General Tournament Questions
How long does a tournament
last?
That depends on what kind of tournament it is. Expect single table Sit &
Go tournaments to take about an hour. Multi table tournaments may take
several hours.
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What does it cost to play a
tournament?
Every tournament has a specific buy-in. In a $10+1 tournament for
example the cost to play would be $11. $10 goes to the prize pool and $1
is the fee for entering the tournament. Tournament buy-ins range from
free (freerolls) to over a hundred dollars.
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What type of poker tournaments
can I play on www.usasportscasino.com?
You can play single table Sit & Go tournaments (for 2, 6 and 10 players)
and multi table tournaments in Texas Hold'em, 7-card Stud and Omaha.
Both Limit and No Limit.
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When are the big tournaments?
You'll find a weekly calendar for all the tournaments in the tournament
section of the www.usasportscasino.com website! From the schedule, you can go to
the individual tournaments own page. There you register and find
information on buy-in and prize money.
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Why and how often do the levels
increase?
The blinds in tournaments are increased as the tournaments progress so
as to ensure that the tournaments do actually end with more players
being eliminated and the remaining players having more chips on hand.
The levels in single-table tournaments increase every 10 hands. In
multi-table tournaments, they are increased approximately every 15
minutes.
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What is a Freeroll?
A freeroll is a multi table tournament that is free to enter where you
can win cash prizes. To receive this cash however, you have to earn
player points. See the Freerolls section on this page.
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What is the Main Draw?
The Main Draw is the monthly finale for multi-table tournaments, held on
the last Saturday of each month.
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Freerolls
What is a Freeroll?
A freeroll is a multi table tournament that is free to enter where you
can win cash prizes. To receive this cash however, you have to earn
player points.
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What do I have to do to enter a
Freeroll?
Although there is no fee for entering a freeroll, you need to register
your account details in order to participate. This is done on my Account
page. Then it is just a matter of heading to our tournament calendar,
find a freeroll and register for it. Beware that these tournaments fill
up quickly.
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How often can I play Freerolls
on www.usasportscasino.com?
We run Freerolls twice daily on weekdays and once a day on weekends.
Please visit our tournament calendar for more info on prize money and
starting times.
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Why don't I see my winnings
from the Freeroll in my Account?
In order to receive your prize you will have to accumulate 4 player
points for per dollar won within 60 days of the Freeroll. When you have
accumulated sufficient points, the prize will automatically be credited
to your account in one lump sum. Please bear in mind that the Freeroll
prize may take up to 1 hour to be credited to your account, after you
have earned sufficient points.
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What is a Player Points
Freeroll?
The Player Points Freeroll is a tournament where players buy-in with a
certain amount of acquired player points and compete for cash prizes.
For more information, you can check out our "Player Points" help section.
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Sit & Go Tournaments
What is a Sit & Go tournament?
This is a one or two table tournament for 2, 6, 10 or 20 players. For
two players it is called a heads-up tournament and for six players it's
a shorthanded tournament. Sit & Go tournaments are available 24/7. They
start as soon as all available seats are filled.
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What is the prize structure for
a single table Sit & Go tourney?
The prize structure for Sit & Go tourneys are as follows:
10 players : 1st place: 50% 2nd place: 30% 3rd place: 20%
6 players : 1st place: 50% 2nd place 40%
2 players : 1st place: 100%
All prizes are also minus your initial buy-in, e.g. for
a $10+1 buy-in tourney 2nd place prize is $30 - $11 = $19.
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What does it cost to play a Sit
& Go tournament?
The cost to enter a Sit & Go depends on the buy-in. We offer several
different buy-ins ranging from $5 to $100. The prize structure depends
if it is a 2, 6, 10 or 20 player tournament.
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How do I register for a Sit &
Go tournament?
Sit & Go tournaments are available 24/7 in the tournament lobby. You
register by entering the table and completing the buy-in structure. The
tournament will start as soon as all available seats are filled.
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Will I be charged the fee if I
leave a Sit-&-Go tournament before it begins?
No. The money returns to your account automatically when you click on
"leave".
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How does a satellite differ
from a sit and go tournament?
