Whether you’re a poker newbie or an advanced player, there's a lot to learn and win in a poker tournament. Learn how they work and how to find the right poker tournament for your playing level and style right here. Online Poker Tournaments. Online poker sites normally offer two types of games - one is the real money poker cash game, and the. OnlinePoker.com.au - Australia's #1 guide to online poker in 2020 Compare the best AU-friendly poker sites Play in AUD$$ Get bonuses up to $2000!

Choosing a poker website to play at does not necessarily mean you should choose PokerStars. Yes if you’re looking for a quick cash game or tournament, but there are other options where you can find good value.

The decision on where to play in poker tournaments ultimately rests with you, but hopefully this article will make clearer some of the options available to international players – not Aussies unfortunately, as we cannot play online for real money as of September 2017 due to the new Interactive Gambling Act amendments.

Tournaments are a completely different beast to regular cash games in that you cannot come and go as you please. Things like Multi Table Tournaments require constant concentration and endurance with some games going for days at a time.

We will have a look at where the best places are to get involved with online poker tournaments, what sort of tournaments are on offer, what you can win and roughly how much you can expect to pay for entrance.

Best places to play online poker tournaments

The following sites offer a range of tournaments with differing buy-in amounts to cater for every aspiring poker champion.

• www.888Poker.com offers up to $888 in bonuses
• www.PokerStars.com offers up to $600 in bonuses
• www.FullTilt.com offers up to $600 in bonuses

Each of these sites boasts a wide range of available tournaments and they are not all exclusively Texas Hold ’em. Obviously Texas is the most popular tournament format but you can also find tournaments for Omaha Hi and Hi/Lo, Stud Hi and Hi/Lo, Razz, 5 Card Stud and Draw Poker.

Check each site for details on when tournaments are scheduled and each sites terms and conditions.

How do online tournaments work

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Obviously there are more than one sort of tournament available to play at each site and tournaments aren’t reserved exclusively for Texas Hold’em. No, there are tournaments available for Omaha, Triple Draw, Irish and of course Texas, just to name a few. The tournament types include Satellites, which can be a pathway to bigger land-based events, sit-n-go’s, free rolls and many other tournament types.

But what sort of online tournaments are out there? What best suits your playing style and patience level? Let’s have a quick look at what sort of tournaments there are.

Multi table tournaments

In a multi table tournament each player, after their buy-in, is staked the same amount of chips and placed at an initial table. The winner of each table proceeds to the next table which consists of winners from the previous round. This goes on until the final table results in an overall winner. The top prize for Multi Table Tournaments is usually rather large thanks to the amount of people that register for each one. Winning Multi Table Tournaments can also earn you a solid reputation very quickly.

Sit ‘n’ Go Tournaments

Sit-n-go poker tournaments are where the player numbers are capped and when this number of players is reached the tournament begins. Websites like 888 Poker and PokerStars have plenty of these types of tournaments, including micro stakes, low stakes, medium stakes and high stakes. With buy-ins ranging from anywhere from $1-$1 million.

Heads Up Tournaments

Heads Up Tournaments are essentially one on one matches which may seem easy at first glance but these types of games generally seem to be won by the player with the greater skill. Heads up games are very tactical and it is best to resist the temptation to go all in on your first decent hand. Play smart.

Free Roll Tournaments

Free Roll Tournaments are great for beginners or those low on funds because they are free to register and play. Winners of Free Roll Tournaments can win cash prizes or tickets in to other, more illustrious, tournaments. All you have to do is be a member of the poker site and register for the tournament to take part. You then download the client software or play on your smartphone or tablet.

Satellite Tournaments

Satellite Tournaments are a much cheaper buy-in option for people looking to get a seat at a big money tournament, whether online or at a bricks and mortar event like the World Series of Poker. While PokerStars probably has the most of these types of tournaments, we find playing at 888 Poker can sometimes be advantageous because there tends to be a weaker field of players.

Play poker tournaments on your iOS or Android Device

888 Poker is the only one of the big three poker sites to provide mobile services to international customers. The 888 poker website allows you to play in a variety of tournaments with some hi and some low buy in amounts. PokerStars and Full Tilt both used to provide mobile services but pulled their products from the market in 2013.

Deposit options at poker websites

Players worldwide have plenty of options when it comes to depositing at poker websites. We can use our Visas or MasterCards. We can use web wallets like Neteller or even pre-paid cards like Ukash. If you don’t want to send your card details over the internet you can use payment system POLi which is where you use your online bank via a secure payment portal, allowing you to transfer thousands of dollars to your chosen poker website.

All banking transactions at online poker sites are encrypted with a minimum of 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Digital encryption. The sites are fully regulated and must abide by strict guidelines when it comes to keeping players funds and details safe.

Players given two cards face down from a regular deck of well-shuffled cards. These are generally known as hole cards and alongside the five ‘community cards’ which will be shortly revealed, each player will try to construct the best possible five-card hand they can.

In a nutshell, you win the hand by having a higher hand than anyone else or by raising to an amount where everyone else folds.

Blinds

To avoid a scenario where players see endless hands without needing to risk any money if they don’t like their hands. Most forms of Hold’em will see two players have to put in ‘forced bets’ at the start of the hand. Players take turns being the Dealer (obviously online poker players don’t deal at all) and a plastic dealer button rotates around the poker table. so you always know who the Dealer is.

The player to the left of the Dealer needs to place a bet which is known as the Small Blind. The player to the left of the Small Blind is called the Big Blind and needs to place a bet worth twice the value of the Small Blind. If the Small Blind wants to see the flop, they’ll have to match the amount of the Big Blind.

All the other players will also have to match the value of the Big Blind to see the flop. And if someone raises to more than the value of the Big Blind, that’s what you have to pay to stay in the hand.

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Flop

If there are two or more players still left in the hand, the Dealer will reveal the first three cards all at once, known as the flop.

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By this stage, players will have a good idea of the hand they can end up with because they’ll know how their own two cards can be used along with the first three community cards.

The first player to bet is the one to the left of the Dealer or if they’re no longer in the hand, the one to the left of that. Then has the chance to call or raise. Just as in the previous round of betting, once there’s a raise everyone else either has to match it, raise it or fold.

Once everyone has done one of the above, that round of betting is over and it’s time for ‘the turn’.

Turn

Players still left in the hand at this stage will have the opportunity to see the turn card, the fourth card.

Again, by this round players will know six of the cards- their own two plus four of the community cards. So in most cases will either have a strong hand by now or will carry on waiting for another card. That might give there hand a boost, for example, complete a straight or get them to a second pair, or will carry on bluffing and pretending they have a better hand than they do.

After the revealing of the fourth community card, we go through the same betting process yet again. The first player to the left of the Dealer who’s still in the hand gets the chance to call or raise and the others need to decide if they’re calling any raises, re-raising or folding.

River

Time to know for sure what you’re holding. The fifth community card is revealed, and every player will know what hand they have based on their two hole cards, plus the five community cards.

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But that’s by no means the end of the game. There’s still a final round of betting using the same order of betting as before. And either one player remains in the game, who raised while the other players all folded or…two or more players go to the very last showdown, known as ‘heads up’.

Once the betting is over, players reveal their hands and the winner walks away with the pot. In the case of two or more players holding the same hand, the pot will be split between the two or more players who have it.

The winner(s) are then paid out their winnings and a new hand starts again.