Tournaments

Everyone wants to play tournaments, particularly with the explosion of tournament poker in all formats: in brick-and-mortar card rooms, on television, and online.

To address this need, the Team Full Tilt pros have put their heads together and designed the best online tournament environment you'll find anywhere. Our tournaments feature a wide variety of games, structures, and buy-ins designed to suit all types of players with all sorts of bankrolls. Whether you're looking to play a one-table Sit & Go (SNG) or a large multi-table tournament (MTT), you don't have to travel any further than the Full Tilt Poker Game Lobby to find the event you're looking for.

Begin by clicking one of three tournament tabs at the top of the screen: Tournaments, Sit & Go, or Special. Each tab contains a subset of the tournaments offered at Full Tilt Poker. The following steps will guide you through the process of browsing, selecting, and entering the tournament of your choice.

1. Select the TOURNAMENTS, SIT & GO, or SPECIAL tabs to see the various types of tournaments available at Full Tilt Poker.

   

   The TOURNAMENTS tab contains all currently scheduled tournaments. The SIT & GO tab contains a list of games that will begin as soon as a specified number of players sign up.
   The SPECIAL tab contains all our guarantee and promotional tournaments.

2. Filter the available tournaments by clicking the sub-tabs in each category. Tournaments:
   • Click All to see all tournaments.
   • Click Cash to see all cash tournaments.
   • Click Satellites to see only satellite tournaments.
   • Click Private to see only private tournaments. These are tournaments set up by users who have emailed support requesting a private tournament.
   • Click Custom to display a customized sub-set of tournaments. You can change which types of tournaments are displayed by clicking the Edit mini-tab on the right.

   In addition to these tabs, other tabs may appear which display tournaments related to specific events, such as the WSOP or Aussie Millions.

   Sit & Gos:
   • Click All to see all Sit & Gos.
   • Click 1-Table to see only one-table Sit & Gos (except Heads-Up - they have their own tab.).
   • Click Multi to see multi-table Sit & Gos.
   • Click Heads-Up to see just heads-up Sit & Gos.
   • Click Satellites to see only satellite Sit & Gos.
   • Click Custom to display a customized sub-set of Sit & Go tournaments. You can change which types of tournaments are displayed by clicking the Edit mini-tab on the right.
   Special:
   • Click All to see all tournaments.
   • Click Guarantees to see all guarantee tournaments.
   • Click WPT/WSOPC to see WPT/WSOPC tournaments.
   • Click Satellites to see all satellite tournaments.

   As with the Tournaments section, other tabs may appear which display tournaments for a special promotion, such as the WSOP or Aussie Millions.

   

3. Within each sub-tab, click on the blue column headings to sort the available tournaments by that column.
   • Click ID to sort by tournament ID.
   • Click Date to sort by the starting date and time of the tournament.
   • Click Game to sort by the kind of game (Hold 'em, Omaha, Stud Hi/Lo, etc.).
   • Click Type to sort by the limit type. Click this tab once and the games will appear in descending order, starting with the Fixed Limit (FL) games, followed by Pot-Limit (PL) and No-Limit (NL). Click the tab a second time and the games will be displayed in ascending order, with NL appearing first, followed by PL and Fixed. Within each category, the tournaments are sorted by their start dates and times.
   • Click BuyIn to sort by the size of the buy-in. When there are multiple tournaments with the same buy-in, the tournaments are sorted by the game status (e.g., registering, completed) and then by their start dates and times.
   • Click Status to sort by the game status, e.g., Announced, Registering, Running, Completed, Seating, or Voided.
   • Click Plrs to sort by the number of players. When the games tab selection is TOURNAMENTS or SPECIAL, this column shows how many players are currently signed up for the tournament. When the games tab selection is SIT & GO, this column shows the number of players that are currently seated and waiting for each tournament to fill (if the tournament has not yet started). Once the sit-and-go tournament has started, this column shows the number of players in the tournament.

   

4. You can click the Running and Completed check boxes at the bottom of the screen to view tournaments in these categories. Running and completed tournaments are not shown in the default view, as these tournaments can no longer be entered. However, these settings give you the option to view tournaments that you may be curious about. For example, you may want to continue to view a tournament in which you finished early. Or you may want to see how your friends are doing in tournaments that you didn't enter.

