The prize money differs extremely between different tournaments. It can be as little as $50 $100, while a main event of a famous poker tournament can have prize of several millions of dollars. Usually, the prize is determined by the buy-ins of the player and the extra sponsoring. The way the prize money is split between the players differ from tournament to tournament. In many tournaments, only the first three to five places win money. This guarantees very high prize money for the winner and attracts much more players and attention. In other, mostly smaller tournaments, every player can get a share of the prize money depending on his ranking in the game but the prize money for most of the players is smaller than their buy-ins. In rare cases, the main prize of a poker tournament is not money but a vacation, a car or a house. It depends on the rules of the tournament. The rules of the tournament are appointed by organizers and all players have to follow them strictly. In the rules, the variant of poker, the minimum and maximum bets and all aspects regarding the tournament are stated.

The poker boom and TV broadcasting

Within the last years, the online casino community has raised extremely. The Internet allows many players to practise their abilities. In contrast to real casinos, the table minimum is usually smaller and the online casino is available every day of the week from every place with an internet connection. More and more poker players start their professional career in online casinos.

The high publicity of poker games during the last years is based on the high TV presence and the professional production methods. The TV channels have hidden card cameras which allow commenting the actual situation at the table. This feature makes the TV broadcasting so valuable for beginners and hobby poker players since they can see how professionals are playing their hands. Since the year 2000, many poker events have been created and broadcasted. The wide acceptance and interest in the game, in combination with the growing online poker community, lead to higher number of poker player. That is why an online poker boom started during the last decade.