Online Poker Tournaments

With the popularity of poker these days combined with the popularity of the internet there is something new to offer poker fans, that is Online Poker Tournaments. It is now easier than ever to compete in a poker tournament and you don't even have to leave your home.

Playing poker online allows you to meet new people, get in discussions online, and even share tips about poker and gaming. There are a variety of tournaments online including the popular Texas Hold'em, Omaha, and 7 Card Stud. There also thousands of web sites where you can go to compete in online tournaments.

Tournaments are scheduled on a daily and weekly basis and in order to compete you must first register with the site. When you register you put in such info as your name, nickname, address and even credit card information. Just because you enter your credit card doesn't mean you have to play for money. There are sites with options to compete for money or to play just for fun.

In general when you play in a tournament for money, all participants pay a fixed buy-in and a fee. The buy-in amount is for the prize awarded to the winner and the fee goes to the web site hosting the tournament. After you paid the buy-in and fee all players are given the same amount of chips to start. The number of chips received many be different from game to game, but is usually 1500 chips.

To play in any tournament you need a ticket. These are either given to you when you register or can be awarded as prizes from games that you previously won or even as a promotion. This can create a chain of qualification tournaments with a very big cash prize at the end.

There are numerous rules during Online Poker Tournaments and some of these include:

• Tournaments begin at their scheduled time, anyone not logged in at the start time will forfeit their seat
• Seats are randomly assigned and may not be changed, except when part of table balancing (multi-table environment)
• The tournament ends when one player accumulates all of the chips in play
• If a player is disconnected from the Internet while in a tournament the web site does take any responsibility unless the tournament server is the cause
• If they are disconnected then they have 30 seconds on top of their regular time to make a move. If they time out then their hand will be folded
• Unethical play, including collusion, may result in disqualification or termination of players account
• Players may not discuss a hand until all gaming has completed

Each site may have additional rules, so please make sure to read them carefully before signing and starting to play. It is also important to remember when playing in online tournaments that the more you practice the better you will be. Don't play high stakes games and pretend to be big time poker player if you aren't. This can lead to huge losses and can affect your more than just your game.

Related pages: Poker Tournaments | Poker Tournaments schedule guide