Texas Holdem Tournaments – Where To Play
If you are a poker player online, off, or both, one of the most exciting events you can participate in is Texas Hold ‘em tournaments. This type of tournament allows you to test your poker skills in competition with other players, so you can match wits and strategy while you engage in some serious play with other holdem players for prizes.
Texas hold ‘em tournaments online are big draws, and some of poker sites will offer a tournament every month or so. Most of these tournaments are accessed through a buy in, but because the numbers playing in this kind of meet is so large the buy in is not usually too high, and the prizes are quite good. Prizes themselves will range from huge pots for the winner of the meet to a range of prizes that decrease until there is no more prize money left. Many different Texas hold ‘em tournaments offer great non-cash prizes as well, you can win everything for cars to seats in big poker tournaments including the World Series of Poker.
Offline, Texas hold em tournaments are increasingly being recognized for their draw as a charity fund raiser. The appeal of these tournaments means that players from far and wide come to compete, usually amateurs and usually all more than willing to pony up the buy in for a chance to meet other players and engage them head to head in a series of showdowns to the big prize.
Of course, not all holdem tournaments are embraced by everyone. Offline, for example, most charitable organizations must ensure that they have a permit allowing them to operate a Texas hold ‘em match. The rise of poker popularity seems to have triggered an alarm bell as far as governments all over North America are concerned, with both players and tournament organizers finding themselves in trouble with the law should the police decide to make an issue over a specific tournament. Poker players may find that they are in double jeopardy as not only do they face potential charges, but the likelihood of their buy ins being returned is very small.
Online, government forces are also in motion to quash the fun that a holdem tournament has to offer, especially in the United States. The passing of the Safe Port Act in 2006 carried with it an attached bill that made online gambling illegal in the United States. Unfortunately the status of poker is still up in the air, but most sites will not allow American players to play for real money in the fear of being shut down. In addition, American poker players may find themselves in trouble if they do take part.
Playing in a Texas holdem poker tournament is a great way to meet other poker players and engage them in a competition that will allow you to match skills and hone your own. If you are playing holdem tournaments for money, though, keep in mind that these sites are not always embraced by the US government, although this will depend on where exactly you live.
