Satellite tournament is very different from a higher stakes tournament. Satellites are tournaments that allow players to win entry into higher buy-in tournament for much less money. As a result, they can allow amateur players, who may not have or want to invest the money, to win entry into big games.

The number of people that win seats to the bigger event in a satellite is the big event entry fee divided by the satellite entry fee. For instance, in a $5 satellite for a $50 buy in, 1 out of every 10 players in the satellite tournament would win an entry into the $50 tournament.

Satellite tournaments can be very profitable, if you understand how they work. There are some big differences in the prize structure between them and regular tournaments that call for a change in strategy, though. In a regular tournament first, second, third and so on win different amounts of money. In a satellite, though, coming in first, tenth or even twentieth is worth the same thing. The top X number of people win the prize and the prize is the same for everyone. That means you don't really have to look to win a satellite, just place high enough. Here are some tips to do just that.

Avoid Early Toss Ups:

Toss ups, sometimes called coin flips, are hands that could go either way. In a satellite, it's not worth getting involved in such situations early on. You should only put a lot of chips in if you are confident that you can win a pot. That's because your chip stack isn't what it appears to be. Since everyone who wins is going to win the same thing, your chips are actually worth more than half a doubled up stack, so it's really not worth the hassle.

Flops, Flops and More Flops:

In a satellite tournament, the best way to get a good start is to see lots of cheap flops early in the tournament. Satellites are full of fish. Fish are amateur players who don't really know how to play the game. You can take out a lot of fish early on and build your stack, if you happen to catch lucky cards on the flop. Since most of the fish get taken out early, though, it's not a good strategy later in the tournament.

Short Stacked Late Game:

If you find yourself low on chips late in the tournament, there's still hope. The large stacks aren't going to want to invest their chips in pots towards the end, since everyone that places wins the same prize. So, if you bet into them, you can often steal their blinds and dig yourself out of the short stack hole.

It's very important to recognize the difference between the huge stacks and the large stacks, though. People with tons of chips really have nothing to lose by doubling up a short stack, so they might call you.

You should also be careful of other short stacks like yourself. Like you, they are probably feeling desperate. They aren't likely to get many more chances and they probably think you're betting with bad cards,, in an attempt to win blinds. So, they could easily call you.

Big Stack Late Game:

If you have a large stack late game in a satellite, don't blow your chips for no reason. If, for example, the top 25 players win and there's only 27 players left, don't get involved in any pots, no matter what. If you just wait, a couple people should lose fairly fast and you'll win the prize. Patience is key in late game satellite poker strategy.