Poker tournaments
One day I might host a little poker tournament at my new house. I don’t fancy cash games as, even if you set good limits, there is always the option for people to win, and lose, plenty of cash. A tournament lets everyone put a nominal fee into the pot and the winner gets it all (or the top 2 or 3 depending how you arrange it). The only problem with that is how do you structure it so that games don’t last too long? Once you’re out, you’re out; so Ideally ’social’ games should last about an hour without seeming too rushed. Luckily, in this weeks Guardian poker column, Victoria Coren quotes Thomas Kremser, Europe’s leading tournament director. According to him the perfect six-player, no-limit hold ‘em, mates’ tournament structure is:
“Give everybody 1,000 in chips, start the blinds at 25-50, and increase them every 12 minutes. Go to 50-100, then 100-200, then 200-400, then 300-600. If the game still continues, increase to 500-1,000 and it will end within the hour.”
So there you go. If we play at my house that is likely to be the structure we use. I’d probably go above 12 minutes per round though. Thomas upped this from 10 due to the slowness of home players shuffling and dealing. I’d go a little further and have 15 minute rounds: It shouldn’t add too long onto the overall tournament length.