Different Types Of Poker

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Tournaments are popular. Other than High Stakes Poker, all that’s shown on TV is MTTs.

We think what makes tournaments sexy are the large prize pools. People like seeing people play for hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars. And you don’t get that that often with cash games.

It happens often with tournaments, though.

  1. Different Types of Poker Games on MPL. NL Hold’em Poker. NL Hold’em Poker is easily the most popular type of poker available on MPL. It is commonly known as Texas Hold’em poker.
  2. The 7 Different Type of Poker Players. IF YOU CAN’T SPOT THE SUCKER IN THE FIRST HALF AN HOUR AT THE TABLE, THEN YOU ARE THE SUCKER. MATT DAMON (FROM THE MOVIE ‘ROUNDERS’) When you first sit down at the felt and look around at your opponents, it can be intimidating. In fact, some compare playing poker.

Of course, it depends on the buy-in and game, but many of the events shown on TV are the large ones with a $5,000, $10,000 or even $100,000 buy-in. These tourneys create prize pools that often reach the 7-figure mark. And that creates a lot of buzz.

So, naturally, a lot of people are curious about tournaments.

They say Texas Hold'em takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master and it's. Horse is a culmination of 5 other types of poker variants namely – Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi- Lo, Razz (Stud Lo), Stud (Stud Hi), and Eight-or-Better (Stud Hi-Lo). This type of poker game is generally.

  • What are they?
  • How do you get started?
  • Where do you play?
  • What can you play?

We thought it’d make sense to create a page that answers those questions – and many others.

A poker tournament is a game with a fixed format. Everything is predetermined – the blinds, buy-in, stack sizes, antes, structure and time limit.

The buy-in can vary from free (freerolls) to .05 to $20 to $100,000. There’s always a cut for the poker room, too, which is easier to see online. Most tournaments will be labeled $X+$Y where X goes to the prize pool and Y is the amount the poker room gets.

Once you’re entered you’ll want to log in or show up when the tournament is supposed to start. For sit and go’s (SNGs), that can be whenever, as they start whenever the tables are full. But for MTTs it’s a set time and place. If you’re online the poker room will automatically seat you (randomly) at a table.

From there you’ll have a stack of chips to play with. You’ll have the same amount as everyone else, unless the tournament offers re-buys and add-ons. Then the tournament will start.

Different Types Of Poker Tournaments

A tournament will play very much like a cash game. Once every one posts their blinds, antes, etc., each player is dealt their cards. Then they play according to that game’s and variation’s rules.

But unlike cash games, tournaments have levels. Each level will be a predetermined length – it can be 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, and so on. Each tourney will be different. But after the time’s up, when the next level starts the blinds will be higher.

For example, in a turbo 18-man on PokerStars, the blinds start at 10/20. After 5 minutes they go to 15/30, then 25/50, 50/100, and so on.

This is important to pay attention to, because if you don’t continue to add chips to your stack, eventually the blinds will be large enough that you’ll be blinded out. Then your tournament is over.

The tournament continues like this until one player remains with all the chips in play.

Players are then paid according to the structure set from the beginning – although this does change a little in the beginning if the tournament allows late registrations (players can sign up and pay to play after the tourney starts).

The number of players paid will depend on the number of players in the tournament. SNGs are always fixed. For example, in a 9-10 man SNG 3 players are paid. In an 18-man SNG four players are paid. It’s seven in a 45-man and 9 in an 180-man. It just depends on the tourney.

When you play online any money you win will be put into your account balance automatically. We think some sites reserve the right to pay the next day on larger tournaments and payouts, but none that do this come to mind.

And that’s basically a tournament and how it works in a nutshell.

You’ll find tournaments online, in live casinos (not all are major “events” either), and even played in homes. They’re a great way to get LOTS of entertainment and value out of a fixed amount of money.

What Types of Tournaments Can You Play?

There are LOTS of tournaments you can play. The most popular game played is Texas holdem.

But since the “poker boom” more and more games are played in tournament form. And that includes both online and live (and shown on TV too).

That means you can play games like omaha, stud, razz, HORSE, other mixed games, and others, in tournament format. No limit is obviously the popular betting limit, but depending on the game, limit and pot limit is used, too.

And, as we mentioned earlier, stakes vary wildly. Online you’ll find stakes starting from free to .05 to around $500. There are some larger ones (including SNGs), but that’s where the bulk of tournaments fall. The Sunday Majors (the biggest tourneys of the week online) usually fall between $200 and $500.

Offline, you’ll find many tourneys starting at $20 to $500. It just depends on the room. But for the larger “events” they’ll start around $500 or $1,500, and then climb from there.

Other than the game and stakes, one other choice you’ll have to make is the type of tournament you’ll play. There are LOTS of them.

