Tournament
A tournament is a poker competition in which every player pays a fixed buy-in, gets the same number of chips and plays until one player holds all the chips. The buy-in forms a prize pool that is paid to the best finishers.
The simple explanation
Players lose chips and are eliminated, and the last player left is the winner. The blinds go up at set times so that the game ends. The prizes go to the top few places.
A closer look
Tournaments differ from cash games because the chips are not money: their value depends on the payouts, which is why ICM matters. Formats include freezeouts, rebuys, turbos, knockouts and satellites. Because the winner takes a large share, variance is high, and many entrants finish without a prize. Success needs adjustment to the stage, from deep stacks early to short stacks late.
A practical example
A tournament has 200 entrants with a buy-in of $100. The prize pool is $20,000, paid to the top 20 players.
Full explanation
A tournament is a poker competition in which every player pays a fixed buy-in, gets the same number of chips and plays until one player holds all the chips. The buy-in forms a prize pool that is paid to the best finishers.
A tournament is a competition with a buy-in and a prize pool.
Each player starts with the same chips.
The blinds increase until one player has all the chips.
Prizes go to the best finishers.