Moderng Grinder Moves on to Step 2

In a previous post I told you about the Absolute Poker Steps tournaments in which you can earn and $17,500 tournament package for as little as a 10 cent entry! Well I decided to show you how it's done! So today I played my first Steps tournament and won an an entry into Step Two. Stay posted for my progress or even better give Steps a try yourself at Absolute Poker

Turn Ten Cents into a $10,000 Poker Tournament Entry

Dream of playing in a big buy-in live tournament? Try Steps at Absolute poker where you can for as little as a dime earn your way into winning a $15,000+ prize package that includes entry into a major wsop or wpt event. What is an Absolute Poker STEP tournament? Here's how AB describes it: "A STEP tournament is a type of Sit-n-Go that allows you to win your seat in major land-based events for a significantly low buy-in. Absolute Poker offers 10 STEP tournaments, with the final STEP featuring the big prize. Players advance from one STEP to the next by finishing first in a STEP. Players who don't finish first or second but still rank high enough will be invited to replay the STEP. How does it work? Each STEP tournament series consists of 10 STEPS, or 10 individual Sit-n-Go tournaments. The buy-in for the first STEP is $0.10. As the STEPS advance, the buy-ins increase. How do I move through each STEP? First two winners of STEP 1 advances to STEP 2 without having to buy in. The first two winners of STEP 2 advances to STEP 3, and so on. This goes on until STEP 10 where the winner secures the final land-based tournament package. What's this about trying again? If you don't finish first in a STEP, it's not necessarily game over. STEP tournaments give players the opportunity to replay a STEP, depending on how they finish in a tournament. That means as long as you can finish high enough, you can still hang on to fight another day and conquer your way to the next STEP. Can I enter a STEP tournament at any STEP? Yes. However, you'll have to buy directly in with cash. The only way to secure your spot in a STEP tournament for free is by advancing from a previous STEP." Sound good to me. In fact the Modern Grinder is going to climb the STEPS! Stay tuned for my progress in advancing in the Absolute Poker Steps Tournament. Why not play along you should go to Absolute Poker right now and try beat me up the steps. As a special bonus to MG subscribers (you have subscribed using the form in the upper right of this page, right?) I'm going to include a special sit n go strategy report to help you win more in sit and goes and climb the steps. Click here to check out Absolute Poker

Controling Pot Size in Deep Stack Poker Tournaments

An important strategy to surviving and thriving in deep stack tournaments is learning how to control the size of the pots you play. In other words play big pots when you have big hands and small pots when you don’t. When you and your opponents have a lot in chips in proportion to the blinds in a tournament pay close attention to your opponents’ playing style and the texture of the flop before you enter the pot. Before you commit any chips to the pot, you want to identify the types of players who are likely to be in the hand with you. If you’re at a loose table where your opponents are playing a wide range of hands, you’re going to want to play smaller pots unless you’re sure that you’re way ahead or, preferably, holding the nuts. Play tight against lose players and lose against tight players. The other factor to consider when betting is the texture of the flop. Is the board suited or paired? Are there potential straight draws you need to consider? Even if you’re confident your hand is ahead after the flop, take a couple of seconds to study the board before you act. Think about what hands could possibly beat yours and then try to determine if any of your opponents could be holding cards that would give them reason to call your bet. Don’t become too attached to a hand than can be easily dominated or is likely to be a dog in the long run. Remember keep an eye on your opponents and the flops the next time you play. Time and experience will help you develop a feel for different situations and what whether you hold, fold check or raise will become second nature to you. Try your best to control the size of the pot and you’ll have more control over your tournament life. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker

