HOW TO PLAY BOUNTY POKER TOURNAMENTS
CALLING ALL POKER BOUNTY HUNTERS. BOBA FETT NEED NOT APPLY
Whether you're a slick gunslinger stacking chips like a bounty hunter, or the wily newcomer in town, bounty tournaments are the Wild West of the poker world—packed with quick-draw action, unexpected twists, and the chance to snag a whole bunch of different prizes.
So, holster your cards and get ready for a rowdy showdown; here’s why bounty poker should be next on your hit list.
WHAT IS A BOUNTY TOURNAMENT?
A bounty tournament is, very simply, a knockout tournament where poker players are awarded prizes for eliminating their opponents. The prize is divided between the overall prize pool and the players.
Prizes are calculated differently depending on the type of bounty format you play, but essentially, players receive prizes for each player they eliminate from the tournament.
Think of it as though each player has a ‘bounty’ on their head. Much like a sheriff hunting down the town’s biggest, baddest outlaws, each player’s bounty is up for grabs by whoever has the balls, the skills, or the luck, to knock them out first.
Bounty poker is fast-paced, fun, and it gives players the opportunity to win two different prizes; either by winning a share of the prize pool, or by winning the bounty, or in some cases, both!
The prize mechanics, however, differ between different bounty formats — of which there are many, but we’ll be focussing on the three main types: Classic Bounty, Progressive Bounty and Mystery Bounty — which can make things a little more complicated. But hey, this poker right? If we wanted an easy ride we’d be playing Blackjack.
HOW BOUNTY TOURNAMENTS WORK
A bounty tournament has most of the same rules and gameplay as a regular game of Texas Hold‘em, but there’s a twist—there’s a bounty on everyone’s head. Depending on the format you’re playing, you can win some or all of that bounty as the game progresses. It’s a little different for mystery bounty, but we’ll go into more detail about this below.
Typically, bounty tournaments will split the initial buy-in into two pools; one for the standard prize pool, while the second makes up the bounties awarded to players for each player they knock out.
There are a number of different bounty formats, but the three most common are classic, progressive and mystery bounty.
Here’s the scoop on each different bounty format you can play at Global Poker.
CLASSIC BOUNTY
This is the OG of bounty tournaments. The way they work is very simple. A bounty is put on each player’s head at the start of the game, which is the amount you win every time you knock out an opponent.
So, for every player you knock out of the tournament, you receive a bonus as a reward. The more players you eliminate, the more you accumulate.
In a classic bounty tournament, part of your buy-in makes up the bounty on your head. Any player who can take you out of the game gets the bonus. If you are the overall winner, then your own bounty is added to your winnings at the end.
Here’s an example: you buy-in for SC20 and there is a SC6 bounty. SC14 goes into the prize pool, while SC6 goes to whoever knocks you out of the game. If you eliminate three players during the game and then win, you will receive the first-place prize and SC18 extra for knocking out other players, plus the SC6 bounty on your head.
Regardless of whether you knock out the first or the last person in the tournament, the bounty you win will always remain the same, but you can win multiple times.
One of the main draws of classic bounty is that you can accumulate prizes as you play, rather than wait until the end of the tournament.
PROGRESSIVE BOUNTY
As far as bounties go, this is considered the dominant force in bounty poker. Unlike standard knockout tournaments with fixed bounties, progressive bounties grow with each opponent you take out. When you snag a bounty from someone you've bested, half of it lands in your pocket, and the other half beefs up the bounty on your own head.
This is how it works: progressive bounty tournaments put part of the buy-in towards the bounty, however, when you knock out another player, it only pays half. The other half is then added to your own bounty, making the better players more of a target, and more valuable to take out of the game.
Here’s an example: you buy-in for SC30, and SC10 goes towards your bounty. If you knock out another player, you get SC5, and the other half goes towards the prize for taking you out of the game, making it SC15. If another player eliminates you, they get SC7.50, then the other SC7.50 is added to their own bounty. This process continues until a winner is crowned. This difference with this bounty format is as the tournament progresses, the bounties keep growing. By the time you reach the final table, the value of the bounty could be even higher than the prize you’d win for moving up a position in the tournament.
It’s straightforward, it’s ruthless, and it’s the go-to choice for those who want their poker with an extra punch.
MYSTERY BOUNTY
Last, but certainly not least, we have our newest addition to the Global Poker bounty family: the enigmatic Mystery Bounty. Aptly named, this unique bounty format does exactly what it says on the tin—it keeps the bounty a secret until you knock out another player. Unlike classic and progressive bounty formats, players won’t know exactly how much they've won until after successfully eliminating another player from the table. Each bounty is different and will be kept secret until after they win the prize.
Here’s how it works: in a mystery bounty tournament, part of your buy-in is contributed towards the mystery bounty prize pool. This ‘secret stash’ (the ‘bounty fee' IRL) is then split into several prizes depending on the prize structure in place. Players can see what the Mystery Bounty prizes are in the Lobby, but they won’t be allocated until players reach what we call the ‘in the bounty’ stage. This is the point when all remaining players are randomly assigned a Mystery Bounty Prize. This will only happen when there are as many players as there are bounty prizes.
As the tournament hits the ‘in the bounty stage’, these prizes are randomly allocated to the remaining players. Then, each player has the chance to knock out the other and claim their mystery bounty prize.
Here’s an example: let’s say you and four others throw in SC20 and half of that goes towards the bounty fee. Now, a total of SC50 is up for grabs, sliced into three different prizes using a 50%, 30% and 20% split.
Two players drop out, leaving three in the ring. With as many players as bounty prizes, it's bounty time! This means you’ve reached the ‘in the bounty stage’, and bounty prizes are then allocated randomly to the last three standing. At this stage, every elimination will score you a bounty. However, the value of that bounty will be chosen randomly as you draw from a pool of available options. If you’re the last one on the table, you get to pocket your own bounty too.
The beauty of mystery bounty lies in the fact that everyone at the table has a chance of walking away with a mystery prize. The element of the unknown makes this bounty format a touch unpredictable, adding an extra layer of excitement and intrigue. More importantly, it keeps players on their toes!
WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT BOUNTY TOURNAMENTS?
Not only are these types of tournaments a lot of fun to play, they’re pretty accessible for players of all skill levels. In general, you’ll find more action and a more aggressive style of play compared to a standard tournament. This is because players have the added allure of knocking opponents off the table to claim an extra prize.
Bounty tournaments tend to offer bigger prizes, too. By the time a bounty game reaches the final table, bounties can be huge, and in some cases may have grown to be bigger than the prize payouts.
Here’s a brief summary of the differences between classic bounty, progressive bounty and mystery bounty.
