How Slot Tournaments Work
How Slot Tournaments Work On WGS Technology Software
Slot tournaments might not require much skill, but they do require concentration, willpower, and raw speed. Slots tournaments are not for geriatrics – they are designed to be placed as quickly as possible. Usually, the winner is determined solely on who pressed the spin button the fastest.
Casino Tournaments are becoming more and more popular with players and having a better understanding on how slot tournaments work on casino softwares is key. Slot tournaments work best when the experiences are as realistic as possible with the same excitement as live events not to mention more action at the fraction of a regular slot play.
It is a contest where various players play a casino game for a pre-determined amount of time using a specific amount of funds provided. Aim is to accumulate as much balance as possible by playing the game wisely. A player’s success level is determined by his/ her ranking against other players.
Slot Tournaments can be offered for a number of games. You can enter a Slot Tournament by paying an Entry fee. Once the tournament starts, you will get a pre-determined amount in tournament funds to play with. You can play until you run out of funds or the play time finishes, whichever comes first. At the end of a tournament, your ranking is determined by comparing your end balance with end balances of various other players part of this tournament. If your balance is higher than other players, you will have a comparatively higher ranking and vice versa.
- 'In slot tournaments, skill (such as it is) is a factor only when speed of play matters; if you have unlimited credits during the playing time, then the more hands you get in, the more chances you have to hit more payoffs. Don't choose this format if you think you can't pound on a Spin button for 10-15 minutes without wearing yourself out.
- Points Tournaments; Survivor Slot Tournaments; Comped Tournaments; Freeroll; You also need to consider how much a slot tournament costs so you can budget accordingly. This amount won’t be the same for all casinos. It’s easy to understand the way slot tournaments work at casinos. These competitions get a massive attraction in the US and have.
Some slot tournaments work by allowing you to re-buy if you have no funds remaining in the tournament. This allows you to keep playing in a tournament by paying an additional Re-buy fee.
To help you understand the concept behind how Slot Tournaments work we have outlined some points generally common in all tournaments.
- Each player gets the same number of starting chips
- Each player uses the same pre-determined game
- Tournaments usually last for a set period of time determined by the start and end time
- A player completes the tournament once the tournament ends or they run out of tournament balance
- Winners are determined by who has the highest balance
Slot Tournaments Types
There are a few different types of tournaments with certain sites offering variations on these.
- Freerolls
- Scheduled Tournament (with Buy-in and Fixed Payout)
- Scheduled Tournament (with Buy-in and Accumulated Payout)
- Invitational Tournament
- Sit and Go Tournament
Freerolls are just that, Free! They do not cost anything to enter even though you stand to win real money. In most of these types of tournaments the prizes are usually small compared to the buy-in type tournament. Online casino’s usually offer a daily free roll, weekly free roll or sometimes a monthly free roll. Most often the games used for these free roll tournaments are slot games.
Sit and Go Tournaments work very similar to a how a poker site offers sit and go tournaments. They kick off once the minimum number or participants are registered for the tournament. Usually these types of tournaments require the player to pay a buy-in fee and have a cap on the number of players allowed to enter. The time for these Sit and Go battles are for a short period of time, roughly thirty minutes to an hour. The Prize is determined by a percentage of the buy-ins to make up the prize pool.
There are two types of scheduled tournaments. Both have buy-ins, a predetermined game, with a set start and end time. Some are usually for a couple hours to a week or even a month. These buy-in tournaments tend to attract a lot less registrations usually because of the fee to enter. The main difference between them is that one Prize is fixed by the casino operator and is shared amongst the winners. The other Prize is Variable or percentage based on the number of entrant fees and buy-ins that take place during the actual tournament. Eg. The house will say 70% of the buy-ins will go towards the prize. That means if there were $5000 in entry fees and buy-ins, the prize would be $3500.