Common Poker Mistakes To Avoid When Playing No Limit Texas Holdem Tournaments

1. Early Position Raise : One of the biggest mistakes I see players make is not respecting someone who raises in early position. Remember he has another 8 people after him at the table who he has to fade, so chances are that he is holding a big hand. 2. Protect Your Hand: Don't give players an opportunity to draw out on you, make them pay for it. If your holding top pair and there is flush or straight potential, don't let them get any free cards to draw out on you with. Bet the pot or double the pot as to thin the heard. 3. Thin The Heard: If your holding an average hand, say pocket 10s and there have been no preflop bets yet,, go ahead and make a bet, I prefer to triple the pot. You certainly don't want the guy next to you who has King Deuce to hit his King on the flop and beat you. Your bet should thin the heard down and will lesson your chances of getting out drawn. 4. Chip Lead: Listen people, if you have the chip lead tighten up a little. There is no sense in getting involved in too many pots. I see it all too often, someone has the chip lead and calls a raise with crap. Then he catches one of his cards and gets committed to the pot and ends up losing 20% of his chip stack to the pocket rockets. You want to hold on to the chip lead, don't play anything but good cards and let the other players on short stack weed themselves out and you will find yourself at the final table. 5. When you have the nuts and someone betting into you: I was watching a friend of mine play a tournament online and although he made several mistakes that I corrected him on, the biggest mistake he made was pushing someone out of the pot by re-raising him on the turn when he should have slow-played the hand. Let me give you the scenario. My friend Mike was dealt 10-hearts and K-hearts. Someone raises preflop and there are 4 callers including Mike. On the flop came K-diamonds, 10-diamonds, K-spades. Yes, he flopped the dead nuts. The first player checks, the second player who was the original preflop raiser bets $100. Next player re-raises $100, the third and fourth players fold, lastly its up to Mike. He just called the bet which was the proper play. Next card on the turn was 3-spades, no help to anyone. Original player in first position bets $200, second player calls, and what does Mike do, raises the pot $600 and the other 2 players drop out. You need to ask yourself "What am I trying to accomplish with this bet." What was Mike trying to do, make everyone fold. Number one he has the dead nuts, he already has position so it is imperative to give the other players an opportunity to catch their card. The proper play was to continue letting the player bet into you, then take him off on the river. He might have had 2 diamonds and hit his 3rd diamond on the river and you could have taken all his chips. You want those players to get so committed to the pot that they simply cant lay down their 2 pair or their flush or their set. Remember in no limit poker you can always raise the pot or even go all in on the river so its really quite simple. If your playing NL Holdem and someone is betting into you when you have the dead nuts and are in position, let him continue betting into you and do the raise on the river as to maximize any chance you have at getting most or all of his chips. 6. Common Sense: Common sense supersedes all the advice given to me over the years. Use your head for crying out loud. My friend Mike was on the big blind and there were no raises preflop, so he got to see the flop for free. There were 7 people in the hand and the flop comes A-hearts, K-diamonds, -10-diamonds, now Mike was holding crap, 6-7 off suit. Well nobody bets and it comes around to Mike and he triples the pot. It goes around the table and one guy calls, another raises, then another goes all in. Of course Mike folds but common sense tells me with a flop like that everyone got a piece of it, whether its a gut shot straight or 4 to a flush or just top or second pair. My experience has been that usually players discard their low cards and stay in with their big cards or pocket pairs. When a big flop like that comes up common sense tells me when there are 7 other people in the pot that a few if not all of them caught some part of that flop. What a horrible time to try to buy one. Chalk another mullet move up to MIKEY lol. 7. Play like a champion: Try to imagine yourself at the WSOP final table playing for 1.5 million. Then ask yourself how would Doyle Brunson play the hand. Take your time and you will probably make the right call. Remember skill will only get you so far, you also have to be lucky and not get too many bad beats to snap a big tournament off so don't get discouraged if you made the right play and lost the hand. If you played the hand like Doyle would have played the hand and you get a bad beat, well that's just part of poker so you might as well get used to it now. 8. SURVIVAL . Your goal of course is to snap the tournament off, but your first priority should be to get into the money. Just use your head and play smart. 9. Study Your Opponents: Study your opponents and make note of their tendencies. For example, if you have a player that calls just about anything, obviously it would not be wise to try to steal a pot against him as he will probably call you with his low pair. Conversely, if you have a player like that and you have a strong hand, bet more than you normally would as you will probably get a call out of him unlike if your playing against a good player that would probably fold his average hand. 10 . Realize The Amount Of Players Left In The Tournament And Where They Stand In The Money: If your in a tournament that pays the top 9 places and you have 11 people left in the tournament, this may be a good time to steal a couple of pots if your in position. They are trying to get into the money and wont risk their chips unless they have a premium hand. On the other hand, once everyone is in the money, if your going to play a hand make sure it is one where you are willing to risk a large part of your chip stack on. My experience is when it gets down to the money players, you see many people on the short stack going all in so although it may be tempting to play that 9-10 suited, it may not be a hand you want to risk a large amount of chips on. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: Visit Online Casinos to read more texas holdem strategies and to find the best online casino and poker room bonuses. Our Online Gambling Guide provides everything the online gambler needs to find the most trusted sites. Read more articles by: Kevin Venclauskas Article Source: www.iSnare.com

