A MTT is a Multi-Table Tournament. Each multi-table tournament has a set start date and time, with all players registering to play in advance. You can register at any time from when the tournament details are posted up until about 5 minutes before kick off. When registering, you'll need to pay the buy-in together with the registration fee, which is typically 10% of the buy-in. Sound confusing? Don't worry, it's not. For example, if you wanted to play in a $10 No Limit tournament, the buy-in would be $10 and the entry fee $1, giving a grand total of $11.
When you buy-in, each players starts with the same number of chips and is assigned a random seat on a randomly selected table. The number of tables in play will reflect the number of players who have entered, so if 999 players have entered, then there will be 111 tables at the start of play. As the tournament progresses, and players get knocked out, tables are closed and players are reseated to make sure that tables remain well balanced. Table and seat reassignment is again conducted at random, but takes into consideration your position in relation to the blinds so you don't lose out. Eventually, nine players will remain on the final table where they'll battle it until one player has all the chips.
Once you register, prior to the tournament start, you will receive audio and visual reminders within the poker client and will be allocated a seat at random. You will be able to view your table and seat a few minutes before the tournament start time.
The real beauty of multi-table tournaments is that all the buy-ins form a prize pool, a prize pool that you'll be playing for a share of. The pool is determined by a range of factors, such as the number of entrants, the stakes and any possible add-ons (that's extra money that we put in), and the payout structure is similarly determined by the number of entrants. Perhaps the prize pool and payouts are best illustrated by another example. Say 450 people enter a $10 NL tournament, then they'll be a prize pool of $4,500. Using our standard payout structure, the winner will walk away with just over $1,200, the runner-up $765. Which isn't a bad return for $11 and a couple of hours play.
