How Tournaments Work
Tournaments are different than cash games in many ways. They are so different, in fact, that many good cash game players are bad tournament players, and vice versa. Below is an overview of how tournaments work, as well as the types of tournaments currently offered at Ujogo.
Tournament Types
Standard Tournaments: Standard tournaments simply mean that a user can sign up and play for free. No "buy-in" or pre-qualification required. Simple as that.
Deep Stack Tournaments: Deep Stack Tournaments are much like Standard Tournaments, but in this game, players start with larger chip stacks. This means that the game allows for greater skill and strategy as more risks can be taken.
Satellite Tournaments: Satellite Tournaments require a player to qualify to earn a seat in another tournament. This might be achieved via Ring Game, Sit N Go, or play in other lower level Multi-Player Tournaments.
Basics of Tournament Play
At Ujogo, we offer many types of tournaments, all of which follow the same basic structure for the elimination of players, ultimately leading to a single winner. Each tournament begins with the same number of chips. The player who ends up with all of the chips wins the tournament. In most cases, players finishing near the top may also win prizes of lesser value than the first place prize. This will vary from tournament to tournament. Be sure to look at the prize payout details during registration or in the tournament game lobby.
Starting Chips
When the tournament begins, each player will receive a pre-defined number of chips. The only function of tournament chips is to decide the winners of the tournament. In other words, tournaments chips have no intrinsic value and cannot be "cashed out".
Blind and Ante Structure
As play begins, the blinds, or minimum starting bets, will be relatively small, particularly as a percentage of one's total starting chip stack. The amount of the blinds then increase on a consistent schedule as the game progresses. The increased level of blinds will force more action, resulting in the elimination of more and more players. At some point, an additional ante will be added to the blind structure. This will mean that in addition to the small and big blinds, each player will be required to add an addition number of chips to the pot.
Read more about our Tournament Blinds Structure here.
Prize and Payout Structure
When a tournament begins, a prize structure is set that declares the number of players who are awarded part of the prize pool, as well as the pool percentage each player is awarded. For example, it may be decided that the final nine players will be paid. The final nine players will each be paid a portion of the prize pool based on the place in which they finish, with the highest finishers receiving the largest portions. In many cases, the first place finisher will get the advertised prize, while those finishing second and below will win prizes of lesser value.
Read more about our Tournament Pay-outs here.
