Axel Wilks 
Navigation of online poker tournament circuit isn’t always straightforward, but you can win big by understanding its rules and strategies.
Players can qualify for major tournaments through satellites, which provide low buy-in tickets with high-value events but require players to rely on luck rather than skill for qualification. But these processes may take time and require patience as players hope their efforts bear fruit.
Buy-ins
When it comes to poker tournaments, buy-in refers to the amount you contribute toward an entry. This money goes straight into the prize pool and will eventually be distributed among the top 10-12% finishers (dependent upon tournament type).
While money spent to play any given game is certainly important, you also should factor in your skill level and that of other players at your table when making your purchase. If your skills surpass that of others at your table, buying in for more may help maximize profits by increasing profits through higher betting levels.
Most poker experts suggest aiming for between 30-50 buy-ins as this can minimise risk while providing a decent chance at victory.
Limits
Tournament payouts, much like cash games, are proportional to the number of participants who achieve qualifying finishes – this makes the game top-heavy and ensures only about one out of ten tournament players will cash out.
NL2 (blinds 1c/2c) limits are among the lowest stakes where you can expect to make significant money, although how much depends upon how skillful and experienced your opponents are at poker rather than how good you are yourself.
Online poker tournaments are frequently run in conjunction with major festivals. For instance, the Irish Open collaborated with PokerStars and 888poker to hold satellite tournaments offering tickets to their event.
Stakes
Stakes for online poker tournaments refers to the amount of money a player is gambling for; higher stakes means greater potential profits; however, successful play requires both skill and luck for success.
Cash games rely more heavily on skill to determine their outcome than tournaments do; therefore, players may find it challenging to succeed even when they’re skilled players. This makes tournaments particularly difficult.
Winning a high-stakes tournament may be thrilling and fulfilling, but it also requires both time and money investments. Furthermore, you could end up spending more than you win so it is crucial that your bankroll remains intact throughout.
Stack sizes
Your options and strategies depend heavily on how much chips are in your stack at a table. They are generally divided into three categories that each have specific implications for decision-making processes.
With a deep stack, it becomes possible to play more hands and take riskier moves as there will be enough chips to cover blinds and antes. But be wary not to overextend yourself as this could result in losing an enormous chunk of tournament earnings.
Medium stacks typically range between 35-50BBs. At this stack size, you have ample opportunity to apply pressure with big raises and bluffs while taking advantage of implied odds by calling with suited hands and broadways – an effective strategy around the bubble.
Tournament structure
Tournament structures define how players compete in tournaments, including prize places and how a tournament works to determine its winner. There are various forms of tournament structures, including Sit & Gos and freerolls; though tournament structure alone doesn’t determine winners, it certainly plays a vital role.
Slow tournament structures result in fewer hands per blind level than fast ones, providing less opportunities to outwit opponents and increase stack size, thus decreasing your winrate. There are also variations on tournament structures such as bounty and knockout tournaments wherein a percentage of each player’s buy-in is placed as a bounty on each head and won as prizes when eliminated from play.
