Satellite Tournaments
The prize money paid out at poker tournaments is raised through the player entry fees. Tournaments that pay-out larger prizes have larger entry fees with the result that large pay-out tournaments are often beyond the reach of many players. As an example, the World Series of Poker is huge and awards millions of dollars in prize money to players but the entry fee for this tournament is $10,000.
To enable more players a chance to play in these big money tournaments poker rooms will often hold satellite tournaments. These are tournaments with a lower entry fee that offer for a prize a seat in a much larger tournament, such as the World Series of Poker. So, for example, a poker room might organize a satellite tournament for ten players that offers a prize of a seat at the World Series of Poker for an entry fee of $1,000.
A lot of players use these satellite tournaments as a way to gain entry into a large tournament, such as the world series of Poker, at a cost they can afford.
To further reduce the entry fee cost to major tournaments, poker rooms have been known to run super-satellite tournaments. A super-satellite tournament is a satellite tournament that gives the winner a seat at a regular satellite poker tournament.
Players using satellites and super-satellites offered by online poker rooms have been able to play high stakes poker for a very small entry fee. Players have been known to qualify for the 2005 World Series of Poker for as little as an $16 super-satellite entry fee.
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