- Partypoker US added bounty tournaments as part of a major product overhaul.
- WPN added PKOs recently and they form part of the upcoming CUB3D tournament series.
- Sweepstakes Global Poker also added KO and PKO tournaments and will feature them in its upcoming GOAT series.
- All networks are offering them on the daily schedule.
Progressive knockout tournaments have successfully expanded to all corners of the online poker world, with the format now introduced to the last remaining regional regulated US site, the leading offshore US network, and “sweepstakes” poker site Global Poker.
Knockout or “bounty” tournaments split entry fees between two separate prizes: part is set aside for traditional payouts, awarded to players that last the longest; the remainder is put on each player’s head as a bounty, awarded to whomever knocks them out. The split between these two prize payouts is traditionally 50/50.
A progressive knockout (PKO) tournament makes the bounty portion of the prize pool grow as the tournament progresses by splitting bounties when they are won. A portion is awarded to the player as an instant prize, as before, but a portion is added onto that player’s own bounty. Again, this split is usually 50/50.
This format has been popular for years, and all major real money online poker operators have offered both KO and PKO tournaments for a while.
However, in the last couple of weeks, the tournament format has extended to smaller regional and niche operations, further establishing the format as one of the most important game types spread online today.
