Best Online Poker Tournaments

You might be familiar with the fact that poker games are one of the most played casino card games in the world. The poker game variants can be found at any top land-based and online casinos, as well as at popular poker sites.

The massive popularity of poker games has raised the need for land-based and online poker tournaments. There are many online poker sites that are organizing their own poker tournaments and every single one of them is unique in its own way.

We at BestPoker.com have decided to put together the best poker tournaments that you can play online so you can more easily find the one that best suits your preferences.

New Zealand Poker Tournaments

Poker’s penetration rate in New Zealand is massive. In fact, its popularity is so great, that there are numerous tournament poker events in all major cities. Of course, to participate in them, Kiwi players must be older than 18.

Many of these are Texas Hold’em tournaments. Some of them take place weekly, some of them are daily and some of them are annual events.

Anzac Day Poker Tournament, Wapiti Poker Night, Clubs New Zealand North Island Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament and the SkyCity Poker Tournament are among the most popular tournaments. Of course, WSOP events are also up for grabs and Kiwi players are welcome to participate in them. However, keep in mind that these do not take place in New Zealand.

If you want to play online poker tournaments, then the choices vary, depending on the platform.

You will come across various online poker tournament sites. The qualifying game is different and so are the prize pools. Keep in mind that if you wish to participate in them, you will have to register an account. Some events might require you to first win satellite poker tournaments.

Poker Tournaments for Real Money

Almost all top poker tournaments organized by online poker sites include real money wagers. They are usually offering guaranteed prize pools to all the players that manage to win the poker tournament or be among the last few players that reach a certain stage.

Texas Hold’em poker variant is often represented with the most rooms at any poker tournament as it is the most played poker variant. Apart from Texas Hold’em, players will also find several Omaha poker tables.

A poker tournament that offers some big prizes for the winners requires the players to have some pretty good buy-ins. However, the buy-in levels tend to vary from one poker site to another.

The reason behind it is the fact that all of the money collected from the buy-ins will be put into the prize pools, minus the fee for the tournament organizer.

Freerolls

Freerolls are types of online poker rooms where poker players are competing for guaranteed prize pools, but without paying any entry fee. This means that there are no buy-in levels at these tournaments and the best players can still win some real money.

However, it is worth noting that the prizes from the freerolls are usually not very big. Inexperienced poker players often use the freerolls to learn how to play poker.

Some poker sites are offering their newly registered players a chance to compete in the featured freerolls, as a way to boost up their bankroll. These tournaments often feature in the promotions section of the free poker sites that offer them.

Because of the fact that the prizes are somewhat low at the freerolls, you won’t find the best players competing in this tournament, which gives you a good chance for a win.

Live Poker Tournaments

The most popular tournaments for poker in the world are live poker tournaments. These tournaments are the best face-to-face poker tourneys for competing against other players.

Most of them come with buy-in levels where at the end the prizes are split among several players. The biggest online poker tournament attracts thousands of players from all around the world, which means that is pretty hard to win the tournament.

Some of the top live tournaments are being broadcasted in real-time and everyone can follow the poker action from their desktop or mobile devices. It is worth noting that the prizes at these big tournaments can go up to several million.

All the biggest players in the world can be found competing in the Texas Hold’em and Omaha games. If you want to enjoy poker games at a live tournament make sure to sharpen your skills and gain more experience.

Multi Table Tournaments

Multi-table tournaments are standard tournaments where at the beginning you need to give an entry fee to get a stack of chips. You will be out of the tournament if you spend all of your chips unless rebuys are allowed in which case you can buy additional chips.

All of the best poker sites that are licensed and regulated make sure to add these tournaments into their offer as it attracts many players. The set price for these tournaments is usually pretty big and it includes tables for cash games such as Omaha and Texas Holdem.

These poker tourneys take place on multiple tables with a specified number of players who are competing for a seat at the final table of the tournament.

At the beginning of a multi-table tournament, the pots and blinds will be small, which may cause many inexperienced players to start off aggressively and lose the game. It might be hard to win such a tournament, but when you do it will definitely be a big score.

Bounty Tournaments

The bounty tournaments are one of the most exciting tournaments offered by poker sites. These tournaments also come with huge payouts, which is why many players try to find poker tournaments such as these.

They are a form of multi-table poker tournament where a player would win a prize for knocking another player out of the game. It certainly adds to the overall entertainment.

Sometimes during a game in a tournament, there will be bounties placed on certain players such as pro players or even celebrities. You might even enter a tournament where you get a bounty every time you make a player goes bust.

The bounty reward from these types of tournaments is always a cash prize. Having a bounty while you play poker for real money can seriously affect the game.

