poker game structure
Poker Game Structure: Tournaments or Ring Games
What Game Structure Should You Play?
Most sites offer Hold'em, Omaha, Stud and Razz. I suggest you decide which one you would like to play and focus on that game only. Starting with one game allows you to get a good grasp of it, before moving on to other types. Don't stretch yourself with more than one game type at first. It will hurt your game and bank roll in the long run. Texas Hold'em is a game that is very popular on tv, online and in the casinos. It's an easy game to learn. I would suggest hold'em as a starting game for most players. Because of it's popularity and ease you can find a game anywhere.
There are 3 types of game structures that you can choose from.
Limit – each bet is fixed and can only be raised by the same amount. An easy game to start with. Losses won't be as large
Pot limit – you can bet more than in limit, but no more than the pot in play. More skill is require than in limit poker.
No-limit – the cadillac of poker. Bets can be any amount. All-in is every chip in front of you pushed into the pot. A more complex game, the type of poker found in the World Series main event in Vegas. Bigger swings of your bankroll are likely.
Limit is a good starting place. Once you grasp the game move on and try no-limit. Most tournaments are nolimit.
Which brings me to the last choice you need to make. Tournaments or cash games (ring games)? In a cash game you are playing with your own money on the table. A no-limit cash game is a game that could become very costly if you don't know what you are doing. A no-limit, 25-50 cent game with a max buy-in of $25 is a good starter. There is some logic to always sitting down with the maximum allowed, although it may not always be necessary. You can easily intimidate and threaten a player all-in. If you sit down with less then the max, you are limiting your threat and your ability to win more money. My advice would be to read a few books on no-limit play, as it is a very complex game. See appendix D at the back for books I recommend. Starting with low “limit” cash games and tournaments allows you to move up in limits anytime you want. It won't be as hard on your bankroll to start and will give you some time to get some experience and get accustomed to the game.
Tournaments are the most popular choice online. There is something about the competition in a tournament that makes it so enjoyable. They are fun to play, competitive and have great payout potential. Of all the Table of Contents ------ Full Tilt Poker - Poker Stars - Poker.com - Ultimatebet - CarbonPoker tournaments I have played, I think the single table sit-n-go is the best investment. You get a variety of experience from them, as well as good odds to make some cash. To win a single table sit-n-go you will need to exercise different poker muscles. It has all the feel of a large tournament with early, mid, late, bubble, short handed, final table and heads up play. You can easily gain valuable experience at all of these facets of a tournament that would take you a very long time to gain in live poker.
The following are 3 of the most common types of online tournaments:
Freerolls – tournament where the site adds some money to a prize pool, although it costs you nothing to enter. This is great tournament experience for those that have never played, and you have the potential to win some cash. Some sites run $1 and $2 tournaments. The prize pool is larger and you don't have all of the play money players in them. Usually as soon as there is a $ value to the buy-in, you weed out a lot of reckless players.
Sit-N-Goes - both single and multi-table
Single tables - take about an hour and are really good for gaining short handed and heads up experience. Usually the top 3 players are paid out. (a $5 table would pay out $50 to 1st, $15 to 2nd, $10 to 3rd )
Multi-table – generally 2 or more tables, with larger pay outs to more players. After trying the single tables, try a 3 or 4 table tourney. Eventually you can work your way up to a large multi – 1000 player or more tournaments. They pay out large amounts and require discipline and focus.
Satellites – these are tournaments that allow you to earn an entry into a larger tournament. For example, the World Series of Poker satellites will earn you a $10,000 or more buy-in amount for the main event in Las Vegas. You can find very low limit WSOP buy-in satellites at
Poker StarsandFull Tilt Poker.
Some people believe that “play money” poker is a waste of time. I have a different theory. I suggest that the very first time on a site (and for the first while) start with “play money”. Once you have a grasp of the site and features you can always change to real money. But don't take the quality of players in “play money” as a signal of how the game is played. Most “play money” players will bet and call to the river quite often. Try one of the 45 players “play money” sit-n-go tournaments at
Poker Starsor the 90 player tournaments atFull Tilt PokerPoker.
After the all-in players are gone (usually in the first hand or two) the remaining players should be good competition for you. You will gain some very good experience that you can soon bring to the real money games. Just keep in mind the game will change when you switch to “real money”. You will be respected more for your actions. Players will be more serious than with “play money”. It is important to realize that if you intend to be a good poker player you will need to make that switch. The game of poker is a real money game.
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