Product
Multi-Table Tournament (MTT)
Definition
A poker tournament in which players start with equal chips across many tables that consolidate as players are eliminated, until one table remains and a winner emerges. Entry is a fixed buy-in plus fee; the buy-ins form a prize pool paid to the top finishers on a published payout schedule.
Key takeaways
- An MTT pools fixed buy-ins into a prize pool paid to the top finishers; the entry fee is the room’s revenue.
- Rising blinds and table consolidation drive the field down to a winner; a large field makes a large first prize from a small stake.
- Guaranteed prize pools, satellites and knockout formats exist to fill fields, and an unfilled guarantee costs the room the overlay.
- Collusion, multi-accounting and assistance software are the integrity risks the format concentrates.
Why it matters
The multi-table tournament is poker's flagship format and the product that made online poker a mass market. A player pays a buy-in of, say, 100 plus a 9 fee, receives a stack of chips, and plays until they have lost them all or won everyone else's; the 100s form the prize pool and the 9s are the room's revenue. Blind levels rise on a schedule to force action, tables are broken and merged as the field shrinks, and the last 10 to 15 per cent of the field are paid on a schedule that gives the winner a large share. A tournament with 5,000 entries produces a life-changing first prize from a modest stake, which is the format's appeal and its marketing.
For the room, MTTs are a scheduling and liquidity business. A tournament needs enough entries to be worth playing, so rooms run guaranteed prize pools, promising a minimum and covering any shortfall (the overlay) themselves; a large guarantee draws a field, and a field that exceeds the guarantee costs the room nothing. Series of tournaments with a headline main event, satellites that award entry to bigger events for a small buy-in, and progressive knockout formats in which part of each buy-in is a bounty on the player's head are all devices for filling fields.
MTTs are also where poker's integrity problems are most visible, because the prize pools are large and the fields anonymous: collusion between players at the same table, multi-accounting to enter more than once, and the use of real-time assistance software are policed by detection systems and account closures.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an MTT and a sit and go?
A sit and go is a single-table (or small fixed-size) tournament that starts as soon as the seats fill. An MTT has a scheduled start time, many tables and a field that can run to thousands.
How does a poker room make money on tournaments?
Through the entry fee added to the buy-in, typically 5 to 10 per cent of the buy-in, which does not go into the prize pool.
What is a satellite tournament?
A tournament whose prize is entry to a larger tournament rather than cash, letting players reach a big buy-in event for a small stake. Rooms use them to fill major events.