Evaluating Daily Poker Touranaments in Card Rooms

For many players looking to break into live tournament poker, they turn to the daily tournaments held at local card rooms.  However, are these tournaments really a good value for players?  The answer to this question is like many in the game of poker.  It depends.  Here are a few things to look at to see whether the event is worth your time.

Daily casino tournaments are where many turn when they first enter the world of live tournament poker.

Buy-in and Field Size

Casinos will typically price their daily tournaments based on popularity and competition.  For example, some casinos cannot price their tournaments much above $50 because otherwise they cannot get anyone to play.  Other events can charge $120 or more per event and still draw a solid crowd.

When looking at whether the event will be worth your time, do some checking regarding how many players that the event will usually draw.  If the event only draws a couple of tables, a smaller buy-in tournament may not be worth your time.

Also, are there rebuys in the event.  A small $35 tournament may not at first glance look like it will draw a decent prize pool, but if it draws 8 tables and is on a weekend, it may be one of the better draws in the area.

Rake and Fees

Next, you need to see how much the casino is pulling out of the prize pool for rake and fees.  It is not uncommon for a casino to draw 20 to 30% of the prize pool out for the “staff and dealers.”  Some tourneys in Vegas I have seen draw as much as 38% of the prize pool.

I was in a tournament last year where I wound up with only 2.5 times my buy-in returned for taking 2nd.  First only got 5 times their buy-in back.  He casino got almost as much in raked fees at the winner.

Field Strength

While many of you will scoff at this consideration, there are some tourneys that are just easier to take down.  For example, a tournament that is regularly filled by tourist is going to be considerably easier than one filled with mostly regulars.

If you like to play non-Hold’em live tournaments in casinos, expect them to be filled with regulars.  Also, smaller casinos are going to have tournaments filled with regulars because the tourists don’t know about them.

Just like you would with a cash game, check around and see which card rooms have the juiciest action.  Also, take into consideration that weekend events are going to have more action than weekday events.  Using the above considerations will help you weed out the events that really aren’t worth your time and effort.  Good luck at the tables.