Playing Tournament Poker
Tournament poker is an inevitability for anyone who gets involved with the game. Even if you just started out with the idea that you wanted to learn the ropes of the game, which hands beat what and what your odds of winning are, sooner or later you will be tempted by the chance to play in a tournament.
There really is no better way to test the skills that you have learned in poker than by entering a tournament. It’s a time when a lot of players are meeting together; some of them are professionals as seen on venues like the EPT (European Poker Tour) and some amateurs, but all believe that they have the chance to go far and possibly even take the big pot offered at the end. There are examples of players who got their start in free online tournaments and went on to become to become major names in the poker industry (Chris Moneymaker and Joe Hachem are but two). In fact, free online poker tournaments often offer winners a chance at really establishing themselves in the offline world of poker, and if you’re good enough to win these tournaments which usually involve hundreds or thousands of other players in a national match up, the odds are pretty good that you’ve got what it takes to take the pros on at land based events.
Although you can find a tourney for every type of poker from seven card stud to pineapple, the most popular tournaments all over the world are texas holdem tournaments. Texas hold ‘em is always the tournament poker version as it makes for some of the most exciting live poker tournmanents; even big competitions such as the world poker championships feature holdem at the main event, the big draw at the end of the tourney. This is most likely because hold ‘em is relatively easy to learn but still requires a great deal of skill to master, which makes it appealing to players of all skill levels.
Entering online poker tournaments is not only a good way to get a chance to show off your skills, but a great way to hone those skills as well. Online tournaments attract players from all over the world and of all skill levels who think they have a shot at the championship. You’ll have the opportunity to learn to read aggressive players as well as passive players, and you’ll have to learn to beat all types if you hope to advance to the final tables, so always keep your eye open for upcoming poker tournaments that you can join.
Online or offline, every poker player eventually becomes interested in playing in a poker tournament. Whatever you reasons, have no doubt that surviving a poker tournament takes a lot of skill. This is evident in all of the major land based tournaments, where the great players are always present at the final table. They challenge the field and come out on top every time. If you have the ability to win at tournament poker, the odds are better than good that you are player with skill well above average.
