Tourney Critique My Tournament Set Up - T100 $25k Base (3 Viewers)

[ChipMonster]

Getting ready to host my first tournament with my IG set up. Please let me know where I’m able to adjust to make it run smoother. I may decrease the blind level times to 15 minutes.

9 players, right now I’m not considering rebuys but I have plenty $1k-$25k to handle if I do.

Looking at a 10/8/10/2 starting stack. First chip-up using 10 $1k, 2 $5k and 1 $25k to buy up the $100 & $500. Final chip-up using 10 $5k and 2 $25k to buy up the $1ks.

Structure:

Starting stacks:

First chip up equally split between 9:

Final chip up equally split between 9:

Total tournament chips available:

 

[Szczesnk]

Off to a good start, I would adjust the structure a bit. 125BB starting stacks seem a bit low for a $250 dollar buy in. I wouldn't expect to many rebuys at that price. With only 225K in total chips, assuming no rebuys, by level 13 you are already down to less than 19 total BBs on the entire table which means you have to many levels. It's my experience that a single table tournament shouldn't go much longer than 4 hours. Maybe start with 100/100 fist level and go from there.

 

[Szczesnk]

I would suggest a tournament manager like the blinds are up app through the play store. It's fairly simple to use. It can be basic for first timers or very detailed for complex MTTs.

 

[London24]

I'd only pay out the top 3, something like 60/30/10 with 3rd place getting their money back

 

[Szczesnk]

Maybe something closer to this schedule...

 

[ChipMonster]

Is it better to have the blinds increase at a higher rate towards the end? I have mine on a somewhat consistent pattern but maybe it’s better to ramp it up towards the end to keep the time down but does it just become a shove fest then?

Is it better to have a $30k starting stack and decrease blinds to 20 min? 150x big blind start with a 10/10/14/2 distribution (plus I get to get more of my $25ks into play

 

[Szczesnk]

When I run a higher buy in tournament I like to start everyone with 175-200 BBs. I always do 20 minute levels. With a $250 dollar buy in I wouldn't think you'd get too many rebuys. You just have to decide how long until you want a winner. In my experience 4-5 hours is ideal for a single table.

 

[ChipMonster]

When I run a higher buy in tournament I like to start everyone with 175-200 BBs. I always do 20 minute levels. With a $250 dollar buy in I wouldn't think you'd get too many rebuys. You just have to decide how long until you want a winner. In my experience 4-5 hours is ideal for a single table.

Yeah that’s probably the sweet spot without it coming down to getting blinded out. Maybe a100/100 start is better or doing a big blind ante at a certain level?

 

[Szczesnk]

Yeah that’s probably the sweet spot without it coming down to getting blinded out. Maybe a100/100 start is better or doing a big blind ante at a certain level?

BB ante works if everyone is experienced and you have a dedicated dealer. I would steer clear if that isn't the case. It could create a problem if every hand you are trying to make sure the BB ante is posted...

 

[ChipMonster]

What if I did super deep stack - $50k starting but ramped up the blinds by double each round? I still have plenty available for chip up (2 rounds pictured in front), speeds up the tournament and I get more of my lovely $25ks into play. Also changed the payout to 3 spots about 60%/30%/10%.

 

[ChipMonster]

@BGinGA do you have any feedback on my deep structure format?

 

[Szczesnk]

I like the idea of being able to use all the chips in your set! The biggest thing with the blinds is figuring out how long you and your table mates want to play. The last thing you want is it to take 10 hours and people don't want to sit for more than 4 or 5 hours. This is why I love the tournament manager because you can set the parameters and it will set the blinds for you. You can make small adjustments as necessary to make chip ups easier and things like that.

 

[ChipMonster]

Agreed. I’ll check out that app for sure but just trying to wrap my head around the logistics and best structure. It likely wouldn’t go to the very end of the blind structure anyways but think that 3-4 hours is the target unless I did a larger buy in with more money at stake.

 

[Szczesnk]

I like the 4 hour mark for a single table. Sometimes it's easier to play it in reverse.