Turbo Tournaments

If you want to play a fast-paced poker game tournament then you should search for turbo tournaments. These tournaments are very similar to the multi-table and Sit & Go tournaments, with the difference being the fast play which requires making quick decisions.

While you play in this tournament the blind levels will increase at a quick pace, forcing you and the other players to finish the game as quickly as possible. On average, the blinds will increase every 10 minutes, but that depends on the poker sites’ software and rules.

Licensed poker sites usually require you to download poker software in order to participate in such a tournament.

In turbo tournaments, the number of rounds depends on the size of the field. However, if you keep on winning each of the tables with bigger blinds, then you will reach the end and win the tournament.

Satellite Tournaments

The satellite tournaments are also super fun poker tournaments where the participants play to win tickets or buy-ins for another tournament with a bigger prize pool.

Kiwis will usually need to pay a low-cost entry fee in order to compete in the satellite tournaments. However, you may also find freerolls satellite tournaments, meaning that you won’t pay an entry fee and still get the chance to play for entering a bigger tournament.

These tournaments are great for low rollers as they get a chance to play against high rollers and gain much-needed experience if they manage to win the satellite tournament.

You can choose to play Omaha, Texas Hold’em, or some other poker game at the satellite tournaments, depending on the sites’ availability.

Best Texas Holdem Tournaments Online

Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variant that can be found at any poker tournament in New Zealand, regardless of its taking place at a physical location or online. These tournaments are responsible for giving out the biggest pool prizes.

But, there are some poker sites that are offering much smaller prizes to the winners of these tournaments, so make sure to check that information before entering.

In most Texas Hold’em tournaments, apart from the freerolls, NZ players need to pay an entry fee in order to participate in the tournaments. These tournaments can be played on a single table, also known as Sit & Go, or in a multi-table format.

In order to save you the time and trouble looking for a decent Texas Hold’em tournament, we’ve put together a list of the best Texas Hold’em poker tournaments:

1. World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) by PokerStars
2. Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) by PokerStars
3. Venom Tournaments by Americas Cardroom
4. Online Bracelet Tournaments by World Series of Poker (WSOP)
5. WPT World Online Championships by World Poker Tour (WPT)
6. Powerfest by partypoker

Tournament Strategy

You can find numerous poker strategies online, but not all of them are applicable to the Omaha or Texas Hold’em poker tourneys. For that reason, we will reveal to you the best strategies that you can use to gain an advantage and possibly win the biggest prize.

Basic Strategy

When you are a big stack, you should play more aggressively as the additional blinds won’t increase the value of your stack. With a middle stack, you should aim to pick on the smaller stacks and stay away from the larger stacks. And at a short stack, you must look for good spots where you can go all in.

Intermediate Strategy

In a poker game, the short stacks are considered to be 11 big blinds or less. By memorizing shoving ranges from different positions you will be playing more effectively. The best way of doing this is by using the push-fold charts to tell you which hand to shove from a certain position.

Quick Play Strategy

This strategy involves a quicker and more aggressive style of play, but it also requires a lot of experience so you know what to do in every situation. You should know that there is a limit on how many hands you can play before reaching the flop. The best approach is to play at a tight range with playable and strong hands.

Online Poker Tournaments Tips

Apart from the useful strategies, you can also learn how to sharpen up your skills from tips provided by experienced players. Here are some of the most useful tournament tips that we at BestPoker think you need to read:

• Start slow: the early stages of the tournament are all about survival
• Prepare a cheat sheet: when playing at an online tournament you can make use of a cheat sheet for poker
• Be patient: follow the speed at which the size of the blinds is increasing so you know how aggressively to play
• Make a consideration about your hand: don’t risk playing big with a small hand unless you are good at bluffing
• Protect your stack of chips: if you enter the middle stage with a pretty big stack make sure to protect it and not act as a bully
• Play responsibly: the most important top that we can give you is to always play responsibly. Once you register at an online poker site, set up time and budget limits.

If NZ players notice that they are developing a gambling addiction, they can always enter the self-exclusion programs. Additionally, if you are experiencing gambling harm, you can get in touch with RG organizations.

There are numerous independent agencies that will provide you with a free consultation. They will help you overcome the obstacle in your path. Some of the organizations that you can reach out to are Tui Ora, Problem Gambling Foundation NZ, Safer Gambling Aotearoa, Asian Family Services, Gambling Helpline New Zealand and The Salvation Army Oasis.

References:

Problem Gambling Support » Tui Ora

Poker NZ – Event Guide to New Zealand Poker – Eventfinda

The Top Poker Tournaments In New Zealand – Poker News

Texas Hold’em | Clubs New Zealand

Frequently asked questions