Blinds

The pace of the tournament will be impacted by decisions made about the blinds. As a tournament organizer you have to decide two things regarding the blinds: 1) the size of the blinds and 2) the frequency with which you will raise them.

Sticking with the first decision, the size of thee blinds. I have here an example of a blind structure for a single table tournament using 800 chips that could be used:

$ 10 - $ 15
$ 15 - $ 30
$ 20 - $ 40
$ 30 - $ 60
$ 40 - $ 80
$ 50 - $ 100
$ 75 - $ 150
$100 - $ 200
$200 - $ 400
$300 - $ 600
$400 - $ 800
$500 - $1000
$700 - $1400

The second decision, how often do you want to raise the blinds? Online poker tournaments usually raise the blinds approximately every 10 minutes, but for live play this is a little on the fast side. Real players, when dealing, are not nearly as fast as dealing done online and players don't get enough playing time. Increasing the time between raising the blinds to twenty minutes usually sets a nice fast pace, while further increasing the time to a half-hour results in a more leisurely playing pace. If you increase the time between raising the blinds to an hour the result is a very slow pace and unless you are planning to play all-day is not recommended.

If you are not comfortable in determining the size of the blinds or if you want to see if the one you have made seems reasonable go to an online poker site. Many online poker sites list their "Blinds Schedules" and you can use this as a reference point for the one you will use in your tournament. A typical schedule for a tournament of 14 to 16 players using 800 chips would be:

$ 10 - $ 20
$ 20 - $ 40
$ 30 - $ 60
$ 50 - $ 100
$ 75 - $ 150
$ 100 - $ 200
$ 150 - $ 300
$ 200 - $ 400
$ 300 - $ 600
$ 400 - $ 800
$ 500 - $1000
$ 600 - $1200
$ 700 - $1400
$ 800 - $1600
$1000 - $2000

A schedule like this using a time of 20 minutes between raising the blinds should result in tournaments that last in the neighborhood of three to four hours. When you are hosting a smaller tournament you may want to increase the time between raising the blinds to accommodate the fewer chips in play. Also, keep in mind the type of players you regularly play with and if they would feel more comfortable at a different playing pace adjust it accordingly

One last thing to think about is the use of antes. While my preference is not to run my tournaments using antes they can be useful in bringing a close to a tournament that is starting to run too long. My tournaments are played without an ante until an ante "time" is reached, then they kick in at 25% of the small blind.

No One Escapes the Big Blind

When playing a home poker tournament there is often confusion as how you handle the situation when a player on a blind is eliminated. Here is the proper method of handling this situation. If the eliminated player is on the small blind the blinds are posted as usual with the dealer remaining the same. Players may deal two or three times in a row, it's an acceptable practice, but it's not acceptable for a player to escape the big blind. If the eliminated player is on the big bind the big blind moves one position forward as does the dealer button and the small blind is not posted (the small blind player has just been eliminated). On the next hand the big blind moves along to the next player, the small blind posts, and the dealer deals twice in a row

Should both the big blind and the small bind players be eliminated, the big blind moves on to the next player, the small bind is not posted (that player has been eliminated), and the dealer deals twice in a row. On the next hand the big blind forward one position, the small blind gets posted, and the dealer deals for a third time.

The most important thing to remember is that the big blind never skips anyone, and the other players use the big blind position as a reference point. The small blind is posted if a player is at the position, but if that player has been eliminated the small blind is not posted. The player dealing continues the deal until such time as the big blind moves forward and then things return to normal and both blinds are posted.

This method of play is called the "Dead Button Rule". However there is another method of playing called the "Moving Button Rule". If you think you would like to use this alternate method of play you can consult Robert's Rules for information on the proper method of play.

Coloring Up

With time the tournament blinds and bets become larger. When the blinds and bets get to some large size the quantity of small value poker chips required make them less desirable. When the blinds and bets are up in the $400-$800 range the quantity of $5 chips needed make it cumbersome to bet with. Players however not only have $5 chips they likely have lots of them. At this time the tournament removes them from play. This is called "coloring up", and is simply done by having the players cashing in all of their smaller value chips and purchasing larger value ones.

At coloring up time it is unlikely that most of the players will be able to purchase the higher value chips and not have a few smaller value chips left over. For example, a player with seven $5 chips can purchase a $25 chip using five $5 chips, but then two $5 chips are left over. In the tournaments I run these chips are simply kept by the players, if at some later time the player gets three more $5 chips he/she can use them to purchase a $25 chip, if they don't they use them on the final bet of the tournament.