First Steps To The World Series Of Poker

How about playing in the world's greatest poker tournament? How about going for the millionaire prizes? With thousands of participants, the main event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the biggest poker tourney in the world, and the one with the highest payout. Actually, it is kind of easy to get in the tournament, if you have U$10,000 to spend - You just have to register and pay the buy-in. I will assume you don't have this money, or you wouldn't be reading this article, so what you will find here is advice on possible roads to get your ticket online. Read on. -> Online direct satellites. Most rooms offer several options of wsop satellites. In Direct satellites, you pay a high buy-in (usually $200 to $900 each) and play a multi-table tournament that gives wsop packages as prizes. These packages are usually about U$12,000 (the buy-in+expenses), and the amount of them depends on the tournament rules. You have to read the description of the tourney to know how they will distribute prizes. You should be aware that in most of these qualifiers there is no money prize, so if you don't finish in the prize zone, you usually get nothing. -> Online super satellites. If you don't have the money to enter a direct satellite, don't worry, take a look at the wsop super satellites. They offer entries to the expensive direct satellites. From the last 4 World Series Of Poker winners, 3 qualified online trough super-satellites, going to direct satellites, so it's achievable. There are several options, and there are even super super satellites, like sit and gos, for example, which you could get entries to super satellites. If you are on a budget, super satellites offer a great opportunity. But if you are really in trouble when it comes to money, check below. -> World Series of Poker Freerolls - Satellites. So you don't have money to spend, and still think you should try your way into the WSOP? You could try the RARE WSOP freeroll qualifiers. The poker rooms sometimes offer this kind of tourney, but they usually have thousands of people, and only one prize. Be ready for the longest road ever, hours in front of the computer. -> Private Freerolls. If the above freerolls feel a lot to you, I really recommend that you check the private freerolls. Some poker websites join with big poker rooms to promote their softwares by giving out World Series of Poker freerolls. These are big tourneys, but not nearly as big as the open ones. Bonus Tip: -> Satellite Strategy. If you are new to the game, I strongly advise that you first check articles and books on poker strategy. The bonus tip of this article is for the tournaments that offer a small quantity of entries, like the freerolls, for example. (1) Although tight is good for most of poker games, in tourneys that only give the package for the first place, you have to play a lot different, specially in the beginning. Nobody wins these prizes without courage; (2) You have to be more aggressive, raising with moderate hands in good positions, seeing more flops, and taking advantage of the times you make good hands; (3) A lot of players are beginners, and you should take advantage of that at the first stages. Trap them, keep them in the hand if you have the nuts, and call their bluffs if you have an above average hand; (4) Do not bluff with crap hands! Having a lot of loose players, there is a high chance that you will get called when you don't want too, sometimes from people with better hands. So take this information with you and try yourself into one of those tourneys. You could be the next champion, or at least, take a great trip to Las Vegas and play against the pros. Good Luck! Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: MacSotto is one of the writers of the portal TheOnlinePokerLife.com , where he writes strategy and review articles. He is currently trying hard to qualify for this year's World Series of Poker. Read more articles by: MacSotto Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Free Poker Training Update

Earlier this year I announced that I would be offering free poker lessons. A lot of thought has gone into this and how to best accomplish my goals of helping a select group become skilled Texas Hold'em players and improve the poker community. First, I'm taking on some apprentices who have the desire and aptitude for poker but not the experience or skill yet. Look for an announcement in the coming weeks about how to apply and please be aware that registration will be extremely limited, so stay tuned so you don't miss out. Email me at interest@moderngrinder.com if you want to participate, have any questions or suggestions. Until next time... MG

