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Tournaments are one of the top promotional attractions at online casinos. Online casino tournaments come in various formats and offer a variety of prizes to winning players. In some cases, players can win life-changing money.
If you’re new to online casino tournaments, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we will give you a beginner’s guide to online casino tournaments. You’ll learn what they are, how to find them, and some strategies to help improve your odds of winning. We’ll also give you some of the top online casinos in Australia that offer casino tournaments.
Types of Online Casino Tournament
There are different types of online casino tournaments that you’ll find at online casinos in Australia. Here’s a quick rundown of the various forms of tournaments you’ll find. These apply to pokies, table games, and live casino tournaments.
Fixed Buy-In Tournaments
A common form of online casino tournament is a fixed buy-in tournament. This type of event features an entry fee, known as a buy-in. Once you submit the buy-in, you are given a fixed number of spins or gaming rounds.
There are two types of fixed buy-in events at online casinos. The first is a freezeout event, which is a tournament with a single buy-in. You get one shot at winning the tournament, so make the most of it.
The other form of fixed buy-in event is a rebuy tournament. Once you play through your initial buy-in, you pay a fixed fee for another round of play. This buy-in can be equal to the original buy-in or a lesser amount, such as half the buy-in. Rebuy events are almost impossible to win on a single buy-in, so plan your buy-in strategy accordingly.
Daily, Weekly, or Monthly Tournaments
Most online casinos hold some form of daily, weekly, or monthly tournament. Often, these events have players compete on a single pokie or group of pokies and keep score based on the amount of money wagered or the number of spins made.
At the end of the event, the top players split the prize pool. These events often do not have a buy-in but require a lot of play on the featured games. This event type is also called a time-limit tournament, as it is run for a fixed amount of time.
High Bet Tournaments
Another form of tournament you’ll find at online casinos is high bet tournaments. These come in two forms. The first are tournaments where the winners are determined by the amount bet in games. The more you wager, the better chance you have of winning. Another way of tracking this is via points. You earn points based on bet amounts. The players with the most points win prizes.
Alternatively, some events factor each individual spin or betting round in calculations. This type of event requires that you bet as many times as possible at a set minimum bet or better. True grinders will perform well in these types of events.
Sit and Go Tournaments
Some casino tournaments have a field size requirement to launch. Once this requirement is met, the tournament begins. Similar to poker tournaments, these events are smaller in size and play out faster.
Promotional Tournaments
Most online casinos hold promotional tournaments throughout the year. These events can range from celebrating a new game’s release to seasonal tournaments to attract more players to a casino.
Promotional tournaments can be a fixed buy-in or a time-limited tournament. Time-limit tournaments are typically the most popular events as they are open to everyone.
Free Tournaments
Some casinos will hold online casino tournaments with no buy-in. These events typically give players a single entry or a fixed number of entries to try and score as high as possible. The winners of these events often win free spins or bonus cash.
Please note that many “free tournaments” feature a rebuy component. Depending on the casino and participation, these events may not be worth playing if many people are rebuying.
Drops Tournaments
A fun variation on pokies tournaments is the Drops tournament, also known as Drops & Wins or Cash Drops. These events are standard promotional tournaments but feature instant win Drop prizes that can trigger any time.
Drop prizes can be massive and are in addition to the prizes awarded in the standard tournament. This event is typically a series of tournaments stretching over several months.
How to Find Online Casino Tournaments
The first step in playing online casino tournaments is finding out which events are available. Start by visiting your preferred casino and looking for a Tournaments tab or section. This is often where most casinos list their current and upcoming events.
The other way to find tournaments at online casinos is by checking out the promotions section. Many casinos list their tournaments as promotions to bring more event exposure. You’ll find information on the events and how to enter.
Next, you can reach out to customer support regarding any current or upcoming tournaments at the casino. Occasionally, support can give you special promotions connected to tournaments, such as free entries.
Finally, if you are not already subscribed to your casino’s newsletter, do so. Often, the newsletter will alert players on new or upcoming online casino tournaments. Occasionally, a casino may hold a tournament exclusive to newsletter subscribers or VIP members. Email is the only way to find out about these events, so make sure you’re subscribed.
Strategies for Playing Online Casino Tournaments
While luck is a major element of playing online casino games, there are still some strategies that you can employ to improve your odds at online casino tournaments.
Fixed Buy-In and Rebuy Tournament Strategies
Let’s first address some strategies for playing fixed buy-in tournaments. These strategies apply to standard buy-in events as well as fixed buy-in sit-and-go tournaments.
- Review the Event Rules – Before playing the event, read over the tournament rules to ensure you understand how to play. While most events are straightforward, some casinos have variations in rules that may impact how you play or which strategies you use.
- Review the Games Featured – Review which games are being played before signing up for any tournament. Some pokies tournaments will have multiple games that you can choose from, while others have a single game. Review the available games for table games or live casino tournaments to ensure you don’t try and start playing the wrong game. Make sure you understand how to play all the games listed, as this will impact your strategy as you proceed.
- Review Previous Events – When available, check out previously held events to see if you can get an idea of what players had to do to succeed. For pokie tournaments, were there particular games that proved more popular or generated higher wins than others? For rebuy tournaments, how many rebuys were necessary to remain competitive. This information can be helpful in setting your strategy.
- Consider the Prize Pool – Finally, before entering an event, make sure that it offers a prize pool worth competing for. For example, if the event pays out free spins to winners, make sure that the potential reward is worth the buy-in. For tournaments awarding cash prizes, determine how much you will profit from your buy-ins. Determine where you have to finish to turn a reasonable profit and if that profit is worth your time. Occasionally, some tournament payouts are so low they aren’t worth the effort.
- Setting Your Event Bankroll – Always consider bankroll management when playing tournaments. For fixed buy-in events with no rebuys, ensure you have enough money in your account to play the number of tournaments you wish to play. For rebuy tournaments, determine how many rebuys you need and ensure you have enough to play and be competitive.
- Timed and High Bet Tournament Strategies- A large portion of tournaments you play at online casinos will either be timed events or feature a high bet component. This requires a bit of a different strategy than fixed buy-in events. Let’s take a look at some optimal strategies.
- Prepare to Grind – The reality of timed events and high bet tournaments is that you need to get on the grind to have a chance to win. You need to squeeze as much play as possible into the tournament period to have a realistic shot of winning. For high bet tournaments, the faster you spin or play, the better odds you have of winning.
- Pick the Best Game for Your Tournament – If your timed or high bet tournament has more than one game, check to see which game is best suited for tournament play. For timed tournaments, you want pokies with lucrative bonus rounds and big win potential. With high bet tournaments, you want games that let you spin fast and often, such as classic fruit pokies.
- Only Play Profitable Tournaments – Check the prize pools carefully in these events to see if the risk vs. reward is worth it. If you’re playing for two days for a top prize of 250 free spins or have to wager $10,000 to win a $200 prize, that’s not worth your time or effort. The variance in casino games is already crazy, so don’t compound it by playing events with small prize pools.