The Invitational Tournaments work by inviting the casino’s most important players. This is an invitational tournament for those who are members of usually the higher level segments or high rollers. Entry is usually free to start with a predetermined buy in amount. You tend to find these tournaments use Table Games for such a Tournament.
Lincoln Casino, MiamiClub Casino & Liberty Slots Tournament Lobby
How to Register for a Slot Tournament at Liberty Slot, Miami Club Casino or Lincoln Casino
After selecting a tournament, you may register by clicking on the Register button located in the bottom panel of the casino window. The Sign-up Confirmation message box will be displayed and will ask you to confirm your entry in the tournament. Click on YES to confirm your entry into the tournament, click on NO to return to the tournament screen without registering. Once you register, Entry fee will be deducted from your casino account balance. You can withdraw from a tournament you have registered for, before it begins and your entry fee will be refunded back to your casino account.
If a tournament is cancelled, your entry fee will automatically be refunded to your casino account.
Some Tournaments work with Free to enter; meaning you do not have to make a purchase in order to play in a tournament. These are referred to as “Free Roll” Tournaments. In order to be eligible to enter these Free Roll Tournaments at Miami Club, Liberty Slots or Lincoln Casino, you have to validate your email address. In signing up at the casino’s you receive a Welcome Email with a validation link that is required for you to validate in order to play Free Roll Tournaments.
How to Select a Tournament
Click on ‘Tournaments’ button in the menu bar. The Tournament Lobby will be displayed. The left-hand side of the screen shows the List of Upcoming Tournaments, Tournaments in Progress, Completed Tournaments and Cancelled Tournaments (if any). Once you select a tournament from the left hand side, all the details of this tournament will be shown on the right hand side of the screen. You can select a tournament by reviewing details listed for each tournament in the following sections:
List of Tournaments:
On the left hand side of the screen, you will see the following information displayed under List of Tournaments:
Tournament Name: This is the name given to this particular tournament.
Tournament ID: A unique Id assigned to this tournament.
Tournament Status: The status shows the progress of the tournament, for example, “Join Now”, “In Progress”, “Completed”,”Cancelled”.
Game: This identifies the game to be played during a tournament, for example, Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Slots.
Prize: Real prize amount in this tournament.
Bonus: Bonus prize amount offered in this tournament.
Fee: Entry fee required to enter this tournament.
Start Date: Specifies the point in time when tournament play begins, for example June 1, 2013.
End Date: Specifies the point in time when tournament play ends, for example June 23, 2013.
How Playing in Slot Tournaments Work
You can start playing in a tournament any time after you have registered and any time after the start date/time. To play, simply select the tournament and click on the Enter button located in the bottom panel of casino window. The game window will open. You are ready to begin playing.
While you are playing the game, following information related to this Tournament will be shown:
Balance: Your available balance for game play. This balance is your Tournament balance and is different from your Actual balance in the casino. This balance is used to calculate your ranking against other players when the Tournament ends.
Bets to Qualify: Number of bets you needs to play before you are assigned a rank. This field is replaced by Rank field as soon as you pass the minimum number of bets required.
Rank: This field displays your ranking against other players playing in the same tournament. Once assigned, this rank will change as your balance increases / decreases and will later be used to determine if you are one of the winners in this tournament.
Total Bets: Number of bets you have played so far since the tournament started.
Time remaining: Time remaining before this tournament Ends.
You can continue to play until your Tournament funds are exhausted or until the Tournament ends, whichever comes first. Re-buy option is also offered in some tournaments which allows you to keep playing in a tournament by paying an additional re-buy fee. See Re-buying into a tournament section for more details.
Note: Bets to qualify requirements needs to be met before you can qualify to win any prize amount. If the tournament ends and you have not met the requirements, you will not be eligible to compete for any prizes offered.
Tournament Details:
When you click on a tournament from the List of Tournaments, the right hand side of the screen will display the following information about this tournament:
Tournament Name: This is the name given to this particular tournament.
