SNG Poker Strategy – How to Play Against a Pool of > 100,000 Players?

In March of this year, the WPT and the British TV show “Celebrity Poker” guest-starred a large number of players participating in a massive $1,500,000 no limit Texas hold em tournament. The tournament was held in Los Angeles, California and drew an all star line up of famous celebrities and professional poker players. The event doubled the buy in to $2,500,000.

Many saw this event as a publicity stunt and nothing that would discourage poker from being enjoyed by the masses. However, many respected poker players were quick to take a standpoint on this type of event. Players were quick to realize that this type of tournament is designed to draw in large numbers of players and is not easily defeated.

Initially, the WPT introduced no limit games to its television stations and casinos. Quickly, the no limit tournament became a highly televised event. There were many memorable tournaments such as the one where chant ‘heads’ of Albert Cash, Jr. as he lay prone on the floor after being shocked by his opponents.

Later on, the WPT introduced the 10 reel slot machine in the satellite tournaments. This proved to be a big hit as players began to favor these types of machines as opposed to the more popular machines. This is because the satellite tournaments allowed players to purchase the credits and symbols used on the slot machines, and many players began to play the slot machines rather than the poker.

Many casinos took advantage of the popularity in slot machines and started to offer poker tables on their property. Some even offered intensive training sessions for poker players. Listed below are some of the most notable casinos that offer poker tables in their lounges:

Lines at the Bellagio are listed at $25 per hour.

Lines at the Mirage are listed at $30 per hour.

Lines at the Venetian are listed at $45 per hour.

Lines at the Wynn are listed at $75 per hour.

The list above gives you some idea of the rates at which poker tables are available. Most casinos offer a variety of poker games and tables on a regular basis.

Satellite Poker Tournaments

These are small tournaments offered by various online poker rooms. Typically, the buy in will be a small fraction of that in the regular tournaments. This is because a satellite poker tournament is used to bring in players to the larger tournaments.

Rakeback

This is a rebate of a percentage of the rake the poker room takes from each pot. Most rooms take a small amount of the rake, as low as 5 cents or the equivalent, in other words, a five cents rake on every pot over $600.

These rebates vary from room to room and from tournament to tournament. However, you can use this rebate even you already have an account at the poker room.