Poker Tournament Formats

No more than six players at each table, instead of the usual eight to ten.

How it usually runs

1. Tables are balanced to six seats as players bust.
2. The blinds come round more often, so you pay them more often.
3. You play more hands and face more decisions every orbit.

• More hands
• Looser play

Every decision is on a timer, usually around 30 seconds.

How it usually runs

1. The clock starts when the action reaches you.
2. Let it run out and your hand is dead, however strong it is.
3. Each player gets a few time bank cards, each worth extra seconds. Some events hand out more at the breaks.

• Timed decisions
• More hands per level

Shorter levels, so the blinds rise faster and the event finishes sooner.

How it usually runs

1. A hyper turbo is shorter again, often with a smaller starting stack.
2. Stacks get short quickly, so there is more all-in poker.
3. Satellites are often run this way.

• Fast blinds
• Finishes sooner

A bigger starting stack compared with the blinds.

How it usually runs

1. There is room to play after the flop before the blinds start to bite.
2. Levels are often longer too, so the event runs longer.
3. Big ones are split into Day 1 flights.

• Big stack
• Longer event

One entry per player. Lose your chips and you are out.

How it usually runs

1. Everyone buys in once and gets the same stack.
2. There is no buying back in after you bust.
3. Late registration may still be open, but only for players who have not entered.

• One entry

A deepstack freezeout, and one of the most common event names on Australian schedules.

How it usually runs

1. One entry, a large starting stack and long levels.
2. Usually run over two or three days.
3. Some keep registration open until Day 2 starts.

• One entry
• Big stack
• Multi-day

Bust during registration and you can buy in again.

How it usually runs

1. You pay the full price again for a fresh stack and a new seat.
2. Some events cap entries (for example, up to three); others are unlimited.
3. Once registration closes, a bust is final.

• Capped or unlimited

A big event runs several Day 1 sessions that feed one Day 2.

How it usually runs

1. Pick the Day 1 that suits you.
2. Survivors from every flight meet on Day 2 with the chips they bagged.
3. In many events you can play another flight if you bust in an earlier one.

• Multi-day
• One prize pool

Every player carries the same fixed bounty all the way through.

How it usually runs

1. The buy-in shows the split, for example $150 entry + $150 bounty + $60 fee.
2. Every knockout pays the full bounty, for example $150 per KO.
3. It is paid on the spot or added up when you finish, depending on the room.

• Fixed bounty
• Paid per KO

Bounties grow as the event goes on.

How it usually runs

1. Knock a player out and you take part of their bounty in cash, often half.
2. The rest is added to the bounty on your own head.
3. The big stacks end up carrying the big rewards.

• Growing bounty

The bounties are hidden until you win one.

How it usually runs

1. The first phase plays like a normal tournament, with no bounties.
2. The bounty phase starts later, usually on Day 2 or once the field is in the money.
3. Each knockout earns a draw from the bounty envelopes, worth anything from less than the buy-in to many times it.

• Hidden prizes
• Bounties late

Teammates share one stack, and only one plays at a time.

How it usually runs

1. Tag in and out between hands, never during one.
2. Many events make every teammate play at least one round of blinds.
3. The team wins together and splits the prize.

• One stack
• Shared seat

One buy-in for the team, and each player starts with their own stack.

How it usually runs

1. Teammates play as individuals at the start.
2. Later the stacks come together: after a set level in some events, on Day 2 in others.
3. Prize money is split evenly between teammates.

• Per-team buy-in
• Stacks combine

Four hole cards instead of two, with the same board as Hold’em.

How it usually runs

1. You must use exactly two hole cards and exactly three from the board.
2. You can never bet or raise more than the size of the pot.
3. Hands run closer and pots grow bigger than in Hold’em.

• 4 cards
• Pot limit

The pot is split between the best high hand and the best low hand.

How it usually runs

1. A low must be five different cards, all eight or lower.
2. If no one has a low, the high hand takes the whole pot.
3. You still use exactly two hole cards for each half.

• Split pot

Omaha with five hole cards.

How it usually runs

1. You still use exactly two of your hole cards.
2. Big O is usually played Hi-Lo; PLO5 is high only.
3. With more cards, the winning hands are stronger.

• 5 cards
• Pot limit

A cheaper tournament where the prize is a seat in a bigger event.

How it usually runs

1. Schedules list the seats it guarantees, for example 10 seats GTD.
2. Every seat is usually worth the same, so first and the last seat pay the same.
3. Levels are shorter and stacks smaller than the event it feeds.

• Prize is a seat