Advertising

Managing A Home Poker Tournament

| Print |

E-mail

Written by Thom Riemersma

Saturday, 19 April 2008

by ThomRiemersma

Poker tournaments are very enjoyable. One way that makes them more exciting is the fact that time is limited. The usual games can drag on for a long time. Betting is unlimited, so you can lose or profit easily.

On the other hand tournaments' times are limited. Losses are decreased because they are governed by buy-ins and re-buys. Cash games can be tipped in the favor of those who leave the game early, but tournaments do not allow this. Tournaments allow you to enjoy your poker game without having to make it too long.

But what do you need to run a tournament? What rules should you follow? Here's a quick guide to help you get started setting up a home poker tournament.

Supplies

Your primary requirement is a poker chips set. Although cash is used for home games, chips are best for tournaments and bring a professional look to the poker game. A nice poker chips set will give you a dealer button. This prevents delays of wondering whose turn it is to deal, by organizing dealer turns.

2 decks of cards are necessary. This allows the future dealer to be able to shuffle while the current dealer is allocating the cards. This keeps the game running smoothly and quickly. Keep a blank card at the bottom of the decks to stop bottom cards from being seen.

Your next purchase should be a nice card table. This not only sets the atmosphere for the game but will help to protect your chips. Clay chips are quite costly and care should be taken that they do not get damaged by hitting hard surfaces.

Ultimately an egg timer is needed. This will let you know when the blinds should be raised. So now you have all the supplies get ready to enjoy the thrill of tournament poker games.

The rules

Primarily you must decide how payouts will be made and blind levels estimated. Regular home games will have a different system, depending on how many people are present. Tournaments are usually set up in the following manner. First place 50% second 30% and third place will get 20%.

Blinds increase every fifteen minutes according to a predetermined table and we chip up when the small blind reaches 100 and then again when the small blind reaches 400.

There you have it. Tournaments are really more enjoyable and more money can be made than in regular poker games. Plus it is nice for people to know how long they will be playing for.

About the Author:

Whether choosing to purchase 500 poker chips or simply searching for poker chips, trusting a seasoned professional like Thom Riemersma is important. He highly endorses www.elitepokerchips.com for all your poker shopping needs.

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.