When we are talking about a poker site such as Sky Poker, we often refer to ‘tournaments’ in a more generalised way.
Of course, poker tournaments are the same in many respects in that many players will compete against each other, eliminating each other until the winner is declared and the prize funds allocated out to those who cashed.
Yet, despite this similarity, there are actually a wide range of different tournaments available on the Sky Poker website and the subtle differences between these tournaments are what makes them different and also what helps players decide whether entering a tournament is a worthwhile option, or not.
In this article, we’ll examine the nine different types of tournament formats that are available on the Sky Poker website, explain a little about each, give you some examples from Sky Poker of each type of tournament together with an idea of which type of tournament is most likely to suit a novice, intermediate or expert poker player.
So to begin with, let’s take a look at one of the regular tournaments hosted on Sky Poker at various times throughout the day.
Before we get going, new players are going to want to make sure that they secure a Sky Poker no deposit bonus code before playing even one hand on the site.
9. Regular tournaments
Regular tournaments can include some of the tournament types outlined below.
These are tournaments Sky Poker schedule each day, with a variety of cash prizes and buy ins available to suit all players on the site. Tournament funds come from the number of players who buy into the tournament and they can be in a range of formats, including Bounty Hunter games and Timed Games, which are very useful for players who only have a certain amount of time to play during the day (for example, if you are on a lunch break).
Examples of regular tournaments: £100 Lunch Timed, £750 Bounty Hunter, Sky Head Hunter, £100 Omaha, Omaha Hi Lo.
8. Guaranteed tournaments
Guaranteed tournaments are events where regardless of the amount of players who register for a tournament, the stated amount of money will be available in the cash pool as a prize, as guaranteed by the site owner (in this case, Sky Poker).
In tournaments where players entry fees are greater than the guaranteed tournament prize fund, this extra money is added to the fund to increase the total fund.
However, if the total buy in fees are less than the stated guaranteed amount, Sky Poker will pay the extra.
Examples of guaranteed tournaments: £300 Guaranteed (30 mins), £400 Guaranteed, £250 Guaranteed, £100 Guaranteed, £200 Gtd Rebuy.
7. Added tournaments
Added Tournaments differ slightly from Guaranteed events in that the players buy ins will initially make up the prize pool, however Sky Poker will add extra money to the pot to ensure that the tournament prize exceeds the amount of money generated by all players playing in the event.
These tournaments do offer players great value for money and are very popular MTTs on the site.
Examples of added tournaments: These events are generally announced on Sky Poker, rather than scheduled each day.
6. Speed tournaments
Speed tournaments operate in essentially the same way as a regular tournament with one small exception, rather than the blinds increasing every 10 minutes, the blinds increase every five minutes.
This effects how quickly the blinds start to climb and place a premium on maintaining a healthy chip stack.
Examples of speed tournaments: There are many versions of the tournaments listed here that offer a speed variant for players who prefer quicker-rising blinds.
5. Deep stack tournaments
If you like to have time at the start of a tournament to play your way into it without running the risk of losing your chips early on, then deep stack tournaments are the ideal choice.
In these events, players are given more chips than usual, which allows them more time to settle into an event. This does change how tournaments unfold and does call for players to have a specific strategy for these types of games.
Examples of Deep Stack Tournaments: £100 Deep Stack, Deep Stack (various buy ins), £500 Deep Stack.
4. Televised tournaments
Perhaps the most exciting and certainly the biggest prize pots are found on Sky Poker in their Televised Tournaments.
These events are indicated with a blue TV icon in front of them and they are the events that are shown live on TV, featured on the Sky Poker TV Channel.
You may even find your play analysed by the commentators and poker experts that are resident in the Sky Poker studio. These events do tend to be of a higher buy in level than most other events on the site.
Examples of televised tournaments: £30k Mega Roller, £10k Primo, £4,000 Turbo Open, £2,000 Speed Bounty Hunter, £12k Sky Sports Bounty Hunter, £2k Mini Turbo.
3. Freeroll tournaments
As the name suggests, Freeroll tournaments are events that do not require a cash buy in to participate in, but players may be asked to use poker points to play, or have fulfilled another promotion to earn a free token to play.
Some events may just require the user to know a password, revealed via social media while some are completely open for all Sky Poker users to join and play.
The Prize Pool varies on these events from cash sums to specific prizes.
Examples of Freeroll Tournaments: £20 Guaranteed Turbo Freeroll, Bounty Hunter Seat Freeroll.
2. Special events
Occasionally Sky Poker may run tournaments for special events either in the world of poker, or in the world of sport or indeed, for any event that the site deems worthy.
These events are always well-advertised and heavily promoted on site, on Sky TV and also via social media.
Examples of Special Events: Cheltenham Festival Freerolls.
1. Satellites
Rather than pay a larger buy in to enter the final stage of a big money tournament, players can attempt to earn a place at the table by ‘satelliting’ their way in.
This involves playing in a number of events, and finishing in the prime positions in each to earn a seat to the next level.
Players can buy into a satellite at a relatively low level but have to successfully pass through more events in order to reach the final stage of a tournament. Alternatively, you can pay a higher buy in fee and play through fewer satellite events, the choice is yours!
Examples of Satellites: £30k Roll Direct, £30k Roller Semi, £30k Roller Satellite, £2,000 BH Direct.
Sky Poker are also not shy in trying new innovations, including Multi Stack games, where players can buy in for varying amounts, with the more you pay equating to more chips when you initially sit at the table.
So why not explore the Sky Poker Tournament tables in a little more detail? There’s sure to be plenty of action to keep you entertained.
Want to learn more about taking Sky Poker on the go? Read our guide to the new Sky Poker beta mobile app.
