March 12 - I found some spare change in my Full Tilt Poker account and decided to play some tournament poker the other day. I like SNG`s (Sit and Go`s) but usually stick to the single table format. However, this time I ended up playing a 90-person Turbo SNG that was also a Bounty tournament. In addition it was a "double stack" event, which meant that everyone started with 3000 chips instead of the typical 1500.
The bounty aspect is fascinating. In the SNG I played in we had to pay $24 + $2 instead of the normal $20. The extra $4 goes into a pool and every time you knock out a player you get the $4 bounty added immediately to your account. So if you knock out 6 players but end up on the bubble you almost break square, plus it is fun to get paid when you knock someone out, which is always a visceral thrill in its own right.
The double stack format really favors stronger players, and combined with a Turbo betting structure it separates the men from the boys in a hurry. Even though it is a turbo event the fact that there are 90 players means that it is a long process to get to the end - my first tournament of this kind took over 2 hours to finish, but the quality of poker is really challenging and the payout structure makes it worthwhile, as long as you get to the final table.
So far my results have been good - I won`t jinx myself by going into details, and because Full Tilt has ridiculous player volume it seems like a new 90-player Turbo SNG Bounty Double Stack tournament (one big breath) starts up every two minutes (approximately).
I highly recommend checking out the tournament action on Full Tilt. They`re creeping up on Poker Stars in this department, and well on their way to becoming the top online poker room overall.
