Poker players who are new to tournaments often use some basic guidelines and initial strategy tips to provide a starting point. When a player chooses tournaments over cash games, whether they play online tournaments or live tournaments, there are more choices to make relating to structures, buy-ins, field sizes, and payouts.

The most common of the different poker tournament formats is the MTT (multi-table poker tournament). This is any tournament that offers more than one table of action and plays from the starting field down to a percentage of it, which is when the payouts begin. Those payouts then gradually increase as the field thins and ultimately finish with just one winner. Within the MTT arena, there are various options:

• Freezeout poker tournament:  This allows each player only one tournament entry, with no rebuys or reentries allowed. 
• Rebuy poker tournament:  Rebuys normally exist in small poker rooms or in online poker rooms. Players are given the option to rebuy once if they bust out, and this usually includes an option for an add-on (extra chips for an extra fee).
• Reentry tournament:  Similar to a rebuy, a reentry tournament allows a player to completely re-enter for a full set of chips for another buy-in. A tournament can offer one, two, or even unlimited reentries in one event.
• Guaranteed tournament:  A guarantee on a tournament promises a certain minimum amount of money in the prize pool, no matter how many players enter. 
• Turbo tournament:  This is a faster structure played with shorter levels than usual. Hyper-turbos play even faster.

Overall, when it comes to strategy for beginner poker players, some poker tournament formats and specialties warrant further calculation.

Bounty Tournament Strategy Tips

A bounty tournament is a poker tournament in which there are bounties on players. Most often, there is a bounty on every player, as a portion of every person’s buy-in becomes a bounty that is won by the player who knocks them out of a tournament. Occasionally, there are bounties only on certain players, such as poker company ambassadors or celebrity players.

There are several types of bounty tournaments, some with a set bounty on each player and others as progressive or PKO (progressive knockout) events that award half of a player’s bounty to the player who knocked him or her out and the other half into that player’s bounty. There are also mystery bounty tournaments, which puts bounties into play at a certain level of the tournament and randomizes the bounties that are a mystery until someone wins one.

The guide to bounty tournaments in poker will offer strategies based on the type of bounties in play. The most important component to any bounty strategy is to figure the potential bounties into pot odds and decision-making. The value of an all-in move against another player can increase if high bounties are in play or if in the late stages of a tournament with progressive bounties.

It is all the more important to read your opponents in bounty tournaments. Try to assess the importance of the money so you can play more aggressively against weaker or intimidated players. The value of a bounty to an individual is often discernible by their reactions to bounty availability or draws.

A few key strategy tips are:

• Accumulate a big stack of chips before trying to challenge shorter stacks for bounties.
• Bluff less often in bounty tournaments when players are aiming for your bounty.
• Take mental notes of larger bounties in PKOs. Target those players with premium hands.

Remember that a standard or progressive bounty tournament can be profitable without making it to the money bubble, so there is extra value in playing aggressively in early levels.

Sit & Go Poker Tournament Strategy: How to Play Short Games

A sit & go – also written as sit-n-go or sit-and-go or simply SNG – is usually a single-table tournament. It is meant to be played without much of a time investment, as the name suggests that you can sit, play, and go. An SNG can be three-handed to nine-handed, usually specified before the SNG opens for players to buy in.

The method for how to play sit and go poker often depends on the structure. If it is a turbo or hyper-turbo, a unique strategy of selective aggression applies. But if it is a standard SNG, there are a few guidelines for playing smart:

• Play premium hands to start, as you determine your opponents’ styles and identify the weaker players.
• Use position to raise or bluff, especially in the middle stage with four, five, or six players.

Winning One-on-One Battles with a Heads-Up Poker Tournament Strategy

Heads-up poker is a unique form of the game involving just two players. It can involve more than one game, for example a best-of-three series of tournaments. How to play heads-up poker requires specific knowledge of the blinds, as the player with the dealer button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop, and the big blind receives the first card and acts first in all post-flop betting.

Very few poker players are heads-up specialists, as there are few opportunities to practice in live poker settings. Online poker offers some games and is the best place to gain experience. While strategy can become quite complicated, there are a several key points for the beginning player:

• Refrain from raising every big blind, as it can be costly if the cards aren’t falling your way.
• Pay attention to every move of your opponent.
• Avoid bluffing until you become much more comfortable with heads-up play.

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