Winning Online Poker Strategy: Improving Your Tournament Play

Online poker tournament play can be a daunting experience for even the most seasoned veteran so when you are ready to get started in tournament play it is best to have a solid strategy and that you have taken the time to get comfortable with tournament play. There is a philosophy used by many musicians that can be applied to preparing for tournament play. Musicians may spend hours in their rehearsal space pretending they are on stage at Madison Square Garden or Carnegie Hall, preparing themselves for the experience by imaging themselves in it. The same philosophy can be used in preparing for tournament play. Start with single table tournaments and pretend you are at the final table at the World Championship. Every chip is precious as is ever move you make, apply this simple philosophy to your early single table tournament play and it will help you develop the skills needed later on when you make the move to multi table tournaments. A smart strategy to use when beginning at single table tournaments is to play only premium hands in the first three rounds. Slowly open up and play more hands and get more aggressive as the tournaments continues and as shorter handed the tournament becomes. By slowly building your bankroll and getting within one or two spots from the money it is easier to rob the more desperate players trying to make their money back. Play aggressive at this stage and jump on the chance at taking more of their chips! As with your standard online poker play, you should always stick to your strategy. Fold often, use you bluff sparingly and always be aware of the habits and tells of the other players involved in your game. Be prepared and aware of what types of players are playing at your table and use their habits against them. Studying the other players early in the game will arm you with valuable information that will help you deep into the game. Playing a few early bluffs may be an effective tool in your strategy as can early folds. Your aggressive play should increase deeper into the game but, at the same time, you should be playing a smart disciplined game. It is easier to get aggressive when you feel in control of the game, so study, study, study! Finally, never get yourself into a tournament you are not prepared for! Build your skills and get comfortable with the experience before jumping in. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: Check our poker room reviews, our Poker.com bonus code, and our Poker Room deposit code. Read more articles by: J Finney Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Evaluating Starting Hands In No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments

There are three main factors that influence how you should play your hole cards in No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments. They are: your position, the size of your chip stack, and the size of the blinds. As a basic rule you need to avoid marginal hands that appear playable pre-flop but which can lead to huge losses in a single pot. The classic starting hands that fall into this category would be any Ax lower than AQ where both cards are unsuited, any Kx unsuited lower than KQ, and low suited connectors. The tricky aspect of no-limit hold'em both in a tournament structure and in a regular cash game is that these hands can also lead to the greatest rewards. They are extremely volatile, however, and much of the skill of no-limit is knowing how to recognize when that starting hand is a liability and when it could potentially break an opponent. This requires a great feel for the game after the flop. Naturally beginners lack this experience and nuanced understanding of the game, and so it is far safer for a novice to limit himself to playing premium cards only before the flop. The problem then becomes one of predictability - if you only raise with big pairs you are unlikely to get any action, and when you do get action you're in trouble because the rest of the table clearly knows what you're holding to begin with. If you are one off the button or on the button you should loosen your restrictions and play more starting hands, including those marginal ones, provided no one else has entered the pot showing obvious strength. To vary your play effectively you should also consider raising with these hands as a semi-bluff tactic, but no more than one in four times. Keep most of your initial raises down to between 75% and 100% of the pot. If you make it 3 times the size of the big blind to go that typically equals an 80% pot bet. This will protect you in case you get re-raised or called by stronger holdings. If there are limpers in front of you and you are going to raise then you need to make a significant bet, especially in no-limit where you have to make it punitive for other players if they intend to draw out. In that case you could raise as much as 6 times the big blind. Have a healthy and watchful respect for strong-tight players who are rarely in hands, particularly if they play the hand out of position. If a player like this raises in early position you should fold all those marginal hands, and small pairs as well. When weak players have entered the pot, you should be happy to call and take flops with them provided you can do this inexpensively. Slow playing big hands has a higher expected value in No-Limit than it does in Limit games where it is rarely the right way to play. That being said, it is a skill that takes a lifetime to master, and can easily backfire on you. As the blinds increase in tournament play you must be flexible with your evaluation of starting hands as you have to keep your chip stack well ahead of the pace set by the blinds. In tournament play you cannot wait for the perfect starting hand, and frequently you need to make your own luck. Be selectively aggressive, especially in the later stages of the tournament. Initially you should be tight at least until you have a good read on some of the opponents at your table. Try to avoid coin-flip scenarios where all your chips are at stake. This happens all the time in online tournaments where players feel comfortable going all-in on AK and equally comfortable calling that hand with any pocket pair. The winners of tournaments at all levels are usually those players who pace themselves early on, make a move in the middle stages of the event, and then start all over again at the final table by once again playing strong-tight. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker

Online Poker Tournaments, A Two Part Primer (Part 2)

