How To Run A Home Poker Tournament

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Aside from poker acumen, what do you need to host a successful Hold 'em tournament? First, know the law. Most U.S. states allow home tournaments as long as you don't profit off the gig. Check out local laws beforehand -- after all, a police raid ruins a good time.

Next, you need equipment; you don't have to spend a lot but if you'll be hosting tournaments on a regular basis, you may want to buy authentic supplies. Here's a checklist:

Run

For a home tournament, many people preferred an evenly spread prize payout. One example is 50/30/20, spread among the top three winners; more winners equals more fun. You can also go top-heavy, where the top players get the majority, and the next two winners just get their entry fee back. More aggressive games opt for a winner-takes-all approach.

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I use the Poker Tournament Manager Deluxe chip calculator to determine how many chips of each color I need based on the number of players and the buyin chip value. One thing to consider is that you don't want the players to have to few chips because people will tend to go 'all-in' faster.so it is better to setup your chip distribution so that. Even just a small strategical adjustment in poker can potentially save you a huge amount in the long run. In this article we will point out some of the best live and online poker tournament strategy tips you can use to improve your game as quickly as possible.

  • Two decks of cards per table
  • Tables seating 8-10 players each
  • Poker chips and a dealer button (denotes who's dealing)
  • Poker timer to time rounds
  • Snacks!

How To Run A Home Poker Tournaments

Actor Kevin Costner said in 'Field of Dreams,' 'if you build it, [they] will come.' So, now you need players. Typically, no more than eight to 10 people per table, and if you're new at this, start small with one or two tables. Decide on the entry fee for players, maybe $20 so it's affordable but still can generate a good payout. Assign the order of seating by having each player pick a card from ace through 10.

As the host, you have an important role. You set the start/finish times, and a courteous host sticks to these. You also decide the rules, payouts and formats played -- and you discuss them prior to play. Finally, you are judge and jury over disputes, bartender, waitress and the Master or Mistress of Ceremonies, responsible for a fun evening. Follow these tips and unlike Kenny Rogers, you'll have happy gamblers.

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Sources

How To Run A Home Poker Tournament Blind And Chip Set Up

  • Bannon, Alex. 'How to Host a Texas Holdem Tournament in 10 Easy Steps.' July 28, 2010. (Feb. 3, 2012). http://mytexasholdempokertips.com/tournaments/how-to-host-a-texas-holdem-tournament-in-10-easy-steps/
  • Bochan, Terry. 'How to Play Texas Hold'em.' About.com (Feb. 23, 2012) http://poker.about.com/od/poker101/ht/holdem101.htm
  • Burton, Bill. 'How to Run a Home Texas Hold'em Tournament.' About.com. (Feb. 6, 2012). http://casinogambling.about.com/od/poker/a/homepoker.htm
  • Dragon, Debra. 'Hosting a Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament at Home.' 2006. (Feb. 5, 201). http://www.blindbetpoker.com/tournaments/home-tournaments.html
  • FlopTurnRiver.com. 'Top 10 Poker Lingo Phrases & Origins.' (Feb. 6, 2012). http://www.flopturnriver.com/top-10-poker-lingo.php
  • Holdem On Net. 'Why is Texas Holdem So Popular?' (Feb. 4, 2012). http://www.holdemonnet.com/why-is-texas-holdem-so-popular.html
  • HomePokerGames.com. 'Home Poker Law.' (Feb. 3, 2012). http://www.homepokergames.com/homepokerlaw.php
  • Jackson, Lindsy. 'Why Texas Holdem Poker is so popular.' (Feb. 3, 2012). http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Why_Texas_Holdem_Poker_is_So_Popular.html
  • Poker.com. 'WSOP History - The History of the World Series of Poker.' (Feb. 3, 2012). http://www.poker.com/worldseriesofpoker/history.htm
  • Pokereagles.com'How to run a NL Texas Holdem Poker Tournament.' (Feb. 4, 2012). http://www.pokereagles.com/home-poker/tournament.php
  • Pokersyte.com. 'Texas Hold'em Poker: Hold'em Poker rules, strategy and how to play tips.' (Feb. 6, 2012). http://www.pokersyte.com/holdem.htm
  • Rules of Texas Holdem. 'How to host a home poker party.' (Februry 5, 2012). http://www.rules-texas-holdem.com/holdembasics/home-poker-party.shtml
  • Sportsbettingacumen.com. 'Fun Variations of Texas Hold'em for the Home Game.' (Feburary 5, 2012). http://www.sportsbettingacumen.com/poker-home-texas-holdem-variations.asp
  • TexasHoldem-Poker.com 'An Introduction to Texas Holdem Poker.' (Feb. 3, 2012). http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/beginnersintro
  • TexasHoldem-Poker.com 'How to Host a Home Poker Game.' (Feb. 3, 2012). http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/home-poker-tournament
  • TexasHoldemPoker101.com. 'Tips on Running a Texas Holdem Tournament.' (Feb. 5, 2012). http://www.texasholdempoker101.com/running-a-texas-holdem-tournament.html
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Being a supplier of poker chips we are often asked what a good breakdown is for a poker game. Our immediate response is normally, “it depends”. Is it a cash game or tournament? How many chips do your players like to have in front of them? Do you ever see your stakes rising in the future? How deep do your players get by the end of the night?

