Buying an entry into a poker tournament seems like a straightforward affair: You put down your money and pick up your chips. That’s true for smaller poker tournaments, but you can also try to qualify for tournaments with large entry fees, typically $200 or more, by winning a smaller poker tournament where the prize is an entry into the larger tournament.

These qualifying poker tournaments, called satellites , often charge you either one-tenth of the larger tournament’s entry fee and give away one seat, or charge you one-fifth of the larger tournament’s entry fee and give away two seats. You can also put up a smaller amount of money and play in a super satellite , where you compete against a bigger field for the same number of seats. If the satellite you’re in gives out multiple seats, you play until you get down to the number of players as there are seats on offer; there is rarely any additional money on offer for winning a satellite.

If you choose to go the satellite entry route, T.J. Cloutier advocates buying into three satellites to give yourself a shot at getting in for less than the full entry fee.

Also recommended:

1. Texas Holdem Tournament Types
2. Practicing Holdem Poker Tournament Play
3. Single Table No-Limit Texas Holdem Tournament Tips