Poker Tournaments

PokerStars is home to more poker tournaments than anywhere else online. Check out the Tournaments. to find out more about the types of online poker tournaments that we offer. Before you start playing, you might also want to take a look at our Tournament Rules pages.

The Basics of Poker Tournaments

All players start a poker tournament with the same amount of chips. As play goes on, the compulsory blinds and antes increase at set times, and when a player loses all of their chips, they are out of the tournament. The last player standing is declared the winner, and is rewarded with the biggest portion of the prize pool. The rest of the prize pool is distributed between a set amount of players, determined by the number of players who entered. You can find all this information listed in the tournament lobby of any PokerStars tournament that has started running.

How to Play in a tournament at PokerStars

You can find PokerStars tournaments listed in the lobby under the ‘Tourney’, ‘Sit & Go’ or ‘Events’ tabs. Selecting any of the listed tournaments allows you to find out everything you need to know, and also whether registration is open.

You’ll also notice that the list sorts each tournament by categories such as the type of poker game (Texas Hold’em or Omaha, for instance), size of the buy-in and the structure. To register for a tournament, either double click the tournament name or click ‘Tourney Lobby’. Both options will take you to the lobby for that tournament. If you want to register, simply click ‘Register’ (you will need to log-in if you haven’t done so already). Once you have successfully registered, you’ll be seated at your designated table a few minutes before the event is set to start.

PokerStars tournament lobby
Tournament Lobby at PokerStars

Game play

In all of our tournaments, each player is assigned a random seat and table. Just like in a live poker tournament, you aren’t allowed to change your seat. In Hold’em and Omaha tournaments, the dealer button will start on seat 1.

When the action is on you, your options are to either ‘call’, ‘raise’ or ‘fold’ (you may also have the option to ‘check’ or ‘bet’, depending on what has occurred before your turn). To ensure that the game flows at a constant speed, you are only given a certain amount of time to act. If you take too long, a reminder will appear in the chat box and you will also be given the option to activate ‘Time Bank’. This gives you the option of gaining extra time in which to make your move.

Clicking on the ‘Info’ tab in the chat box allows you to find out up-to-date information about the tournament - such as your current position and the average chip stack. You can also see specific information about the way you have been playing by clicking on the ‘Stats’ tab.

More detailed information about the tournament can be seen in the Tournament Lobby. Here you can find out about the current blind level, structure, progress and rankings of each player, prize pool payouts and more.

When a tournament is over, all prize winners will be sent an email by PokerStars, confirming what they have won. If you want to see a detailed breakdown of how a tournament played out, go to ‘Requests’ in the menu bar in the main lobby, and select ‘Tournament History’.

It’s possible for anyone to observe any of the tables in a tournament that’s currently running, whether you are in the tournament or not. In the Tournament Lobby, simply select the table you want to watch and click ‘Observe Table’.

Poker Tournament Dollars (T$)

We offer our players a unique Tournament Dollar system. If you win a seat at any event via one of our satellite tournaments (except for the ones below), you can choose to unregister and receive Tournament Dollars (T$) instead. These can then be used to register for other PokerStars tournaments, including Sit & Gos, special events, and satellites.

Please note however that T$ are not the same as real money, because you can’t use them in cash games. You can check your T$ balance at anytime by clicking the ‘Cashier’ window in the PokerStars lobby.

W Dollars (W$)

We also offer special W$, which you can use to register for certain special PokerStars events, such as the following:

If you win a seat at one of the above W$ special events, you must play at the event and are not permitted to unregister. If you win more than one seat, the value of the additional seat(s) will be credited to your PokerStars account in W$. If you qualify for a satellite where the prize is a seat at a special event, you can choose to unregister and keep the W$. You can check your W$ balance at anytime by clicking the Cashier window in the PokerStars lobby.

Remember: you can use Tournament Dollars to register for both regular and special events, but W$ can only be used to register for special events.

On some occasions, PokerStars may need to unregister you from a tournament on your behalf. If you find that you need us to do this, contact support@pokerstars.com and we will be happy to assist you. Make sure you email us from the same address that is listed on your account - and don’t forget to provide your User ID and the number of tournament that you want to unregister from.

The best way to discover more about all the poker tournaments we offer is to download our free poker software and start playing the wide range of games available in our Poker Room.

* World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLC ("Harrah's"). Harrah’s does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, PokerStars or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.

± There are certain Terms & Conditions that apply when using W$ for buying into WSOP* related. Visit our World Series FAQ page for more information.