Poker tournament
|
|
A poker tournament is a tournament at which the winners are decided by playing poker, usually a particular style of poker.
Contrast this to a ring game, where the game is ongoing with no formal structure to determine a single winner in a certain length of time.
| Contents |
Entry fees and prizes
In a typical tournament, a player pays a fixed entry fee (called a buy-in) and receives, in return, a certain quantity of in-game currency, called play money, invariably represented in the form of poker chips. Typically, the amount of play money given each player is an integer multiple of the buy-in. Only this in-game "play" money can be used in the game, real money cannot. Additionally, real and play money cannot be interchanged at any time. Some tournaments, however, offer the option of a re-buy; this gives players the option of purchasing more chips. In some cases, re-buys are conditional (for example, offered only to players low on chips) but in others they are unconditional, or offered to all players. When a player has no chips remaining (and has exhausted all re-buy options, if any are available) he or she is eliminated from the tournament.
In most tournaments, the number of players at each table is kept even by moving players, either by switching one player or (as the field shrinks) taking an entire table out of play and distributing its players amongst the remaining tables. A few tournaments, called shoot-outs, do not do this; instead, the last player (sometimes the last two or more players) at a table moves on to a second or third round, akin to a single-elimination tournament found in outher games.
The prizes for winning are usually derived from the entry fees, though outside funds may be entered as well. For example, some rare invitational tournaments do not have entry fees. Play continues, in most tournaments, until all but one player is eliminated, though in some tournament situations, especially informal ones, players have the option of ending by consensus. Players are ranked reverse chronologically — the last person in the game earns 1st place, the second-to-last earns 2nd, and so on.
Prizes are awarded to the winning players in one of two ways:
- Fixed: Each placing corresponds to a certain payoff. For example, a ten-person, $20 buy-in tournament might award $100 to the first-place player, $60 for second-place, $40 for third, and nothing for lower places. In this case, in-game currencies do not correlate strictly to monetary amounts. For example, at the end of the 2004 World Series of Poker, the first-place player had all the chips (about 17 million) but received a $5 million prize, while the second player had no chips and received a $3 million prize.
- Proportional: Sometimes, tournaments can end by mutual consensus of the remaining players. For example, in a ten-person, $5 game, there may be two players remaining with $29 and $21, respectively, worth of chips. Rather than risk losing their winning, as one of them would if the game were continued, these two players may be allowed to split the prize proportional to their in-game currency.
Tournaments can be open or invitational. The World Series of Poker, whose final event (no limit Texas Hold 'Em) is considered the most prestigious of all poker tournaments, is open. However, its $10,000 buy-in makes it practically unaffordable to most people, excluding the most successful players.
Satellite tournaments to high-profile, expensive poker tournaments exist. Often these have smaller buy-ins, with top prizes including funding for the larger, more expensive tournament. Chris Moneymaker, who won the 2003 World Series of Poker, was able to afford his seat at this event by winning an Internet tournament with a $40 buy-in.
Betting format
Betting, in tournaments, can take one of three forms:
- In a structured (fixed limit) betting system, bets and raises are restricted to specific amounts, though these amounts typically increase throughout the tournament. For example, for a seven-card stud tournament with the stakes at 10/20, raises would be $10 in the first three rounds of betting, and $20 in the latter rounds.
- Semi-structured betting provides ranges for allowed raises. Usually, in this format, one may not raise less than a previous player has raised. For example, if one player raises $20, it would be illegal for another player to raise an additional $5. Pot limit is a semi-structured format in which raises cannot exceed the current size of the pot.
- Unstructured betting is usually called no limit. While blinds, antes, or bring-ins are fixed, players are free to bet as much as they wish, even early in a round of betting. To bet all of one's chips (risking game loss, in the event of losing the hand) is to go all-in. In no-limit tournaments, players will sometimes take this risk even early in the betting; for example, in some no-limit Texas Hold 'Em tournaments, it is not uncommon for players to bet "all-in" before the flop.
The betting structure is one of the most defining elements of the game; even if other aspects are equivalent, a fixed-limit version and its no-limit counterpart are considered to be very different games, because the strategies and play styles are very different. For instance, it is much easier to bluff in a no-limit game, which allows aggressive betting, than in a fixed-limit game. No-limit games also vary widely according to the proclivities of the players; an informal, emergent, betting structure is developed by the players' personal strategies and personalities.
The play-money stakes of each round, as well as blinds, bring-ins, and antes, typically escalate according either to the time elapsed or the number of hands played. (Raising stake levels according to hands played is usually considered preferable, because it defeats strategic stalling.) This is done for two reasons. First of all, as players are eliminated from the tournament, the average chip counts of the players increase. Secondly, it prevents the game from getting into a rut where chips are exchanged among the players, but players do not run out.
Types of poker
While some tournaments offer a mix of games, like H.O.R.S.E. events which combine Hold'em, Omaha, Razz, Stud and Stud Eight or Better, most tournaments feature one form of stud or community card poker, such as seven-card stud, seven card high-low stud, Omaha Hold 'em or Texas Hold 'em. Both Omaha and Texas Hold'em tournaments are commonly offered in fixed-limit, pot limit, and no limit forms.
Tournament venues
Informal tournaments can be organized by a group of friends; for example, most colleges feature poker tournaments. Casinos and online gaming sites often offer daily tournaments.
Major tournaments
The two largest and most well-known tournaments are the World Poker Tour championship event and the World Series of Poker, held at Binion's Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas. The World Series has traditionally been featured on ESPN.
The 2005 tournament will the the last one held at the Horseshoe. Future tournaments will be held at one of the Harrah's Entertainment properties.