Dia de los Muertos poker chips
There are many factors to consider when figuring out a breakdown of chips for your poker game. Make sure to consider them all. Take some time and work out your breakdown in writing so you can visualize the chips being used.
Let’s consider a poker game that is only a tournament. This is the most common type of game that is being played in home games.
Try to not think about just how many “chips” that a player starts with. You can have a player start with 100,000 chips but if the blinds are 1000/2000 in the first level they will have shorter stacks compared to a player that starts with 5000 chips with the first blinds being 25/50. In the first situation the player starts with 50 big blinds while in the second situation the player starts with 100 big blinds. That is a big difference!
So, try to think about how many big blinds (BB) you want each player to start with. A good rule of thumb is that most tournaments start with 50-100 BBs but some players prefer deep-stack tournaments that start with 100+ BBs.
Now, consider how many actual physical chips you want each player to start with. Most players like to have a HUGE stack in front of them, but you have to realize that players need to start with a smaller stack or else you will have to purchase a very large number of chips. In a normal home game tournament players will start with 20-30 chips.
Tournament
Finally, consider how many players you will have in your tournaments and how long the tournament will normally last. If there are a lot of players (20+ players) it will mean that there will be a lot of initial chips on the tables. There will be so many chips that you will have to “color up” the lower denomination chips at some point during the tournament. So, you will need to have higher denomination chips than the initial starting poker chips.
Let’s look at an example set up:
Total players: 20
Starting blinds: 25/50
Starting stack: 5000 (100 BB)
Number of poker chips to start with: 21
Initial chips that each player has in front of them:

  • 4 – “25” chips = 100
  • 9 – “100” chips = 900
  • 8 – “500” chips = 4000

Starting stack of our Nevada Jack Skulls poker chips.

Total number of physical poker chips to start with: 21 X 20 = 420 poker chips
At some point during the tournament the “25” chips will be useless since the blinds will be in even “100’s”. At that point you can “color up” the “25” chips. So, you will need more “100” and possibly more “500” chips. So, it is suggested that another 20 “100” chips be added.
Extra “100” chips for coloring up during the tournament:
  • 20 – “100” chips


This brings the total chips needed for this game to 440 poker chips. At this point it is suggested that extra chips are added for a few reasons. Maybe you will have a game where 22 people show up. Some chips may get lost over time, etc.
Extra chips for special circumstances:
  • 30 – “25” chips
  • 20 – “100” chips
  • 10 – “500” chips


This brings the total count of chips to:
  • 110 – “25” chips
  • 220 – “100” chips
  • 170 – “500” chips
  • 500 total poker chips


That is a general overview of how to figure out what poker chips to get for a tournament. Let’s discuss a cash game since this will be a bit different.
Cash Game
It is understood that cash games can vary drastically in stakes. Therefore, let’s not focus on the actual value of the chips but think in terms of big blinds (BB’s). I will discuss a $1/2 NL Holdemgame, but will mention BB’s.
The difference with a cash game is that players are often able to rebuy many times. Also, in many games the buy-in is not capped so a player can typically buy-in for 50 BB’s, 100 BB’s, 200 BB’s, or sometimes much higher. So, by the end of a game the value of chips can far exceed what you start with. However, home cash games generally do not involve more than 10 players.
Let’s consider an uncapped $1/2 NL Holdem game that has unlimited rebuys.
On average, the initial buy-in may be 100 BB’s per player ($200). So, let’s figure out the starting chips for each player:
  • 15 - $1 chips = $15
  • 17 - $5 chips = $85
  • 4 - $25 chips = $100
  • Total – 36 chips = $200

This brings the total number of chips starting out on the table to 360 poker chips (36 X 10 players).
As mentioned, players will often rebuy (sometimes many times) and players may be allowed to buy-in for more than 100 BB’s. This means we have to consider the extra poker chips needed for the game.
The starting value of the chips on the table is $2000 (10 players X $200).
During a typical game, the total value chips at the end of the game will be 2-3X the starting value. So, let’s figure out the extra chips needed if the value is up to 3X the starting value:
  • 100 - $5 chips = $500
  • 20 - $25 chips = $500
  • 10 - $100 chips = $1000


This brings the total chips needed to (490 = 360 + 130).
As with the tournament, it is best to add extra chips for the situations where the game gets very deep. You also may want to prepare for if the game grows into a higher stakes game such as $2/5.
Here is a suggestion for extra chips that will cover deep games and slightly higher stakes:
  • 80 - $25 chips = $2000
  • 30 - $100 chips = $3000

How To Run A Home Poker Tournament Setup



Also, consider adding extra poker chips for the occasional lost chip:
  • 50 - $1 chips
  • 50 - $5 chips


As you can see, with the cash game there are more poker chips to purchase. This is often the case, but you are also prepared for a deep game and for future games when the stakes move up. For this situation the total poker chips suggested is (490 + 120 + 100 = 700).
There are no rules regarding the poker chips needed for a game. You may find that your games don’t need as many poker chips or you prefer to have more. The most important thing is to write out what chips you think you need. Try to break down your game like the examples above. It is much better to be prepared before your game starts than to find out that you do not have the poker chips you need to run the game.