Poker enthusiasts are sure to have been part of discussions on best poker tournaments, the prize money, the instant fame and adulation that follows a place at the final table, not to mention endorsements or advertisement offers. These are all constants with wins in the best poker tournaments routinely held online.

But, how does one filter out the good poker tournaments from the downright cheats and scam ones? Yes, there are a lot of fake poker tournaments online too and these ask for exorbitant amount of signing up fees (entry) only for the amateur players to find out that the website has shut down or it was a swindle to start with!

The first online poker tournament at Full Tilt started in the early seventies in Las Vegas with Henry Jones, a pro poker star giving these virtual games a boost. The virtual tables at these games were designed similar to live poker contests and betting styles were similar as well. Advantages for players included the easy and fast poker odds calculator for judging house odds and software tools for calculating best hand rankings besides quick tips for easy reference when stuck in tight spots. The initial online poker tournaments also had the benefit of low entry fees – $1 or $2 only!

However, in the past 15 years, online poker has become nothing short of a world wide phenomenon with global poker fans numbers going up everyday, thanks to TV broadcasts of popular game shows hosted by poker stars and events like the WSOP getting millions of viewers on TV and via Internet videos.

Besides, with pro poker players like Chris Moneymaker actually showing the way for newbie poker players to enter a small tournament to qualify and eventually win the World Series of Poker, nothing seems impossible in online poker profit making possibilities. Moneymaker put in under $50 and earned $2.5 million in WSOP by winning the main event, which makes poker fans dream the same dream: of playing cash games and winning big money!

Of course, to win the best FullTiltPoker tournaments, one has to play high stakes, which in turn calls for a sizable bankroll. One also has to consider fluctuations in ring games in which self-control and disciplined strategic application of poker techniques plays a big role in preventing a downswing in one’s stakes when competing against thousands of players who contribute to the massive poker prize pools with their modest entry fees.

But satellite tournaments are great for building experience, not wasting a fortune on huge entry fees and getting good freerolls with guaranteed prizes that won’t make you rich overnight but are nonetheless a great way to get value for your poker dollar!

You can choose from a multi-table or sit-and-go type of best poker tournament event depending on your game preferences, number of players in peak hours and the freeroll offers you find at each room. You can also research about the fixed-schedule poker events if you are keen on these.

However, the best picks for online poker tournaments are undoubtedly William Hill Poker (offers a 100% bonus up to $600 with $2,500 in freerolls), 888Poker (as the name suggests, sign ups get 100% bonus up to 888 USD and $1,000 Freeroll – also free to download) besides top favorite Partypoker, which offers a bonus of 100% up to $500 with $2k in Freerolls!!

What’s more – all these 3 best poker tournaments online are free to download – isn’t that a treat for poker fans?