Here are the most common options:

  • Freezeout – Most tourneys fall into this category. Once you bust you’re out of the tourney.
  • Rebuy – Like a freezeout, except that for a short period (usually the first couple of levels) you can buy into the tourney again when you bust.
  • Turbo / Super Turbo – The levels are much faster. Instead of 20+ minutes, they’re something like 3-10 minutes. This requires a big change in strategy. And the faster the blinds the more luck that’s involved.
  • Guarantee – This is any tournament where a prize pool is guaranteed, no matter how many players show up. This is great because if the players don’t make up the prize pool, the room will. This is called an overlay.
  • Satellite – These are tournaments where the prize are seats to a more expensive/higher value tournament.

Different Types Of Poker

For example, several years ago we played a 5-table shootout for $15 that awarded a few seats to the Sunday Million, which you could buy into directly for $215.

Another good example is Chris Moneymaker – he won a $40 satellite to a higher dollar satellite, which then awarded him a seat to the WSOP Main Event which has a $10,000 buy-in.

Here are the most common options:

  • Bounty/Knockout – In these tournaments you pay a little extra. That little extra goes to a “bounty” which is paid whenever you or someone else knocks a player out of the tournament. For example, if there’s a $5 bounty on each player’s head, and someone knocked you out, they’d get your $5 chip.
  • SNGs – We mentioned these a bit already, but these are smaller tournaments with fixed fields that start once all the seats have been filled. These are great to play between tournaments or as a variance buster.
  • Deep Stacks – You start with a deep(er) stack than normal. Instead of 1,500 chips it might be 3,000. Or instead of 5,000 you might start with 10,000 or 20,000.
  • Shootouts – With these each table plays until there’s one player left. Then all these players play a final table. For example, in a 5-table shootout, the winner from each table would play a 5-handed final table for the prize(s).
  • Steps – This is common online. It’s sort of like a satellite tournament, but broken down even more. You might have 6 steps, starting from the lowest stakes (

For example, you buy in directly to step 4, and if you win, you get to play step 5. Once you get to the last level the prize is usually a seat to a higher value tourney.

The great thing about these is if you lose, often times you get to play the step over or move down a step depending on where you finished. Even if you win nothing you get LOTS of value out of these.

Those are the most common tournament variations. But depending on where you play you’ll find other variations.

One unique thing about poker tournaments is you’ll find many events and series to join.

A series is simply a set number of tournaments hosted by a poker site or venue. They’ll have higher buy in tourneys, satellites to all the series tourneys, and maybe give out jewelry to the winners.

Here are the major tournament series in both online and live poker.

World Series of Poker (WSOP)
50+ events with a bracelet and money going to the winner. Played in Las Vegas once per year starting in May/June. The Main Event final table plays in November.
World Poker Tour (WPT)
Similar to the WSOP. Played throughout the year. The winner of each tourney gets a bracelet.
Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP)
One of PokerStars’ online series.
World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP)
Another PokerStars’ series. Played in the fall.
Aussie Millions
A smaller event held in Australia. Known for having some of the highest buy-ins in history.
European Poker Tour
Owned and sponsored by the Rational Group (previous owner of PokerStars). Similar to the WPT, but held in different venues throughout Europe.

Those are the major events which are held once or twice per year. But you also have the Sunday Majors which are held once per week.

We say this as if you’ll find a major tournament series every Sunday at every poker site online. But that’s not really the case. PokerStars really has a monopoly on this. Right now they have 12 events running every Sunday with buy-ins ranging from $1+re-buys to $11 to $530 – and satellites running to all of them. Guaranteed prize pools for each event vary from $25,000 to $1,000,000.

Many sites run a (much) smaller version of PokerStars’ Sunday Majors. Sometimes they’ll host several larger tournaments throughout the week instead of all in one day. It just depends on the site.

How to Choose a Tournament to Play

Choosing a site to join for tournaments can be tricky. You could go a few different ways.

For example, you could join a new site where they’ll have smaller guaranteed tournaments. These often have overlays. You’ll have less players to fight through for the same prize pool.

However, these tournaments don’t get very big. And there’s not very many of them offered. On top of that, many sites have shut down tourneys when too few players show up instead of honoring the guarantee.

We prefer to go the other way. Look for sites that are established with lots of traffic and tournaments. We believe there’s more value in that. Not only will tournaments run more often, but there will be tournaments of all shapes and sizes. Tournaments with different games, variations, buy-ins, and blind levels/structures.

Different types of poker tournaments

We would also look for a poker site that offers lots of live/online satellites. Often times the competition for the higher dollar buy-ins isn’t much greater than the lower stakes – it’s just a matter of who can afford it. Satellites give you a way to afford it.

From there choosing a tournament is rather straightforward. You want to choose a game and variation that you like and/or are good at. You might want to look at the blinds too, to make sure you choose a speed (normal to fast) you like and the structure jumps up in blinds at a comfortable pace. But we don’t think most players need to worry about stuff like that.

They should just find a game and get signed up instead.

Conclusion: Get More Out of Your $5 Than Just a Latte

There you have it – an overview of poker tournaments, how they work, and different types of tourneys you can play.

From here it’s a matter of choosing a game and getting started. If it were us, we’d choose a $5 or $10 turbo MTT with a starting stack of 1,500 and 3,000. Maybe find one that offers bounties – which can be lots of fun.

WAY more fun than you’ll get out of your $5 latte from Starbucks.