Some Sit and go tournaments are indeed the beginning of a larger
satellite tournament. A satellite tournament is the means by which a
player can play in a small tournament and win tickets for entrance to a
larger tournament. This process is continued for 3 or 4 tournaments
until the winner of the final tournament wins a ticket and package to
one of the major land based tournaments, such as the World Series of
Poker. The World Series of Poker is where the best players in the world
battle it out for an estimated $20,000,000 total prize sum.
A sit and Go tournament is a tournament that starts as
soon as all the available places are full. (The sit and go tournaments
are generally for a maximum of 10 players). There are various types of
sit and go tournaments and as mentioned above, some sit and go
tournaments are in fact satellites.
Here is a list of all our Sit and Go tournaments. To
join one simply press Play Tournaments and click on single table
tournaments.
- $5+$1 No Limit Texas Hold'em
- $10+$1 No Limit Texas Hold'em
- $20+$2 No Limit Texas Hold'em
- $30+$3 No Limit Texas Hold'em
- $50+$4 No Limit Texas Hold'em
- $100+$8 No Limit Texas Hold'em
- $10+1 Limit Texas Hold'em
- $6+$1 No Limit Daily Qualifier. (Satellite to 50+4 US and European Daily)
- $32+$3 No Limit Main Draw Qualifier. (Satellite to 320+30 Main Draw)
- $22+$2 No Limit Grand prix Qualifier. (Satellite to 100+10 Weekly Grand Prix)
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What is a Daily Qualifier?
A single table daily qualifier provides a method to gain entry to a
multi-table tournament.
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Multi-Table Tournaments
What types of tournaments are
available at www.usasportscasino.com?
There are scheduled multi-table tournaments (for up to 2000 players!).
Some requires players to make a buy-in, while others, the freerolls, are
absolutely free to join. The most common tournament poker game is No
Limit Texas Hold'em, but you'll also find Limit Texas Hold'em as well as
Omaha and Seven Card Stud.
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How do I play a multi-table
tournament?
You can register for the multi-table tournament either in the tournament
lobby in the poker client (the web based or the downloadable one) or at
the Weekly Calendar page.
The tournament starts at the scheduled time, for
example 3 pm ET. All tournament players must be logged into the
tournament game before the tournament starts to keep their place in the
starting line. Ensure that you are on the tournament page at least 2
minutes before the start. When the tournament starts you shall be
automatically seated at a table.
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How is it decided who is moved
to a new table?
The player who will be moved to a new table is the player not currently
at the Dealer, Small Blind or Big Blind positions that has been moved
the fewest number of times so far. If there is more than one candidate,
the player sitting the furthest clockwise distance away from the Big
Blind gets moved.
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In multi-table tournaments, how
can I find which table I'm sat at?
If you are in the game lobby for a multi-table at start time you will be
taken automatically to the table. If this does not occur, or if you are
not in the lobby at start time please highlight the tourney name in the
lobby then click on the "go to tournament" tab followed by the "tourney
info" tab. Here you will see a list of all players in the tournament.
Press "control" "f" over the player list in the bottom right corner and
enter your nick name. You will then be shown the table you are at.
Simply go to the game lobby and click on the relevant table to join the
game.
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What do I do if I registered
for a tournament in the past but forgot to play?
Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done. If you register for a
tournament the buy-in goes towards the pot and hence the winning places.
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What should I do if I
registered for a tournament in the past but the tournament had already
started when logged on?
Until you log on, your hands shall be check/folded, while you pay any
blind charges that pass. As soon as you log on, you shall be sent to the
table where your player is sat. If you are not placed automatically,
please highlight the tourney name in the lobby then click on the "go to
tournament" tab followed by the "tourney info" tab. Here you will see a
list of all players in the tournament. Press "control" "f" over the
player list in the bottom right corner and enter your nick name. You
will then be shown the table you are at. Simply go to the game lobby and
click on the relevant table to join the game.
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What is "Only Client Signups"?
It means the time for web-registration is over and you can only sign up
for the tournament through the game client ie. The lobby.
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What is web registration and
how does it work?
Prior to a tournament opening for registration, for some tournaments it
is possible to register on the website in advance. Please go to the
tournament section, select the tournament in the schedule and press the
register button.
