Yes, you can win cash prizes by participating in skill game tournaments. You choose what skill games you want to play and join tournaments to compete against other real players to win money.

To compete in such tournaments you have to become a member of one of our recommended skill games sites. It's easy to sign up and does not cost anything; actually, you‘re given some practice money to get you started.

Skill games are based on the players' skill as the deciding factor to pick the winner. Skill games are not games of chance or casino games where luck can allow you to win; rather it's your own skill at the game you are playing that will allow you to win the cash prizes.

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The basics
To play you always have to enter in a tournament where you compete against other real players. Tournaments have different entry fees, which is the cost that you commit to by entering into the tournament. The entry fee will be deducted from your account as you enter the tournament therefore you need to have enough money in your account to cover the entry fee to be able to play. Our recommended skill games sites also offer free tournaments that allow you to practice and play for free. There are literally dozens of different skill games and it would be impossible to pretend to explain games rules and strategy in this sole page. Visit our recommended skill games websites to find the games you’ll prefer and the tournaments you’ll want to enter.

The winner of a tournament is the player with the highest score and is decided when the tournament has closed. Some tournaments close at a given time and others close when a certain number of participants have joined. Check out the different tournament types to understand the difference between tournaments. In most tournaments you can enter more than one time, but only your highest score will count towards a win.

When the winners are decided the prizes will be awarded to the winners as a deposit directly into their accounts. Note that for most tournaments the prizes are defined from the start, but for progressive tournaments the prizes increase until the tournament finally closes.

Practice Tournaments
Practice Tournaments are open to new players to help them understand how the tournament system works and will allow to play against other Practice players for Practice money. You will be able to try out the games and understand the mechanics of cash based skill gaming. You can also use them to get better at your favourite games before playing for real cash. Only Practice players can participate in Practice tournaments and all players are considered to have the same skill level. As a Practice player you will be limited to this tournament type.

Free Tournaments
Free tournaments do not have an entry fee, and you can enter at no cost to improve your skills or just try a new game. You will still face other players of your own skill level when you play free tournaments, and winners will be declared as usual.

Cash Tournaments
A Cash tournament has a fixed number of player entry slots and closes when all the slots have been filled. A 5-player cash tournament requires that 5 players join it before it closes and the winner is decided. As soon as a cash tournament is closed a new one will begin, so there are always open Cash tournaments. The time needed until a Cash tournament closes varies from game to game and with the size and entry fee of the tournament.

The number of players and the size of the entry fee in a Cash tournament will vary from tournament to tournament. Use the tournament listing for each game to select a tournament that matches your preferences. At least 2 different players are required in a specific tournament, so that you will always face another player and not just compete against yourself. You can join the same tournament more than one time if you wish if it has more than 2 slots, but only your highest score will count.

How many winners are there in a tournament?
Systems allows for more than one winner in larger tournaments, although each player may only hold one position. Usually players are welcome to enter in tournaments as often as they wish (except 2-Player Tournaments). However, only the highest score for each player will be used to determine the winners of each tournament. In the event of a tie, the cash prize will be divided equally among the winning players.

Before you enter into a tournament you will always see the current division of prizes and the number of winners on the tournament entry page. As a rule of thumb the top 33% of the players in a tournament will receive a prize.

What are Cup tournaments?
Cup tournaments are series of one-on-one matches, where the winner proceeds to the next round. In each round, part of the entry fee is awarded to the winner, and the rest is saved for the later rounds, which pay a lot more. This means that you only pay an entry fee for the first round of the tournament.

When you have won a match, you will soon be matched against a new opponent for the next round. When the match is ready to be played, you must play within a certain time limit, otherwise your opponent will win by Walk Over (WO).

If two players draw in the first round of the tournament, they are both refunded. If two players draw at a later stage of the tournament, they will both get another try until one of them wins.

Does only the best player win all the time?
The best player in a specific tournament will of course have the greatest chance of winning, but most systems match you against opponents of your own skill, which allow you to win even though you are not the best-rated player in the whole site. Also large tournaments have multiple winners, sometimes over a hundred winners, which allow you to win more often.

How does the ranking system work?
Skill games website ranking systems ensure that you compete against players of a similar skill level to your own in tournaments. This means that you have a good chance of winning tournaments even if you are a beginner.

When you take part in tournaments your ranking is adjusted according to how well you play based on a series of factors. These include the amount of money you have won or lost, the skill of your opponents, how many times you have played, how well you have performed in tournaments and several more. Only tournaments with a Cash prize affect your ranking, so free tournaments do not have any bearing and allow you to learn the mechanics of each game. Your ranking can rise and fall over time.

Do the skill levels affect the difficulty of the games?
Games can get more difficult if your skill improves. This means that the games will stay challenging for you even if you become very good at them. However, everyone in a given tournament will still face the same level of difficulty. The maximum score for a particular game can differ between different skill levels. This means that it is not always possible to compare scores on the same game if the tournament skill level is different.

How do I know the posted scores are real and not faked?
The best skill games websites have a number of tools and methods for identifying game anomalies, errors and cheating. Therefore impossible scores will be detected and disqualified. The player will get an error message displayed when the score is posted.

If the website determines that a game error was caused by the player and not due to a technical error, it will void the tournament entry. When this is the case most skill games websites reserve the right to close an account and block the player from further access to the site.

Are skill games websites safe?
Yes it is definitely safe to use a credit card at our recommended skill games sites. We have made a selection of the most reputable websites – that get the best customer reviews. Payment systems are industry strength, built using the latest encryption techniques and safety measures to guarantee transaction security: Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption connections for all passwords and financial information. Anytime you enter sensitive information it will always be sent to the servers using encryption. Beware of gaming websites which don’t use SSL encryption.

Now you know the basic rules you need to practice and get used to how the games are played. Take a look at our recommended skill games websites and register with a site. Don’t go spending your money yet – watch some games and enter practice and free tournaments when possible. Once you get used to how the games play and defined your strategy, well… Prepare for fun, tension and exhilarating moments!

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