Online Poker Variations
The games available to fans of online poker in Canada will vary from site to site. The most popular poker game in the world is Texas Hold’em, so you can expect to see that being offered at almost all online poker rooms. However, you might also be able to play several other variations that are only slightly less popular. These include Omaha poker, Razz poker, Stud poker and more.
Any online poker player who has a preference for a particular variety of game should check to make sure that it is available at the site they are thinking of joining. It probably will be, especially at the bigger sites, but confirming this before signing up could save time and – if a deposit is being considered – money.
Online Poker Canada Tournaments
Cash games can be found at all online poker sites, but most sites will also give you the opportunity to participate in online poker tournaments. These give you a chance to win a cash prize for a known outlay. You pay a certain amount of money to buy into the tournament, and that money contributes to a prize pool that the winner and a number of runners-up get to share at the end of the game. The bigger the buy-in and the more participants there are in a tournament, the bigger the prize pool and the more generous the prizes will be.
There are several different types of online poker tournaments that you can expect to come across, but Single Table Tournaments and Multi-Table Tournaments tend to be the two most popular.
Single Table Tournaments
These are small tournaments that are usually for five to nine players. You pay your buy-in and take a seat immediately, and the tournament starts as soon as the required number of players is present. For this reason, single table tournaments, or STTs, are also known as “Sit and Go” tournaments.
The advantage of Sit and Go tournaments is that they are usually over in an hour or less, and you only need to beat a few opponents to finish in the money. Of course, the limited number of players involved means that the amount of money you can win in these tournaments is also fairly limited.
Multi-Table Tournaments
Often referred to as MTTs, multi-table tournaments use multiple poker tables in order to accommodate a larger number of players. You will be automatically assigned your seat when you participate in an MTT at an online poker room. As the tournament progresses and players are eliminated, the remaining players are reseated, and the number of tables is reduced. Eventually, all of the remaining players will find themselves sitting at the final table, where they play to determine the overall winner.
Because MTTs can have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of participants, the prize money they offer can be considerable. The only downside is that it takes longer for an MTT to run, so be prepared to play for several hours and possibly even in several separate sessions over a few days.