Number of Participants: Number of players who have registered to play in this tournament.
Game: This identifies the game to be played during a tournament, for example, Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Slots.
Start Date: Specifies the point in time when tournament play begins, for example, January 1, 2013 12:01AM EST.
End Date: Specifies the point in time when tournament play ends, for example, March 23, 2013 12:00 AM EST.
Registration Ends: Time after which players cannot register for this tournament.
Entry Fee: The amount charged to a user to enter tournament play.
Starting Balance: The amount of money credited to the ‘tournament account’ of all players prior to the beginning of a round of play.
Rebuy Starts: Time when Re-buy option will become available
Rebuy Ends: Time when Re-buy option will end
Max # of rebuys: Number of times you can re-buy into the tournament
Rebuy balance: Your tournament balance, at which re-buy option will become available.
Rebuy Fee: Fee required to re-buy. This fee is deducted from your casino account balance.
Rebuy add. # bets: Minimum number of bets you need to play in order to qualify for a winning after re-buying.
Rebuy add. balance: Funds added to your tournament balance after Re-buy.
Min # of Bets: Minimum number of bets you need to play in order to qualify for a winning.
Prizes: List of Prizes in this tournament. Prizes can either be in the form of Real chips and/or Bonus chips. This section also displays the number of potential players who can win each prize.
Current Leaders: List of leading players while tournament is in progress
Winners (appears once tournament finishes): List of winners for a completed tournament
Your Tournament Status: Your status in this tournament.
How Re-buying into a Slot Tournament Work
Re-buy option allows you to keep playing in a Tournament if you run out of tournament funds. You will need to pay a Re-buy Fee in order to get additional funds to play in a Tournament. Not all Tournaments offer the Re-buy option.
If Re-buy option is available in a Tournament, following additional information related to this option will be displayed in the Tournament Details window:
Rebuy Starts: Time when Re-buy option will become available
Rebuy Ends: Time when Re-buy option will end
Max # of rebuys: Number of times you can re-buy into the tournament
Rebuy balance: Your tournament balance, at which re-buy option will become available.
Rebuy Fee: Fee required to re-buy. This fee is deducted from your casino account balance.
Rebuy add. # bets: Minimum number of bets you need to play in order to qualify for a winning after re-buying. These bets are added to any bets remaining to qualify from your earlier game play.
Rebuy add. balance: Funds added to your tournament balance after Re-buy.
If Re-buy option is not available, details listed above will not appear and re-buy will display as Not Available in the Tournament Details window.
You can re-buy either from within a game or from the tournament lobby. This option button will become enabled once all re-buy requirements are met. Once you re-buy, you can continue playing the game.
Slot Tournament States
Under List of tournaments, one of the following states will appear for each tournament:
Upcoming – Register Now: When Tournament has not started and you can Register.
Upcoming – Registered: When Tournament has not started and you have already registered for this tournament.
In Progress – Join Now: When a Tournament starts and you have registered for it.
In Progress – Register and Join Now: When a tournament has started but is still registering new players.
In Progress – Registration Closed: When no further registrations for the tournament are permitted.
Completed: When the tournament is completed.
Cancelled: When a tournament has been cancelled.
Sold Out: When maximum numbers of players have signed up for the tournament.
Note: A Tournament will automatically cancel if not enough entrants are registered for the Tournament to start. Usually the minimum entrant is 2 players.
Tournament Buttons
The following buttons will appear in the Tournament Lobby of Lincoln casino, Miami Club Casino and Liberty Slots:
Register: Click on this button to Register for a Tournament.
Enter: Click on Enter to start playing in a Tournament.
Withdraw: Click on Withdraw to cancel your registration before Tournament starts.
Re-buy: Click on Re-buy in order to re-buy into the tournament.
Cashier: Launches cashier
Back to Lobby: Takes you back to the Casino lobby from Tournament lobby.
