Tournament Types

ABOUT TOURNAMENTS

In a multi-table tournament, players start with a fixed number of chips. Players at numerous tables compete for one another's chips as the blinds and/or antes increase incrementally. As players are eliminated, tables are "broken", meaning players are moved to keep tables full, or even with one another. Eventually, the last few surviving players with chips are assigned to the final table, where the eventual winner is the individual who wins all the chips from his or her opponents. Cash prizes are awarded to top finishers on the basis of number of tournament entries.

SHOOTOUTS

A shootout is a special kind of multi-table tournament. Normally, when you play in a multi-table tournament, players are moved from table to table to balance the number of players at each table. Eventually, the fortunate last nine players end up at the "final table". In a shootout, no such table balancing is done. You remain at your original table until only one player is left standing. If you win that table, you advance to another table and repeat the process against players who each won their first table.

In a DOUBLE SHOOTOUT, you need to win two tables to win the event, although often there is some money for everybody who makes the second table. . Each starting table is played to its conclusion; the final table is formed of the winners of the first round matches.

In a TRIPLE SHOOTOUT, you must win three tables to win the entire event (again, there may well be some prize money distributed along the way). For example, assuming a standard (9 players per table) triple shootout is full, 729 players will be placed, 9 per table, at 81 tables within the tournament. Each table will play until there is one player remaining with all of the chips from that table. The 81 players remaining will then be moved to 9 tables for Round 2. As in Round 1, each table will play until one player has all of the chips from that table. Finally, the 9 remaining players will advance to the final table, where the Champion of the tournament shall be determined.

Note that this whole process could be extended to quadruple shootouts and on up. Also, the tables don't necessarily have to start at nine players each. For instance, in the past we ran triple shootouts with four-player tables (a total of 64 players in each event).

SATELLITES

A satellite is a tournament in which the prize is an entry into a larger tournament. It can be less expensive to enter a satellite than it would be to enter the main tournament directly. For example,while the main tournament may carry a $200 buy-in, one can buy into a satellite for $20 and win a $200 seat in the main tournament. Multi-table satellites are scheduled as regular tournaments, and the sign-up details and play are identical.

An example of how a satellite would work: The buy in for the larger tournament is $200. The buy in for the satellite is $20. If there are 10 entrants (into the satellite), first place will get an entry to the larger tournament. If there are 20 entrants then 1st and 2nd place will receive entry to the larger tournament. If there is any leftover prize money, it will be distributed to the runners up as per the satellite’s payout structure, which is available through the tournament lobby.

If there is a cost to enter either a tournament or satellite, it will be denoted by stating the buy-in amount and the entry fee. A cost of "30+3" indicates that the buy-in is $30, and the entry fee is $3. The $30 goes to the prize pool which the players compete for, while the $3 entry fee is taken as compensation for hosting the tournament.

FREEROLLS

There is another type of tournament, a "freeroll", in which entry is completely free. There is no buy-in and no entry fee, but there are cash prizes available to win.

These tournaments can be easily found by clicking on the "Tourney" tab in the main client window, and then on the "Freeroll" tab. We hold many of these events daily, some of which are open to all players, and some which are open to players from certain countries only.

SIT & GO

A "Sit & Go" is a tournament that is not regularly scheduled; it simply begins when all the seats are filled. These tournaments can be found by clicking on the "Sit & Go" tab in the main client window.

We offer several kinds of Sit & Go tournaments, including single table, multitable, and heads up events. For more information about any particular Sit & Go tournament, simply open the tournament lobby.

REBUY TOURNAMENTS

A rebuy tournament is one in which you have the opportunity to buy more chips during the event. In a standard "freezeout" tournament, when you run out of chips, you're out of the tournament. In a rebuy tournament, you can (with some restrictions) buy more chips.

Here are the facts about rebuy tournaments:

There is a "rebuy period" at the beginning of the tournament. A typical rebuy period might be the first hour of the event (until the first break starts). Once that period is over, no more rebuys are permitted.
During the rebuy period, there may be a fixed number of rebuys available, or an unlimited number.

If you run completely out of chips, you will automatically be offered a rebuy (if one is available). At any time, you can click on the dealer tray and select the "Add More Chips" option. If you're not eligible for a rebuy (because you've reached the maximum number of rebuys), you'll get a message to that effect.

In general, you may rebuy using the "Add More Chips" button in the dealer tray any time your stack is less than or equal to the starting chip stack. This means you can rebuy once before the tournament even starts!

There may be an "add-on" available at the end of the rebuy period. Typically this will be during the first break. An add-on is just one extra rebuy. The add-on will not be automatically offered to you. To take the add-on, wait for the message that "Players are now on break". Click on the dealer tray and select the "Add More Chips" option. In general, the add-on is available no matter how many chips you have.

The rebuy may cost any amount, but generally costs the same as the original buyin, and gets you the same number of chips that you got for your original buyin.

The add-on may cost any amount, but generally costs the same as the original buyin, and gets you the same or higher number of chips that you got for your original buyin.
Rebuys are not charged a rake. So if a rebuy tournament has a buyin of $10+1, then the rebuys will usually be $10 and all $10 of each rebuy will go into the prize pool.
The prize pool and payoffs will not be announced until the rebuy period ends, since the prize pool increases with each rebuy.

Note that many of the rules described above are "typical" or "normal". The exact details for each tournament will always be posted in the tournament's lobby.

DEEP STACKS

You will often see a tournament in the lobby labeled as a "Deep Stacks" event. This indicates that each player starts with more chips than usual.

The starting stack in most Deep Stack events is 5,000 chips. The blinds are normally the same as a regular PokerStars tournament, thus giving each player more play throughout the event.

In addition to a deeper-than-normal starting stack, most Deep Stack events have 30-minute intervals between levels. The normal interval between changes in levels on PokerStars is 15 minutes. Lengthening the levels in Deep Stacks events is another way of providing a lot of play, particularly in the early stages of the tournament.

You can find Deep Stack events in the lobby; the words "Deep Stacks" should be in the name, which should be in pink.

6-MAX

"6-max" in the tournament's title indicates that at each table, there are 6 seats, instead of the usual 8 to 9.

6-max events are generally shown in the lobby in a light blue colour.

TURBO

A turbo event (usually displayed in the lobby in green) is one in which the blind levels increase much faster than in standard play. The interval in a turbo tournament is usually 5 minutes (as opposed to the standard 15), though there are turbo events with 6-minute intervals.

Turbo rebuy events usually break at 30 minutes as opposed to 60 minutes in a standard rebuy event.

Find out more information on playing in PokerStars tournaments.

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