Guaranteed Poker Tournaments

As internet poker becomes increasingly popular more and more players are looking to “win big” when they play online. Without taking a big risk, and using your entire bankroll to play at the highest possible limits  how else can you win big? The answer is Big Guaranteed Tournaments! As online poker attracts more and more players, poker tournaments are becoming bigger and bigger. It is now the “norm” for a site to regularly run a poker tournament with a 6 figure prizepool! These tournaments often attract hundreds or even thousands of players, and with that number of players you’re sure to find weak players.

What Is A Guaranteed Tournament?

A guaranteed Tournament, is one in which the poker site running the tournament “guarantees” a certain size prizepool, prior to the tournament starting. For example, Cake Poker’s $100,000 tournament would mean regardless of the amount of entrants $100,000 would be paid out to the players. Obviously if there is more money in the prizepool, then that amount would be paid. If the money doesn’t match the guaranteed amount, the additional money placed in to the prizepool by the room is called an “overlay”.

Regular Guaranteed Tournaments

PokerStars runs the largest online poker guaranteed tournaments. The “Sunday Million” which has a guaranteed prize pool of $1,500,000! This massive event is run on a weekly basis, and players can buyin for $215. Other notable Guaranteed Tournaments include the daily $50,000 which has a $50 buyin as well as smaller tournaments such as the $15,000 Guaranteed which costs just $5 to enter. Titan Poker also hosts some great regular Guaranteed Prizepool action. The $150,000 Guaranteed Rebuy tournament costs $75 $7.50 to enter and is run every Friday. If your looking to play in smaller tournaments Titan Poker is a great option. My favourite smaller daily run tournament is the $3,000 Guaranteed Rebuy which takes place daily and is only $6.60 to enter!

Examples Of Guaranteed Tournaments “Overlays”

Cake Poker runs a $100,000 Guaranteed Tournament, with a direct buy-in of $100 + $12 (The + $12 is irrelevant as this is the fee.) If 700 people decide to enter this tournament, they’ll be adding $30,000 of there OWN cash to the tournament.

(700 players x the $100 buyin = $70,000) Then ($100,000 Guaranteed minus the $70,000 in prizes = $30,000 they must add)

Now with some sites, you’ll often find small overlays in tournaments, this is a huge bonus for players, as there are less players competing for more money! Which means you’ll get much more value for your entry fee. In short, players who are looking for value from a poker site should definitely look for tournaments running with overlays.

Current Regular Overlays

Bodog Poker runs a $15,000 Guaranteed Tournament this often runs with a overlay of around $3,000. The tournament costs $48 to enter, $44 of which is placed in to the prizepool and $4 is the fee. Cake Poker runs a $15,000 Guaranteed Event which often has a overlay. The tournament is a $20+2 Rebuy Event. The overlay is typically around $1,000 in size.