1. Before the night
A tournament differs from a cash game in one way that shapes everything else: everyone buys in once for the same stack of chips, the blinds go up on a schedule, and you play until one player has all the chips. The chips are only points - the money is in the prize pool, paid out by finishing place.
You'll need:
- Players. Six to ten is the sweet spot for one table. More than ten means two tables and moving players between them as people bust.
- Cards and a dealer button. Two decks with different backs lets one be shuffled while the other is dealt.
- A chip set with enough chips for every player's starting stack, plus a few extra stacks if you allow rebuys.
- A clock that everyone can see, showing the current blinds, the time left in the level and what's coming next. A phone timer works; a screen the whole room can read works better.
Send the details out beforehand: the start time, the buy-in, whether there are rebuys, and roughly when you expect to finish. A tournament can't wait for latecomers forever - decide how late someone can still buy in (the end of the first break is common).
2. Buy-in and payouts
Pick a buy-in everyone at the table is comfortable losing. All of it goes into the prize pool; if there are costs like food, collect them separately so the pool stays simple.
Rebuys let a player who busts buy back in for another stack. They keep everyone playing in a relaxed game, but make the night longer. A common rule is rebuys during the first hour only, then a freezeout. An add-on - an optional extra stack for everyone at the first break - is another way to grow the pool.
Decide the payouts before the first hand, not when there are three players left. With ten players, paying three places at 50/30/20 is the classic split. The payout calculator works it out for any field and rounds the amounts to cash you can hand out.
3. Chips and starting stacks
Give everyone the same starting stack, sized to be 100 to 200 big blinds at the first level - 10,000 chips with blinds starting at 25/50 is a popular choice. A deep stack gives the early levels room for real poker.
Split the stack into three or four chip values. The smallest chip should equal the first small blind, and each player needs enough of the small chips to post blinds and make change. For 10,000 in 25, 100, 500 and 1,000 chips, 8 × 25, 13 × 100, 5 × 500 and 6 × 1,000 works well. The chip calculator splits any stack and checks your set has enough.
4. The blind structure
The blind structure is the tournament's engine: a list of levels, each with a small blind, a big blind, sometimes an ante, and a length. It decides how long the night lasts. Too slow and you're still playing at 2 a.m.; too fast and it's an all-in contest by the second hour.
- Level length: 15 minutes for a fast game, 20 to 30 for most home games, 30 to 45 for a long, deep night.
- How fast blinds rise: 25% to 50% a level - 100/200, 150/300, 200/400, 250/500 is about a third each time. Doubling every level turns it into a lottery.
- When it ends: once the last two players average about 10 big blinds, every hand is an all-in - so the game is over around the level where the big blind reaches the chips in play ÷ 2 ÷ 10. With 10 players on 10,000 chips that's a big blind of 5,000.
- Antes join a few levels in (level 3 or 4) to push the action; a big blind ante, paid by the big blind for the whole table, is the simplest way to run them.
- Breaks: 5 to 10 minutes every 90 to 120 minutes of play. It's also the time to colour up the smallest chips.
The blind structure generator builds a full schedule from your players, stack and blind pace, works out how long it will take - and puts it straight into a free clock.
5. Running the night
Seat players at random - have everyone draw a card for their seat - then deal one card to each player to decide who gets the button first (highest card). Start the clock when the first hand is dealt.
Keep the clock visible. Put it on a TV or a laptop at the end of the table, so nobody has to ask what the blinds are. When a level ends, the new blinds apply from the next hand dealt.
Track who's in and who's out. Note every buy-in and rebuy as it happens, and record players' finishing places as they bust - the last player out is paid first, so the order matters. Moving players between tables to keep them even (never more than one or two apart) makes a multi-table game fair.
Pay out at the end, in front of everyone, from the payout table you agreed at the start. If the last few players want to split the pool instead of playing on (a "chop"), that's fine as long as all of them agree.
The Poker Director's free clock does the clock, the blinds, the players and the payouts on one screen that every phone and TV in the room follows to the second - no account needed.
Questions
How long does a home poker tournament take?
Most home tournaments for 8 to 10 players take 3 to 6 hours, and you can work it out from the chips. The game is usually over when the last two players average about 10 big blinds, so it ends around the level where the big blind reaches the total chips in play divided by 20. Ten players on 10,000-chip stacks put 100,000 chips in play, so the end comes at a big blind of 5,000. Starting 100 big blinds deep (50/100) with blinds rising 35% a level, that takes about 15 levels - a little over five hours with 20-minute levels and two breaks. Shorter levels, a steeper increase or shallower stacks make it quicker.
How many chips does each player need?
A starting stack of 100 to 200 big blinds at the first level plays well - for example 10,000 chips with blinds starting at 25/50. Split it into three or four chip values, with enough of the smallest chip to post the blinds and make change: 8 x 25, 13 x 100, 5 x 500 and 6 x 1,000 makes 10,000 with 32 chips.
How should the prize money be split?
A common split is winner-takes-all for up to four players, 65/35 for two paid places and 50/30/20 for three. For bigger fields, pay roughly the top 15% of players, with each place getting less than the one above it. Round the amounts to cash you can hand out, and give any leftover to first place.
Should we allow rebuys?
Rebuys keep people who bust early in the game, which suits a relaxed home game, but they make the night longer and the pool less predictable. A common compromise is rebuys for the first hour or first few levels only, then a freezeout for the rest of the night.
How many players fit at one poker table?
A full-ring table seats 9 or 10 players; 6 to 8 is more comfortable at a home table. With more players, split them over two or more tables and move players between tables as people bust, so the tables stay within one or two players of each other until you are down to one final table.
What do you need to run a home poker tournament?
A deck of cards (two lets you shuffle one while dealing the other), a chip set with enough chips for every starting stack, a dealer button, a table, and a clock that shows the blinds and the time left in each level. Decide the buy-in, the blind structure and the payouts before everyone arrives.