Online poker tournaments have been around for a little over 10 years now. Each weekend, beginners and pros alike enter tables hoping to add a chunk of money to their bankroll.
And sometimes, they manage it. With the right ability, some bold strategies and a bit of luck, you, too, can attain a life-changing score.
But are they a better alternative to poker cash games? I think they are. In this article, I’m going to look at the top 4 reasons why you should enter poker tournaments online, and I’m also going to give you a rundown of the best poker sites to join.
For a Small Investment, The Returns Can Be Huge
Sports betting often means putting huge stakes on and getting small returns back. The idea is that the more often you do it, and the more often you win, sports betting pays in the long term.
Poker tournaments are the opposite. If you’re a recreational player looking to get your kicks at the weekend, you can spend a handful of cash buying into a tournament on the hope that you’ll take home a PILE of winnings.
Each week, there are tournaments that give you the chance to land yourself a seat at the final table and you don’t need to spend a fortune to get there.
Opportunity To Qualify For Big-Draw Live Events
There are some serious showcase live events on the poker tournament scene, and normally these would be outside the recreational players bankroll.
However, thanks to the sheer amount of televised poker these days, many poker sites now offer massive outlays to boost attendance at some of their biggest live events. This means that any regular Joe could find themselves at the front table at an event that was previously out of their reach.
Even better, the live event packages themselves usually cover the travel and digs costs.
Not bad, huh?
Convenience
Whether your betting on sports, chucking the dice on a roulette table or playing poker, convenience has made online gambling so much easier. You can enter a poker tournament from the comfort of your own home, wear whatever you want and take your bathroom breaks whenever you goddamn want.
All you need is either a laptop of a mobile device, and you’re then free to compete for some enormous prizes.
Indeed, convenience is one of the top reasons poker online is so successful. Moreover, most poker sites now accept a variety of deposits, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Solid Rake Rates
Another huge attraction are the consistently solid rake rates. They’ve barely changed over the last ten or so years, which means players from any background and of any skillset find it easy to familiarise themselves with tournament fee percentages. As such, it’s then easy to work out how much they’ll be getting back from the prize pool.
For example, players are typically charged a 10% fee for MTTs on most poker websites to enter a low stake event. They’ll then take home a smaller percentage once the buy-ins go up.
Poker cash games, on the other hand, are known for their eye-popping price hikes which have contributed to their increasingly unpopular formats.
Best Poker Sites For Tournaments
Let’s take a look at the top 3 best poker sites that are great for both beginners and pros looking to make some cash at the weekend.