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Poker Satellite Tournament: Tips

Vying for the WSOP but you can't afford the buy-in fee? Get a seat there at a smaller, more affordable sum by winning a poker satellite tournament and you might become the next Chris Moneymaker who got a seat at the 2003 WSOP via a $40 poker satellite tournament and went on to win the $2.5 million prize money.

A poker satellite tournament is a mini-tournament that serves as an entry to a larger or major tournament such as the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tournament. Such major tournaments require large buy-in and entry fee. At the World Series of Poker, for instance, a seat costs $10, 000, while a poker satellite tournament can cost anywhere from $0 to just a little more than a thousand dollars.

What happens in a poker satellite tournament is that all buy-in fees are pooled together, and the amount is used to buy seats at the major tournament. In some cases, when the total buy-in is not enough to buy a seat at the tournament, the hosting card room puts up their own money into the pool prize. Some internet cardrooms also offer hotel accommodation and trip allowance.

Now, if you're joining a poker satellite tournament, you have to be ready for the length of time it would take to finish a tournament. A tournament takes 4-6 hours or longer. Re-buy tournaments may even take more hours to complete.

Joining a poker satellite tournament does not always guarantee a win. Is it worth joining a satellite tournament?

Absolutely, yes! In a satellite tournament, the price is small but the prize is big. So why not join one? The more important question is, how do you increase your probability of winning in a tournament?

You need be ready for are the different types of poker players you will be playing against in the tournament. You need to observe your opponents and build your strategy around that. Is an opponent passive or aggressive? Do they tend to bluff more often than not?

Another thing you need to remember is to be a bit aggressive when playing. It takes a bit of aggression to win all those stacks and win the prize.

Poker satellite tournament is the cheaper way to enter big tournaments where buy-in fee can reach thousands of dollars. Because the buy-in is small, a lot of people also join these tournaments. Remember, you need to play aggressively and strategically to accumulate a stack large enough to guarantee a win. Also, identify the sort of opponents you have on the table and spare enough time to play.