How To Set Up A Home Poker Tournament
Setting up your very home poker tournament is nearly as easy as playing in a normal home game, but with added excitement and a different approach in how to play the game.
One of the nice things about tournament play is that it allows for more people to get involved in the game. If your home is big enough, you can accommodate multiple tables. There should be, at maximum, nine people to a table, so if you have a big group, you will need multiple tables. Having more than one table in use can also be nice, because as the tournament field shrinks, players that have been eliminated and are tired of watching other people play can go to another table and start their own side game.
There are three main things to consider when starting your own home poker tournament. The first is the size of each player’s starting stack. In the average home game, this is not much of a problem because players can always refill their chip stack when they get low, or get busted. In a tournament, everyone starts with the same amount of chips. (NOTE: One exception to this is if you choose to allow re-buys when a player gets busted. Some tournaments will allow re-buys for the first hour of play.) The starting chip stack can be whatever you choose. The most important thing is to make sure that you have enough chips for every player, and that you keep a few chips out of play that can be used to make change for players. It’s also a good idea to keep one color of chip to be used later in the game as a higher denomination when chip stacks start getting bigger.
The second major thing to consider when playing a poker tournament is the blind structure. Blinds and antes increase over the course of the tournament, and can be used to force action among the players. A good starting point is to make the big blind in the first round 1% of a player’s starting chip stack. Then increase the blind level every 15-60 minutes, depending on how long you would like your tournament to run. Usually, faster blinds means more action and a more random result, while slower blind levels favor more experienced players. The big blind should increase by 50% each time you raise the blind level.
The third and final thing to consider when starting a tournament is the payout structure. Usually, each player will pay an entry fee into the tournament, creating a prize pool that is divided up between the winners. For a small tournament, it may be best for the winner to take the whole prize pool. Once the tournament field gets over 6 people, the second-place finisher should also receive a small cut of the prize pool. For every 6 or so players after that to enter the field, allow the next highest finisher a percentage of the prize money. Make sure all players are clear on how many players will finish in the money, and what their percentage of the money will be depending on their finish before the tournament starts.
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With these few simple ideas, any home game can be turned into an exciting and fast-paced poker tournament.
