Poker Tournament Selection: Choosing the Right Events

## Choosing the Right Tournament Events Tournament selection is an underappreciated skill. Not all tournaments offer equal value — factors like field softness, guarantee size, structure quality, and rake percentage all impact your expected ROI. Investing time in finding the right events pays off significantly. Prioritize tournaments with: low rake (under 10%), good structures (reasonable starting stacks and blind levels), guaranteed prize pools that attract overlay, and fields that include a high proportion of recreational players. Build a personal list of your most profitable tournaments and make them recurring entries in your weekly schedule. Track your results by tournament type, room, and buy-in level to identify where your ROI is highest. ## Tournament Rakeback Reminder Tournament buy-in fees count toward your rakeback tier at most rooms. When evaluating tournaments, factor in the effective discount from your rakeback percentage. A $10+$1 tournament at 40% rakeback effectively costs $10.60 after rakeback — a meaningful savings over thousands of entries.