to the inherent higher risk.
Some poker websites, such as NoPayPOKER.com offer free poker tournaments with up to $500 in prizes with absolutely no risk of your own cash due to all winnings being advertiser funded.
Poker Tournaments, as opposed to simple single session poker games have placement payouts. So let's say you and 130 other people join a $500 tournament. The prize money is paid on the top 40 places, paid according to the position finish in.
At the start of a free online poker tournaments there will be you plus 9 other players. Each player starts with the same amount of chips which can be anywhere between £$1200 to $3000.
Tips for Free Online Poker Tournaments
1) In a tournament I play more carefully than I would if I were playing a normal poker game, and will even try to bluff a couple of times.
2) Once you lose in a tournament there is no going back to the table. The blinds of the table go up every few minutes or number of hands. So I try and build up my stack when everyone else is waiting on the pocket pair or perfect flop for the 2 cards they are dealt.
3) Some people will only play the blind hands, that means unless they get high pocket pair they will fold until it's there turn to post blinds. If you are not lucky enough to have a brilliant hand, then give bluffing a go to help build your stack.
4) Blinds are constantly going up in a tournament which leads to the pressure of needing to build your stack - Sometimes you have to take a risk. Often the best way is to play by your gut, sometimes going all in and putting another player all in could turn out to be your lucky hand or final hand at the table.
5) Reaching the final table with a big stack of chips is always the poker players dream come true. If I have a large chip stack I will sometimes kick back and let the low stackers take each other out of the game unless I am giving good cards. Putting more pressure on a player is easier in a tournament then in regular poker tables as unless you win you cannot re-buy and come back to the tournament.
Online Poker Tournaments Summary
I find tournaments make you stop and think more than if you're playing a regular holdem table.
Remember, poker is a card game but essentially a numbers game - a game of probability and statistics, you can't win them all but if you play you'll win enough to make consistent profits and have a great time!
free online poker tournaments are a great way to learn how to play poker and stand a chance of winning a bit of extra cash without having to cough up any of your own money.
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