Satellite
A satellite is a tournament whose prizes are seats in a larger event rather than cash, so every player who qualifies wins exactly the same thing.
That flat payout turns the usual strategy upside down. Once your stack is large enough to qualify, extra chips are worth almost nothing, and the correct play is often to fold hands that would be automatic calls anywhere else.
The mirror image applies to the short stacks. With nothing to protect, they have to take chances, and the players just above the qualifying line are the ones who should be doing the least.
an example
your cards
Six seats are awarded and seven players remain, and you have the second largest stack. Facing an all in from the chip leader, ace king is a fold, because winning the pot adds a seat you already have and losing it costs the one you were about to collect.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find satellite in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
ICM
The Independent Chip Model, or ICM, estimates what a tournament stack is worth in prize money by treating each player's ...
Bubble
The bubble is the point in a tournament where one more player has to be eliminated before anybody gets paid, which makes ...
MTT
A multi table tournament is an event where every entrant starts with the same chips, the blinds rise on a clock, and pla ...
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Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
The full order of play, from the blinds to the showdown.