Tournaments
Late registration in poker
Definition
A period after the start of a tournament during which players can still register and receive a starting stack.
Late registration usually lasts for the first few levels. Players who join late get the full starting stack but the blinds are higher, so their stack is effectively shorter.
Registering late can be a deliberate strategy, because you skip the early levels when chips matter least and see how the table plays.
Related terms
- Re-entryEntering a tournament again with a fresh stack, as a new entry, after you have been eliminated.
- MTT (multi-table tournament)A tournament with many players spread over several tables, which merge as players are eliminated until a winner remains.
- Short stackA stack that is small compared with the blinds, usually below 15 to 20 big blinds.