IF YOU CAN’T SPOT THE SUCKER IN THE FIRST HALF AN HOUR AT THE TABLE, THEN YOU ARE THE SUCKER. MATT DAMON (FROM THE MOVIE ‘ROUNDERS’)
When you first sit down at the felt and look around at your opponents, it can be intimidating. In fact, some compare playing poker, especially Texas Hold’em, as if going to a battle. Players wear physical armor in the form of low-lying hats, dark sunglasses, headphones, and mesmerizing clothing. Then there are weapons to contend with, which are mainly the various techniques and styles of play your opponents demonstrate.

Understanding these weapons can help you exploit the other players at the table and just might assist you in finding your own style, as well. The following names or titles given to players are commonly used in poker to describe a certain style of play or. Read up and learn, then shuffle up and deal. Good luck.

CALLING STATION/FISH

This term is used to negatively describe someone who consistently calls bets and rarely raises, regardless of the strength of his/her hand. Calling stations are sometimes rewarded for their poor play by lucky cards that come on the board, often encouraging unskilled players to overestimate their skill level.

This is the player who plays K5 suited and can’t lay down the K when it hits, no matter how many people are in the pot. They play any two suited cards, and any Ace, and can’t fold any of them if they hit a flop. They whine constantly about being out-kicked, and can’t understand why they have such “bad luck.”

Different Types Of Poker Players

NIT / MR. NUTS

The absolute opposite of a Calling Station is the Nit or Rock, a player who is unwilling to take risks and plays only premium hands in the top range. The Nit is content to sit back and wait for ultra-premium hands and will blind himself into oblivion if necessary. He plays nothing but Aces, Kings, Queens, and sometimes, AK. If you’re ever re-raised by a Nit, you know they have something really, really good. You can safely fold hands up to, and including, QQ. Nits are usually referred to as Nutty, Mr. Nuts or Tightly.

Different Types Of Poker Tournaments

NOOB/NEWBIE

Different Types Of Poker Games To Play

A person with little know-how or intelligence that is completely unwilling to learn more on their own. The difference between a Noob and a Newbie: A Newbie is often someone who has enthusiasm and intelligence, but absolutely no experience and are often guilty of simply being naive. A Noob on the other hand is someone with a woeful amount of mental acumen that is completely unwilling to try and learn something for themselves.

THE MANIAC

Maniacs are characterized as such because they will play almost every hand and raise or re-raise with any two cards. This type of player can be on tilt, drunk, or simply having a good time by creating a lot of action.

It may sound easy to play against a maniac, but they pose a serious threat to your game because they are extremely aggressive and will really test you, adding many swings to your bankroll. Often times, a maniac can virtually put the entire table on tilt, thus creating a very profitable situation for the player who remains calm and applies the correct strategies.

MR. ABC / MR. TEXTBOOK POKER

ABC Poker or Text Book Poker is a term referred to a way of playing “by the book” without any sophistication or creativity and in a straightforward manner. ABC Poker is typically played by a player who outranks a complete novice (or a Noob) in terms of skills. They know how to play by the book to the “T”. They will raise 3x the big blind and all about blind structure when to shove when short stacked and other elementary play. ABC Poker is not, however, a compliment to be given and generally is associated with a player who can be exploited through aggression.

Five years ago, ABC poker was undoubtedly a winning strategy, and even today – if you find the right game. it can certainly be profitable. However, in most tournaments and cash games these days, playing ABC poker will leave you break-even or worse.

THE COFFEE HOUSER / MR. HOLLYWOOD

Different Types Of Poker Hands

Talking in an attempt to mislead other players about the strength of a hand is known as coffee housing and doing Hollywood. Very talented is putting up a good show via their acting skills. For example, a player holding AA as their first two cards might say, “Let’s gamble here,” implying a much weaker holding. Coffee housing or doing Hollywood is considered bad etiquette in certain tables but generally accepted unless it turns to a slow roll.

SHARKS

Different Types Of Poker Games

These are the craftiest players. A shark is good at every aspect of the game and can adjust his play to all of the above types of players. Sharks are very hard to sit with because you can never REALLY get a read on them. You may find yourself frequently asking questions like, ”What is the betting?” or “Does he have it?” They have unlimited restraint when it comes to betting on a good hand in order to allow somebody else to think they have the best hand. These guys know how to read others and know exactly how to look and bet like they have a bad hand or are chasing. These guys are very good at extracting chips from their opponents and usually play for your entire stack.

Sharks are also good at drawing as much money out of a hand as they can, especially when involved with aggressive players. These guys are the worst enemy of any aggressive player because of the toughness of getting a read on them. A Shark may catch three of a kind aces on the flop and check, just to draw another player into betting so that they can either A) raise them, B) continue their play, acting as if they have a weak hand and meekly calling, or C) fold (if they have plenty of chips) in order to mislead other players as to how they play. Then they will show the table and say something like, “I KNOW you have the straight,” simply to make other players think that they are Rocks (passive post-flop) or easy to get out of a hand, and therefore setting it up for them to bluff beautifully in the future.