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I can sign up for some
tournaments but not others. Why is that?
To be eligible for a tournament you have to fulfil some criteria. E.g.
to play a real money tournament (including the freerolls) you need to
register your account details and have sufficient funds in your account.
Some tournaments may also be restricted in which case there are more
criteria (like player points or qualification). The registration times
for tournaments differ for each one.
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How do the Player Points
Freerolls work?
If you collect 500 player points within a week (Saturday to Saturday),
you qualify for the Saturday $6000 Player Points Freeroll.
If you collect 150 player points from Saturday to Wednesday 9pmET, you
qualify for the Wednesday $3000 Player Points Freeroll.
If you collect 100 player points by the Saturday 10amET, you qualify for
the Player Points Turbo Qualifier. Through this tournament you can
qualify for the $6000 Freeroll scheduled later on the same day.
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What is the Grand Tournament &
how will it work?
The Grand Tournament is a No-Limit Texas Holdem tournament that will
take place on January 1st. The buy-in for the event is $1,000, and not
only is there no fee for this event but we will also add $50 to the
prize pool for each player that signs up before December 31st! All
players will start with 2,500 in chips and the levels will be longer
than in our usual multi-table tournaments. The prize pool will be
divided according to our standard payout structure.
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How do I sign up for the Grand
Tournament?
You can buy a ticket to the Grand Tournament the same way you buy a
ticket to any of our normal tournaments. If you don't wish to buy in to
the event yourself you can win a seat in one of our many daily
multi-table qualifiers (starting from $5+1 with rebuys up to $100+8
freezeout) or in one of the $112+8 single-table S&G tournament available
around the clock. Every day we will also give away a seat in our Grand
Freeroll!
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How do I sign up for the Grand
Freeroll?
You need to collect 50 Player Points during one day, Monday to Friday.
Once you've got 50 Player Points you can go to "My Account" and follow
the instructions to claim the ticket. The ticket will be valid until the
next day – if you won it on a Friday it will be valid until the
following Monday. Please note that you need to sign up to the tournament
with the ticket – do so in time, the tournament might fill up fast!
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What is the $30+$3 Canada
Hockey Night and what do you win?
The Canada Hockey Night tournaments are $30+3 No Limit Texas Hold'em
tournaments. The winner of each of these tournaments will get to play in
our Poker Night in Canada Play-off Final on February 26th, 2005, for a
chance to win an exclusive hockey trip to Sunny Sweden!
From the 18th December 2004 to 19th February 2005,
there will be a "Poker Night Canada" tourney every Saturday starting at
17:00ET.
First place winners will receive a special ticket for
the "Play-Off Final Tourney" which can be used in the Play-Off final
single table tourney to be on the 26th Feb 2005 (start time to be
confirmed). Cash prizes are also available to be won for this tourney.
Two winners will get to go to Sweden to watch a game of
Hockey at the beginning of March 2005. Each winner will be able to bring
along a friend. The prize is non returnable/non exchangeable. More
information will appear shortly.
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Tournament Tickets
What's a ticket?
A ticket represents the starting fee of a tournament. Instead of posting
the fee when playing the big tournaments like the $300+$30 Main Draw™
you can play a qualification tournament (called a satellite) and win a
ticket to the final.
When you have a ticket to a tournament it will be
visible in the weekly schedule and it will automatically be used when
you sign up. Tickets can be awarded in multiple levels and in most
tournaments, beside the cash prize, the winner will also qualify to
another (larger) tournament.
If you win 2 satellite tournaments and hence 2 tickets
to the same tournament, you can use the second ticket at a later
tournament. Hence twice the possibility of going through to the real big
money tournaments and land based tournaments.
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How long does a ticket last?
All tickets will have an expiration time, defining how long it is valid.
This will vary and will be displayed in the information regarding the
tournaments.
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Where Can I see how many
Tickets I have?
If you log in and go to the Weekly Calendar you will see a white arrow
by the side of a tournament. This indicates that you have a ticket to
the particular type of tournament. To register, simply double click on
the arrow.
You can also see the number of tickets you have by
logging on and going to the My Account page.
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Can I sell or give my tickets
to someone else?
