Poker tournament players have unique needs, and finding the perfect poker network to fill them can be a challenge. This article gives you an overview of the poker tournaments and pros / cons of the major poker networks – and links to articles which provide schedule information and go into more depth on what is on offer.
Some players enjoy battling through fields of 4000 at the larger sites, though many prefer smaller fields where the final table is within closer reach. I have covered both sides here by giving you a selection of both big and smaller poker tournament sites. Software, the experience level of your competition and financial incentives (bonuses / leader boards / promos) are all taken into account.
US readers have a great choice in the form of the Merge Network and specifically Carbon Poker – see my article on the best US friendly poker networks for more information on this great little site!
Best Network For Poker Tournaments – Pokerstars.com
Pokerstars are a stand-alone site and the biggest by a long way, which means their tournament schedule is second to none in the industry. One great thing about this site is that there are so many tournaments running that it is no problem to find a bunch to start at once whatever your personal preferences and buy-in levels.
On the cons side the fields can be overly large for some players. You will find 3000+ common at the lower buy-ins, especially where there are guaranteed prize pools. Sure, you can play the 180 player SNGs instead – though these tend to be full of grinders and not as profitable as the bigger games.
Having said that you will find the selection unbeatable, the software world class and the bonuses and promotions at Pokerstars the best anywhere. They are not the giants of the industry for no reason – this site are all-round awesome.
You can claim up to 3 separate welcome bonuses at Pokerstars.com – choose ‘Affiliate Marketing Code’ from the list of where you found them, and then insert Pokerstars Marketing Code PSP3108 in the new box which appears – you have 90 days to clear these, with a total up to $600! Click here to check out Pokerstars.com for yourself now!!
Best Network For Poker Tournaments – OnGame
Here is a great alternative for those readers who prefer smaller tournaments with generous guaranteed prize pools. OnGame are made up of many sports-betting brands, who pool their players together. The cross over from the betting sites keeps the games super-soft – and so very profitable for those players with some poker tournament strategy knowledge. 20k players concurrently at peak times is plenty enough for some great games – with all the popular variations and a big Sunday Major in the form of the $250k guaranteed Champion Chip.
Most of the games measure player numbers in the 100’s rather than the 1000’s and have guaranteed prizes ranging from $500 to $10,000. My recommendation is to check out Betfair.com, where you will get big brand benefits (including a choice of 5 big welcome bonuses) as well as access to the easy OnGame games. Software is excellent at this site, all the info you need being shown in a side-panel attached to the table.
I recommend OnGame to new and experienced tournament players alike – once you get a feel of how much softer those games are you will wonder why you did not find this network sooner!
Click here to check out Betfair.com Poker for yourself now!
Best Poker Network For Tournaments – iPoker
iPoker have amazingly soft tournaments, yet no synchronized breaks. While all the other poker sites stop their tournaments at 5 minutes to the hour, iPoker do not… I actually debated whether to leave them out based on this – however the games are so soft that I just could not justify creating a ‘best of’ list without them.
This network are the 3rd largest site (behind Pokerstars and Party Poker) and have 65k concurrent players at peak times. The tournament schedule is of course jam-packed with games including rebuys, PLO games and a massive range of buy-ins. With huge betting site brands such as William Hill and Bet365 supplying new players to the tables every day the fields are laughably soft when you compare them to Pokerstars… if only they would introduce those synchronized breaks this would be my number 1 choice!!
Titan Poker are my favorite iPoker site, with the best poker-specific rewards, promotions and a cool loyalty scheme. Poker Bonus Network readers can claim a massive 200% welcome matched bonus, plus $20 extra free (paid direct to your player account within 48 hours). Just use Titan Poker bonus code PBKLUB when you check out the super-easy tournaments on offer – Click here to check out Titan Poker for yourself now.
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