Anyone Change Starting Stacks Based on Number of Players? (1 Viewer)

[Daddy N]

I can have 7-17 people depending on the day. I usually use 10k starting stacks with a 1500 early buy in bonus. I would like the tournaments to end around the same time regardless of how many play. I know I could adjust the blinds but the schedule is posted around the room and the timer is set up on the tv. Dropping a 5k chip onto everyone's stack seems like an easy solution.

What do you think about bumping it up to 15k for 9 or less players? 10+ players stay at 10k.

 

[abby99]

Adjusting starting stacks makes sense to me. Depending on your chip set, you might consider T12k for 8-9 players and T15k for fewer than 8. No need to limit stacks to multiples of 5k.

 

[Rhodeman77]

A host in our group will often list her games that if they get less 12 people the chips stacks will be increased, usually 15k instead of 10k and will also allow an emergency rebuy during the first 3 levels.

 

[BGinGA]

I can have 7-17 people depending on the day. I usually use 10k starting stacks with a 1500 early buy in bonus. I would like the tournaments to end around the same time regardless of how many play. I know I could adjust the blinds but the schedule is posted around the room and the timer is set up on the tv. Dropping a 5k chip onto everyone's stack seems like an easy solution.

What do you think about bumping it up to 15k for 9 or less players? 10+ players stay at 10k.

I'd simply adjust the starting stack size based on field size to generate the desired event duration each time.

Pretty easy to either use a formula to calculate, or build a static chart that can be easily referenced.

 

[Josh Kifer]

I adjust the time and stack based on how many. 5-6, t20k at 20 min blinds... 8-9, T18k with 19 min blinds. We do small adjustments to always end around the same time.

 

[Poker Zombie]

I adjust the starting stacks depending on the number of expected players. I also have a table in my spreadsheet that tells me if the tournament will be too short or too long. I then select a starting stack that covers the most likely attendance and gives players the most chips.

A different table is used for each chipset, the Foodies (CPC) set below is one example.

Zombie Foodies Starting Stack	Minimum Players (below this and the tournament will run short)	Maximum Players (above this and the tournament will run long)
4000	19	30
6000	13	24
8000	9	18
10000	8	14
15000	5	9

While I time my tournaments to end around 11:30p-11:45p, any time between 11:00p and 12:15a is "acceptable".

 

[Prenders17]

It works. There’s a relationship between the rate your blinds increase and total chips in play. So, if your blinds double every 3 levels, and your levels last 20 minutes, then halving the chips in play lops an hour off your tourney time. Or conversely, half the players with twice the chips keeps the play time even. If total chips in play remains constant, so will play time. The thing that will change is avg stack size during play.

 

[Al Azouri]

I can have 7-17 people depending on the day. I usually use 10k starting stacks with a 1500 early buy in bonus. I would like the tournaments to end around the same time regardless of how many play. I know I could adjust the blinds but the schedule is posted around the room and the timer is set up on the tv. Dropping a 5k chip onto everyone's stack seems like an easy solution.

What do you think about bumping it up to 15k for 9 or less players? 10+ players stay at 10k.

I usually prefer to adjust the blind level durations - and I don’t post how long the blinds are on the structure. What you’re suggesting will also work.