Click Here To Read Part One In the first part of this article we discussed in general terms how an online poker tournament works. In this article we’ll go into detail about the different types of tournaments. Multi-Table Tournaments Multi-Table tournaments are big tournaments; some can have 2,000 players or more. In a multi-table tournament, you compete against the players at your table, the winner of that table moves on to another table. This keep going on until there is only one player left. As you can imagine, multi-tables can last for quite a few hours. Single Table Tournaments Or “Sit and Go” Tournaments These are reasonably small tournaments, usually nine or ten players. You’re only competing against the other players at your table. These types of tournaments usually start when the required number of players has registered. These tournaments tend to be shorter then mult-table tournaments, often lasting around one hour. These tournaments often have only one winner. Free Roll Tournaments These tournaments are free. Pokerrooms periodically hold free rolls. Entry into one of these may be given away as a comp to existing players or as a bonus for making a deposit. In any event, it costs you nothing to enter, and you have a shot at willing real money. Satellite Tournaments Satellite Tournaments are smaller tournaments in which the prize is entry into a bigger tournament. At some pokerrooms, you can “satellite” your way all the way up to free entry into the World Series of Poker held in Vegas. Here’s some additional info Re-buy or Addons: some tournaments allow you to purchase additional chips after the start. There are usually specific rules about how much and when you can purchase. Also, the ability to purchase additional chips usually ends at a certain point in the tournament. Blinds: During most tournaments, blinds increase periodically on a specific schedule. This is to help to shorten the length of the tournament, by making it more costly to simply keep folding. Larger blinds force players to play more aggressively. NL/PL: These stand for No Limit and Pot Limit respectively. No Limit means a player can always bet all of his or her chips. Pot Limit means the maximum bet size can only be equal to the amount of the pot. Well, I hope these two articles have given you a sufficient intro to online poker tournaments. The next step is up to you, if you think you’re ready for it. Good Luck! Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: David Olsen has been writing about online casinos and casino strategy for over five years and is considered an authority in the online gambling world. His latest website is all about poker and video poker. Visit it at: http://www.playvideopoker.us/poker_rooms Read more articles by: David Olsen Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Online Poker Tournaments, A Two Part Primer (Part 1)

If you’ve ever watched any of the number of Poker Tournaments on TV you’re probably aware of the excitement these tournaments can generate. There’s really nothing like going “all in” when you’re playing heads up, knowing that the entire prize pool is at stake. Well Tournament Poker is not just for the pros anymore. Your favorite Online Poker Room probably has a tournament going on right now. If you’ve never played in an online tournament here’s some things you ought to know. Anatomy of an Online Poker Tournament Most online poker rooms offer tournament play. A quick visit to their website will tell you everything you’ll need to know about their upcoming tournament schedule. Information like the buy-in, type of tournament, starting time is clearly displayed; you simply read the schedule and then make your decision. Here’s what a typical tournament entry looks like: 6:00 PM ET (10:00 PM GMT) 30+3 NL Texas Hold’em This simply means that the tournament starts at 6PM Eastern Standard Time, it’s a No Limit (NL) Texas Hold’em Game. The 30+3 is the buy-in. These numbers tell you that it will cost you $33 to play in this tournament; it’s listed this way to let you know that you will be paying $30 toward the prize pool and $3 to the pokerroom. To play in this tournament you’ll need to register sometime prior to 6PM. Registration essentially means paying the entry fee ($33). A few minutes before 6PM you should launch the pokerroom and login. Further details are specific to the pokerroom you’re playing at, but most likely you’ll automatically be taken to the tournament at the appropriate time. At the start of the tournament, everyone will have the same number of chips (1,500 is a typical number). Play will commence as usual, blinds, the dealer button and betting order will be handled just like in non-tournament play. As hands won and lost and chips are moved around the table, some players will lose all of the chips and be eliminated. The tournament will continue until one player has won all of the chips. That person will be declared the winner and will take home the largest share of the prize pool. Most tournaments will have more then one winner, some larger tournaments can have five or more. The final player will win the biggest prize; the second, third, forth... place finishers will each win lesser prizes. Any player that wins a prize is said to have finished “in the money” Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: David Olsen has been writing about online casinos and casino strategy for over five years and is considered an authority in the online gambling world. His latest website is all about the poker and video poker. Visit it at: http://www.playvideopoker.us/poker_roomsDavid OlsenRead more articles by: David Olsen Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Poker Tournament Field Sizes

