In satellite tournaments players are attempting to win seats in events with much bigger buy-ins for a fraction of the cost. The amount of seats that are awarded from a particular satellite tournament depends on the buy-in of the satellite tournament and the number of entrants, as well as the buy-in of the event players are trying to win a seat to. For example, if you are playing in a $10 satellite to a $100 event then 1 in every 10 players would win a seat. Satellite tournaments are perfect for players who want to play in a big buy-in tournament, but don’t currently have the bankroll to buy-in direct. Satellite tournaments offer these players a chance at winning the big prizes for a much small price.

The payout structure for satellite tournaments is much different to that of regular tournaments because there is no difference in prize between the first place finisher and the player who just avoided the bubble. For this reason there are a few changes you should make to your normal tournament strategy when playing in a satellite tourney.

See Plenty of Flops Early

There are two reasons to see a lot of flops early in satellite tournaments. The first reason is that in general more fish play satellite tournaments and if you can catch a strong hand early you will likely be able to get some action and you can build your stack. The second reason is that satellite tournaments award prizes to a smaller percentage of the field and for this reason it is smart to try to build your stack early to give yourself a chance to run deep and win one of those coveted seats. That being said, don’t throw away your chips. If you can see a cheap flop with a mediocre hand do so, but if you have the best hand you should still be raising.

Ride Your Big Stack into the Money

If you were able to build a big stack early you should be able to win a seat just by waiting out a few more busts and avoiding confrontation with the other big stacks. Since there is no extra prize for finishing with the most chips, there is no reason to risk your stack at this point. For example, if you are in 3rd out of 29 players and the top 20 finishers win the tournament, then you should just wait out the remaining 9 busts. Of course you can still play against small stacks when you have a strong hand to help knock players out and speed up the process, but in general you should play very tight and not risk your chips.

Attack the Medium and Large Stacks when Short Stacked

If you find yourself late in the tournament with a short stack you will need to get aggressive and hopefully steal a lot of blinds. The best players to attack are those that are in a comfortable position, but would be in danger if you doubled up through them. These players will likely just allow you to take their blinds because they feel they can fold their way to the cash. That being said, you should stay away from players who have such a large stack that you wouldn’t do any damage to them.

Satellite tournaments can be very profitable if you are able to win a seat in the big event and then go on to earn a big cash. The most important thing to remember when playing in a satellite tournament is that all prizes are of equal value, so you should adjust your play to account for this.

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