   

5. Note that if a selected tournament is highlighted in red (or displays red letters when not selected), this indicates that at least one Full Tilt Poker pro is registered or seated at the table. If you see one of these tournaments, feel free to play and chat with pros like Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, and Howard Lederer.

   

6. Click the tournament name you want to learn about or play in.

   

   After you click on a tournament name, the Tournament Information Pane displays the current information about that tournament. This information includes the tournament ID (shown at the top), the tournament status (e.g., started or registering), start date and time, and total running time.

   

7. To find out more about a tournament or to enter a tournament, click on the tournament name, and then click GO TO TOURNEY LOBBY at the right of the main lobby window. You can also double-click on the tournament name in the games window.

   Either of these actions will bring up the tournament lobby. In the tournament lobby, you can get more information about the tournament, such as prize amounts and the number of places that will be paid. The tournament lobby is also where you register to enter the tournament.

   

8. You can sign up for the tournament by clicking the REGISTER button in the tournament lobby. Note that this button will only be available after the tournament opens and registration has begun. The tournament opening time is displayed in the upper middle portion of the tournament lobby.

   Note also that the REGISTER button will not be available if the tournament is full, that is, if the maximum number of players for the tournament has already been reached.

   

   Clicking the REGISTER button brings up the Tournament Buy-In dialog. The buy-in amount will appear, along with your available balance. Click the button next to the buy-in amount and then click OK. This returns you to the tournament lobby.

   After you have registered for a tournament, the REGISTER button changes to an UNREGISTER button. Up until to the time the tournament starts, you can click the UNREGISTER button to remove yourself from the tournament. This will cancel your entry into the tournament and credit the amount of your buy-in back to your account.

9. Once the tournament begins, a tournament table window will automatically open with you seated at the table. Just as in other games, if you specified Auto Center from the Options drop-down menu in the lobby, the table rotates so that you are front and center. You can always right-click on any position and specify Put Me Here if you want to move to that position.

   When a tournament is in progress, you can also observe other tables. You can click on a player's name, which will auto-select the table at which that player is sitting, or choose a table from the list in the table window. After performing one of these two actions, click on OBSERVE TABLE to watch the action. You can also simply double-click on a player or a table in order to open a table.

   Most of the features at tournament tables are the same as at any other table, but there are a few differences.

   When the action begins in a blind game, the button is placed randomly at one of the seats, and everyone is dealt in. If it is your turn to post a blind, the software automatically posts the blind for you. Although the AUTO-POST BLINDS or AUTO-POST ANTES checkbox appears, and is checked, you cannot uncheck it. The checkbox is there only to remind you that the software automatically posts a blind when it is your turn to do so.

   When the limit changes, a notice appears and remains in place for a few seconds, and a notice from the Tournament Director appears in the chat window. The title bar always indicates the current betting limit. In Limit Hold 'em, that information is the actual limits. In Pot-Limit or No-Limit Hold 'em, it is the size of the blinds. In Stud, it is the limits and the ante size.

   If you need to leave your computer for any reason and do not want to get timed out, click SIT OUT NEXT HAND. You will receive cards, but your hand will automatically be folded to any bet, including your turn to open on the first round. In a Stud game, if you have the low-card bring-in, the minimum bet will be made for you, and then your hand will be folded to any bet. When you get back, click DEAL ME IN to uncheck the SIT OUT NEXT HAND checkbox, and you can again play your hand normally.

10. While at a table, you can click the TOURNEY INFO button in the upper left corner of the window in order to see stack sizes, including the largest, average, and smallest stacks. This information is particularly useful in a multi-table tournament. The tourney info window also tells you your position in the tournament, what the next level is (blinds or antes and bring-ins), when that level will commence, and how long until the next break.

11. If you lose all your chips during a tournament, a dialog box appears and informs you where you finished in the tournament. If you finished in the money, the dialog also tells you how much you won.

    Learn Multi-Table Tournament Strategy with the Pros at the Full Tilt Poker Academy