With the growth of online tournaments in the past few years, we have seen the development of deal-making happening more often in the cyber world of poker tournaments. With some of the top prizes adding up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and with such a huge spike in the top five paying spots, ignoring the power of deal-making late in a tournament could be a costly mistake for players lucky enough to reach a final table.

There is an often-quoted phrase amongst poker players along the lines of ‘I only play to win’. While such a view must be respected in some quarters, it’s crucial this should not cloud the reality of you walking away from the table with a handsome return.