Poker: Iron Man Tournaments.

It’s such a new phenomenon that you may not have heard of it yet. But a new type of poker tournament is entering the online gambling world, and experts are predicting it will be the most popular type of tournament to date. Emerging from the US market, the new tournaments are being touted as the poker game that proves skill and ability, and relies little on luck.

So what is this new type of tournament? The Iron Man tournaments, they involve players showcasing their abilities over long periods of time, with no breaks whatsoever – they are a true test of stamina, focus, determination, and, of course, skill.

A usual poker tournament will usually incorporate breaks; they have intervals where people can eat, rest, smoke... These breaks allow players to refresh, and sometimes occasionally allow them to discuss with their friends, or fellow opponents, tactics and strategies that they have discerned during the course of the game. Because in poker each game is unique, it is a learning curve from start to finish; even for the professionals.

The Iron Man tournament is probably most suited to a player who is used to online poker. Online, there are rarely more than five-minute breaks every hour or so, not the long rests that a bricks-and-mortar tournament affords. This latest structure means that there is more time for players to play; it also means that the weaker players can be wheedled out early; they lose focus quickly and make fatal errors. If such a player does take a rest, then their hand is automatically folded.

The Iron Man is also popular from the point-of-view of the casinos, they mean fewer members of staff need to be hired, plus the player turnover is high as people have a much less high endurance threshold. The buy in fees also mean that, coupled with the high turnover, they are making more money. So, for the casino, the Iron Man means more profit fewer overheads – or win-win in their language!

The player profile that such a tournament favours is the high stamina person who can play at a high-level for 30 hours in a row (certainly not me then!). They must have a lot of focus, which they are able to maintain over a long period, those players who lack these traits will find the tournaments extremely difficult. The Iron Man is the double marathon of the poker world, by the end of the tournament you are likely to have just as many blisters as you would if you ran for 52 miles, only they are likely to be caused by the chafe of sitting down too long!

If you think this tournament is right up your street, or you just want to set yourself the challenge to see if you can do it, then make sure that you do your research and find out which sites offer the tournaments. At the time of writing this article, Fulltiltpoker.com are offering Iron Man tournaments, but there are some qualifying requirements that need to be met.

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