Tournament tickets are assigned to your account. Just as in normal
Casino's a player entering a tournament must either pay the entry fee or
have a ticket. Won tickets are non-transferable.
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Can I cash in my ticket for a $
prize?
Cash prizes are not awarded as an alternative to tickets.
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What can I do with my "ticket
to single tournament multi feed"?
This ticket gives you a free entry to the $6+1 Single Table Sit-and-Go
Daily Qualifier. These tournaments are held between 6amET and 6pmET from
Mondays to Fridays. An arrow sign next to the tournament title in the
single-table lobby indicates that you have a ticket for it, and when you
register for this tournament, the ticket will be removed from your
account instead of cash.
The winner gets a ticket to the US or European Daily,
and the runner up wins a ticket to play in another Daily Qualifier for
free again. For more information, please refer to Featured Tournaments.
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Connection Problems
I got disconnected / kicked out
- what did I do wrong?
If you got kicked out, it may mean that your Internet connection to our
server broke down for some reason. In the web client, just reload the
game in your browser to get back. The downloadable client will
automatically try to reconnect. You should automatically be taken back
to your table. If you get disconnected during a tournament game, you
will be put on autopilot. The computer will play for you until you come
back. Its playing strategy is simple; check until someone bets, then
fold. Just click on the "I'm back"-button to turn off the autopilot.
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What should I do if I loose my
connection and get kicked out of a tournament?
Try to log back on again as soon as possible. You will still be seated
at your table and will be check/folded until you return.
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My tournament table froze but I
can't sit back into the game?
It is not uncommon when you are timed out and your session expired. The
important thing is to rejoin the tournament quickly.
Quickly close the game window (table) and restart the
lobby (game client). You can then rejoin the tournament while our system
checks/folds your hands for you. You do not lose anything except the
blinds when it's your turn to post them.
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Re-buys and Add-ons
What is a "Rebuy"?
For certain tournaments, players are allowed to boost their stack size
by "re-buying in" within a certain period. This option is called a
"rebuy", and tournaments that allow rebuys are called "rebuy
tournaments".
When a player re-buys, he pays the buy-in (without the
fee), and his stack size increases by the amout of starting chips.
Rebuys are done in the tourney specific lobby or in a dialogue box when
the player has run out of chips.
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What is an "Add-on"?
An Add-on is an additional re-buy at the end of the re-buy period. At
the end of the re-buy period, which is usually at the first hour break,
all players will be given the option to pay the buy-in again, and boost
their stack size. This option is available to all players who are still
in the tournament, regardless of their stack size.
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When is a player allowed to
rebuy?
You can re-buy when your chips are less or equal to the starting stack
size, within the rebuy period. Rebuys are done in the tourney specific
lobby or in a dialogue box when the player has run out of chips.
The rebuy period is usually from the beginning of the
tournament to the first break, typically one hour. At the end of the
rebuy period, you will be given a choice to "add-on". When the period is
over, no rebuys will be allowed and players who run out of chips will be
out of the tournaments. The rebuy period will end immediately if a
player reaches prize position within the original period.
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How do I re-buy in a
tournament?
Rebuys can be done in the tourney specific lobby, or when you have run
out of chips, you will be given the option in a dialogue box to re-buy
into the tournament. You can re-buy and increase your stack size when
your chips are less than, or equal to the original stack size, within
the rebuy period.
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How many times can we re-buy in
a tournament?
The number of allowed rebuys differ between tournaments. Some have fixed
limits (one or two) whereas others allow unlimited rebuys.
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How long is the rebuy period?
The rebuy period is usually from the beginning of the tournament to the
first break, typically one hour. At the end of the rebuy period, you
will be given a choice to "add-on". When the period is over, no rebuys
will be allowed and players who run out of chips will be out of the
tournaments. Also, no rebuys will be allowed once a player reaches prize
position.
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Do I have to pay a fee for the
rebuy?
No. You only pay the buy-in. Eg. If it's a $10+$1 rebuy tournament, the
cost of rebuy is $10.
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How does rebuys and add-ons
affect the prize pool?
The total prize pool will increase accordingly accordingly to the money
added from the rebuys and add-ons.
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