Tournament Lobby: Takes you back to Tournament Lobby from the tournament game.
Tournament Prizes
If you win, your prize is added to your casino account balance. In general, prizes are paid immediately upon completion of the tournament and verification of tournament results.
There are two types of Prizes which can be offered in a WGS Technology Software Tournament:
Fixed Prize: Where the prize amount is fixed.
Variable Prize: Where the prize amount is a percentage of the total pool. Since its variable, potential prizes will increase as more people join the tournament.
There are two types of Prize amounts:
Real Prize: Winning amount is added to your Real account balance if you win.
Bonus Prize: Winning amount is added to your Bonus account balance if you win.
Result of tournament is based on rankings of all players against each other when the tournament ends. In case of a tie between two or more players, the casino reserves the right to determine the winner (s) and allocate prizes accordingl
Players are drawn to slots tournaments (otherwise known as pokies tournaments) because of their simplicity. Joining in is just as easy as playing the pokies themselves (seriously, it is easy – there is no need to learn how to cheat them), play the particular games the tournament rules refer to, and hope the lucky stars that you get big wins to move up the ladder.
At the end of the tournament, prizes are awarded to players who come out on top or in the winning places, which can be anywhere from top three down to top ten or twenty. The beauty of playing in these slots tournaments is that anyone can get involved regardless of skill level.
Now, we know that these tourneys are simple to get into, but how do they work? Here we will cover a range of the different slot tournaments that you can expect to find at Australian online casinos.
Different Types of Slots Tournaments
Timed Tournaments
In a timed tournament, each player will receive a set number of credits and a specific period to play them. Any credits a player wins are added as a separate bankroll, and if not used within the time period, they are lost altogether.
Limited Credits
These are specific tournaments where the credits that players use are limited, meaning players receive a specific allocation of credits and continue playing until their bankroll has been drained!
This includes any extra credits that are won through spins. This style of tournament is very popular with Aussies — it feels more like the last man standing type situation and a test of luck and endurance rather than pumping in plenty of cash.
Multiple Duration
Increasingly popular across casinos and online casino sites are tournaments that last several days, weeks, or even an entire month. With these tournaments, players can buy back into the game or want to continue pushing up the rankings.
While many casinos offer these tournaments, joining will be a choice players need to weigh up because with players being able to spend their own cash to participate, there is an understanding that only the whales or big spenders ever win.
How Do Casino Slot Tournaments Work
How Do These Tournaments Work?
All tournaments will follow a simple format: spend time playing designated slot(s) within a particular period, while using an allocated number of spins or your own bankroll.
Every spin and every win moves players up the rankings, intending to make it to the top for the grand prize. Now, as we mentioned already, there are three different types of slots tournaments in terms of play and how long they run for.
When we look at how slot tournaments are run, two methods determine what the competition will look like, and these are having an open player base or being reserved as an invitational to VIP. Each of these can be played with winnings or prizes that are predetermined, or be dependent upon splitting up entry fees.
Open or Invitational Tourneys
Tournaments can either be joined through an invitation, which is typically reserved for regular casino goers or VIP. The opposite to this is an open tournament that allows anyone player to join.
Many invitational tournaments will include entry fees, whereas the average open-format competition will be more or less a free-for-all with no entry fees.
Tournament Strategies
There isn’t much that can be done to guarantee better results with pokies; however, you can focus on improving your skills – speed and concentration – to enhance chances of doing better overall.
Speed
Playing fast is crucial in pokies tournaments, especially timed tourneys. While it makes the game less enjoyable, we would recommend not focusing on your wins and just burning through your credits for the end.
Concentration
Always ensure that you are concentrating on your gameplay, if you play online, make sure that you are in a quiet environment without distractions, and if you are playing at a brick and mortar casino, make sure to not focus on what other players are doing.
How Do Free Slot Tournaments Work
To put it simply, the best strategy is to stay focussed, play fast, and enjoy it!