With the advance of online poker, players are no longer relegated to choosing the only tournament available to them at their local card room. The excitement of tournament poker has been a driving force behind the new found interest in the game, as can be seen by the growth in tournament options and availability at all the top online poker rooms. While brick and mortar card rooms have traditionally been limited to 10 player sit & go's or small multi-table tournaments, the now unrestricted web software has brought together literally thousands of players to participate in the same events. Which size of tournament field will be the most profitable for your style of play can sometimes be difficult to discover without a lot of varied tournament experience. The different field sizes can be placed into four general categories, and each have unique features that can help the consideration of which tournaments are best to join. The smallest size of a tournament you can expect to encounter is a 6 to 10 player single table sit & go. Sit & go's are designed to start immediately when enough players sign-up, and their pay-out structure reward those that can earn a first place victory more often than average opponents. These tournaments accentuate player reading skills since each participant will be playing in many pots against the same opponents throughout the course of the tourney. Tournaments that have between 11 and 100 players are usually of the multi-table format, scheduled for a specific time. Online tournaments of this size are usually finished in less than three hours, perfect for those players that lack the endurance or focus to be able to play for too long. In bigger sized tournaments, between 101 and 300 competing players, having an advanced knowledge of hand values, game theory and tournament strategies is an important part of winning. In field sizes this big, poker hand situations are often encountered against unknown players that arrived from other tables, making it impossible to use our player reading skills. Any tournament with over 300 players is often a marathon of poker that will take many hours or even days to complete! Endurance is an extremely redeeming quality at the poker table in tournaments this big because players start to make bad betting decisions when tired. Players able to play their 'A' game over long periods will have a decided advantage in these larger tournaments. An honest evaluation of our poker abilities will help each player discover which tournaments are likely to be our most successful.There are many other factors also to be considered, but consistently choosing the correct size of tournaments for our personal style will have a remarkable influence on our results. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker About the Author: Shawn has been playing online poker since it's inception in 1999, all of his poker articles can be found at WinnersTable.com. Read more articles by: Shawn Somerville Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Poker Tournaments For Beginners

As the game of Poker is scaling new heights, casinos and resorts where the game is played along with the media have left no opportunity untouched to accrue contemporaneous benefits. This is evident from the rise in number of Poker tournaments. Since past decade there are significant number of Poker tournaments held at the local as well as the national level. The highly played poker games in these tournaments are- Seven Card Stud, Seven Card High-Low, Omaha Hold 'Em, and Texas Hold 'Em, community poker etc. Poker tournaments can be of different types. For instance- shootout tournaments where the tables along with players are not eliminated but continue to be there till one player emerges as a winner. Unlike to this are the elimination tournaments were the game commences with all players having equal amount of chips and prolongs until one player manages to get all the chips. Here the tables are removed and at the end a single table is left. All those who survive in the game till the last table get some sort of reward to cherish. Such tournaments have no re-buys but the ‘Re-buy’ tournaments provide the chance to re buy the chips once they are all gone. The chips are to be purchased by paying extra money. So the game continues for long and there are little odds of being segregated from the game. Besides this there are also satellite games in some areas of United States like Las Vegas. These tournaments involve a group of people that gathers and each places in a portion of his money. The fortunate winner gets a good amount (even more than a million dollar) to invest in other costly large-scale crucial tournaments. Usually the prize money for the poker tournaments comes from the entry fees. This fees is most often known as the ‘buy- in’ fees. Sometimes the money flows in from an external source or agency. But this amount gets invested in buying the invitations only. The buy-in fetches you a calculated amount of chips to start your game with. These chips act as your ‘play money’. Play money can be re purchased only in ‘re-buy’ tournaments. The betting on these tournaments can be of three types: · Structured Betting – bets can only be of a particular amount · Semi structured betting – the bet can vary to some extent and not more than that. · Non structured betting – there is no fixed limit to bet. It is at the discretion of the player to bet as much he desires. Then there are two basic strategies to decide upon who will be the winner – Fixed Winnings and Proportional Winnings. The former are those where the organization holding the tournament beforehand decides upon the winner. While in the latter the winner is calculated proportionally. These are split between the players left at the end proportional to the amounts of play money each has accumulated during the game. The escalating popularity of the game and the increasing number of tournaments have attracted players from all over the world. It is due to the fascinating and mouth watering amount that one gets on winning the tournaments that women as well as celebrities too want to try their luck. So, do you want to be a part of the Poker world! Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker