Tournament format guides
Also: How to use SharkScope to pick tournaments.
What each format means, how it works, a worked example, strategy tips and common mistakes, plus links to find each type in our finder.
Freezeout
One entry per player. Lose your chips and you are out.
Re-entry, rebuy and add-on
Buy back in after busting (re-entry/rebuy), or buy extra chips at the break (add-on).
PKO (progressive knockout)
Bounty on every player. When you win one, half goes to you and half onto your own head.
Standard (fixed) bounty
Each knockout pays a fixed bounty that does not grow.
Mystery bounty
Bounties are random prizes revealed only when you knock someone out, usually later in the event.
Turbo and hyper-turbo
Faster blind levels: turbo is quick, hyper-turbo (or "lightning") is very quick.
Deepstack
Bigger starting stacks relative to the blinds, so you get more play.
6-max and 9-max
Number of seats per table: 6-max tables play shorter-handed than full-ring 9-max.
Shootout and heads-up
Shootouts: win your table to advance. Heads-up: one-on-one matches.
Satellite, step and feeder
Cheaper tournaments where the prizes are seats (tickets) into bigger events.
Freeroll
Free to enter, with real prizes paid by the site.
Shove-fest / all-in
Every hand or most hands are all-in preflop. Pure push/fold.
PLO, PLO5 and mixed games
Omaha variants (4 or 5 hole cards, pot-limit) and rotations of different poker games.
Guaranteed (GTD) and overlay
The site promises a minimum prize pool. An overlay happens when entries don't cover it.
Late registration
You can still enter after the start, until the late-reg period ends.
Sweepstakes poker (SC vs GC)
Sweeps Coins (SC) can be redeemed for prizes; Gold Coins (GC) are play-money.
Play responsibly. Tournaments are entertainment, not income. Set a budget and time limit, and never chase losses. 18+/21+ depending on site and state. Help: 1-800-GAMBLER.
18+/21+ only. Minimum age depends on the site and your state. Play responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links may be affiliate links, and we may earn a commission if you sign up. That doesn't change the listings or the order they appear in.
Not legal advice. Online poker and sweepstakes laws vary by state, so check your local laws before you play. Only PokerStars (US) and WSOP Online are licensed in the US, and only in the states they list (NJ/PA/MI and NV/NJ/MI/PA). Offshore and crypto sites (Ignition, ACR, BetOnline, CoinPoker, Phenom) are not licensed in the US. GGPoker doesn't accept US players. CoinPoker accepts US players even though its terms list the US as restricted. Sweepstakes sites exclude some states.
Schedules come from each site's public pages, and each listing shows its source and the date we last checked it. Items marked unverified conflict across sources or are out of date. Always confirm in the poker lobby. SC (Sweeps Coins) and CHIP are treated as about $1 for stake tiers.