Satellite Tournaments

In the past I did an article that gave tips on bankroll management. If you are having trouble sustaining a healthy bankroll and you find yourself continuously depositing funds then maybe you should take a look at it. The reason I mention that is because ’satellites’ are another great way to maintain a successful bankroll. Not only are satellites a great way to maintain a healthy bankroll, but they can also allow low limit players an opportunity to play in the big limit tournaments. While this may be an obvious observation I would be willing to bet that some players don’t take advantage of the satellite tournament. Unless you have a bankroll that allows you to buy-in in to any tournament you desire then satellites are a good idea for any player.

Satellites can be used for a couple reasons, but one reason that comes to mind is the chance for low limit players to enter a bigger buy-in tournament. Every player wants to play in a tournament that gives them an opportunity to win some big money. When you are playing in low limit buy-ins then it might be tough to do so knowing that you will have to win in order to successfully cash in big money. If a tournament is out of your bankroll then see what type of satellite tournaments are running for the tournament that you ultimately want to play. If it’s a $55 buy in tournament and you are unsure if you should play it or not then try a satellite. Often times there will be a sit n go that will run that will allow you an opportunity to get into the tournament for $15. Say there are 9 players in the sit n go. With a $15 buy-in and 9 players in the tournament then that means there is $135 in the prize pool. If this were the case the top two finishers in the sit n go would win seats into the $55 tournament and the third place finisher will win $25. If you can successfully make the top 2 then you have entered the tournament $40 cheaper then you originally would have. Not a bad way to save some money.

Now let’s say that you’re bankroll is running a little low. Satellites are a great way to expand your bankroll and they may give you more opportunities at playing multiple tournaments. Say the guarantee tournaments you want to play are $26 buy-in tournaments, but you only have $20 in your account. $6 satellites are a great way for you to earn a seat into the $26 tournament. This means that you can play in three different satellite tournaments for a chance to win a $26 token. You never know when you’ll win multiple satellites either. Before you know it you are sitting with two or three $26 buy-in tokens from your initial $20 and now you can play more than just one tournament. By doing this you are expanding your bankroll and you are giving yourself multiple chances to win. Like I said earlier this may be obvious to some players, but I still feel that players don’t take advantage of the satellite tournaments. Try playing satellites and see how much money you can save along the way. Good luck at the table everybody!

Craig Fleck

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