Best Poker Satellites Tournament Strategy

Poker is a popular card game that requires gambling, strategies and skills to emerge as a champion and take home some handsome cash rewards. There are different variants of poker games that basically involves some basic elements including betting and a combination of a player’s card that determines the winner. All the poker games are closely related, the only difference comes with a number of cards dealt with, shared or community cards, hidden cards and the betting tricks. There are different poker tournament introduced by many poker platforms.

A satellite poker tournament is one such tournament that is considered as a qualifying event. It is basically a larger buy-in event, in layman terms, it is the smallest buy-in event where the winner gets free entry tickets to bigger events. Basically, satellite poker tournaments are the gateway towards extravagant poker tournaments. For instance, if a poker event has a buy-in of INR 1000 and the player is not able to meet the buy-in requirement, satellite tournament gives him/her a chance to redeem into the game with a lesser buy-in (INR 100). Winning the satellite tournament will get the player free tickets to play the bigger events.   

Satellite tournaments: Quite Different From The Lot

A majority of people think satellite poker tournaments similar to the other poker tournaments. Many people don’t pay attention to the nuances of satellite tournaments that often end in planning impotent strategies to win.

Everyone Who Conquer Satellite is A Winner!

In a general poker event with a buy-in of INR 100 and if the tournament receives 100 entries the prize pool will be INR 10,000. In a normal poker tournament, the first position winner would make approx 4-5K, and second place winner would take away 2K. Whereas, in a satellite poker tournament, the maximum a player can win is the free entry to the bigger event making the winner win the direct entry ticket and the winners of 2nd to 10th place winners will win the exact same prize.

Type And Size of Tournament

Generally, the size of the tournament is bigger and the larger the tournament the shorter bubble will be. If the satellite poker tournament is giving away 100 seats, there are a lot more chances of more hands and people to bust in the game. 

Prize Size

It is important to follow the guidelines to predict the bubble size. For instance, if the player is playing INR 100 tournament for 1000 seats vs. Rs. 500 tournament for 25,000 seats, it is quite predictable what will be the bubble length.

Strategy For Success

Satellite tournaments are often considered an underrated poker tournament, but it requires the same zest and zeal required for any other big poker event. Though the general poker strategy may work for satellite tournaments, it is advised to change the playing style a bit in order to reap better benefits. If the satellite poker tournament structure is similar to turbo tournament, the player would need to be agile and hustle to stay ahead of the chip average. A majority of online satellite tournaments involves smaller starting stacks and shorter levels, that eventually reduces the skill advantage. Below are some of the quick strategies to play satellite tournaments and emerge victoriously.

1.   Always be prepared before sitting to play.
2.   Buying-in late for the starting stacks and quicker levels can cost you great loss
3.   Remember the end goal is not to win the tournament but to grab the ticket. Always keep your eyes on the prize.
4.   If you have got the larger stacks and nearing the bubble, then act agile and let the smaller stacks knock amongst each other.
5.   Pay attention to every small detail. Keep a track of the position and avoid multiple pots. Be a smart investor. Don’t waste your bankroll playing satellite.
6.  Don’t spend more than 5% of your bankroll in a satellite tournament (better keep it 2-3%) 
    

Satellite poker tournaments are definitely blessing in disguise for those who want to play big. Follow the above-mentioned strategies to play satellites smartly and keep your eye always on the prize!