Total chips in play, let's say you go with 50k starting stack... 450k

Heads up play for two levels is long enough and you want there to be 30-40 (15-20 each player) total BBs heads up at that point. This puts your last BB around the 20K mark. At the 4 hour mark you want 10K/20K blinds. Then you can work backwards with the structure.

 

[Nine_high]

What if I did super deep stack - $50k starting but ramped up the blinds by double each round? I still have plenty available for chip up (2 rounds pictured in front), speeds up the tournament and I get more of my lovely $25ks into play. Also changed the payout to 3 spots about 60%/30%/10%.

View attachment 1238440

View attachment 1238442

I did one recently using 60k starting. I started the blinds at 200/400 tho so actually not super deep. 13 players, five rebuys, 20 min levels, ran just under four hours. It felt pretty fast with 33%-50% blinds increases...next time I'll probably add 5 min to each level or add 100/200 and 100/300 levels to get at least another hour of play.

Did get a good number of 25ks in play!

 

[buzzmonkey]

Here is an option:

I wouldn't bother with Antes for a single table.
Add at least a 100/100. Maybe a 500/1000 as well.
With 9 players I'd pay out 3 players (50% / 30% / 20%)
25k stacks and 9 players should end no later than the 10k BB mark.
With 20 min blinds, the structure below should max out around 5.5 hours but probably end a level or two sooner.

100/100
100/200
200/300
-break- 5-10 min
400/800
300/600
400/800
-break- 5-10 min
500/1000
600/1200
800/1600
-break color 100s- 5-10 min
1000/2000
1500/3000
2000/4000
-break color 500s- 5-10 min
3000/6000
4000/8000
5000/10000

 

[maloviz]

What if I did super deep stack - $50k starting but ramped up the blinds by double each round? I still have plenty available for chip up (2 rounds pictured in front), speeds up the tournament and I get more of my lovely $25ks into play. Also changed the payout to 3 spots about 60%/30%/10%.

View attachment 1238440

View attachment 1238442

I'd rethink this blind structure. It's insanely aggressive and probably won't feel "deepstack" at all. You probably won't even see the bottom half of the table (past second break) and every time blinds go up it will be insanely stressful. If you stay even at the starting 50k stack, at level 6 you only have 25BBs and only 2 levels later you only have 6BB if you lost 0 chips. Hands will get very big, very fast and this will probably end up feeling more like the opposite of a deepstack event.

 

[ChipMonster]

I'd rethink this blind structure. It's insanely aggressive and probably won't feel "deepstack" at all. You probably won't even see the bottom half of the table (past second break) and every time blinds go up it will be insanely stressful. If you stay even at the starting 50k stack, at level 6 you only have 25BBs and only 2 levels later you only have 6BB if you lost 0 chips. Hands will get very big, very fast and this will probably end up feeling more like the opposite of a deepstack event.

Valid point. I need to reevaluate this from the ground up. I suck at this!

 

[maloviz]

Valid point. I need to reevaluate this from the ground up. I suck at this!

Lol. The fact that you're thinking about this stuff and discussing it with people means that you're definitely well on your way to having very good structures though. So that's something to be proud of!

I'd recommend reading through some of the other threads about similar structures and tweaking those to your liking.

 

[ChipMonster]

Lol. The fact that you're thinking about this stuff and discussing it with people means that you're definitely well on your way to having very good structures though. So that's something to be proud of!

I'd recommend reading through some of the other threads about similar structures and tweaking those to your liking.

I’m going to play around with it tomorrow but thinking $40k starting stacks (200bb) and putting blinds back to regular increases instead of doubling is hopefully the sweet spot.

 

[Defarse]

I do T100 25,000 10/8/10/2 nine player tourneys. I don't think you need to add any 25,000 chips to the game and I would use only 5k chips to color up the 100s and 500s (also only use 5k chips for rebuys). I color up both 100 and 500 at the same time with one 5,000 per player because the starting stacks include 5,000 in 100s and 500s........big stack buys all of the other players 100s and 500s and receives 9 5k chips to color up.

 

[DeeVee8]

Is it better to have the blinds increase at a higher rate towards the end? I have mine on a somewhat consistent pattern but maybe it’s better to ramp it up towards the end to keep the time down but does it just become a shove fest then?

Is it better to have a $30k starting stack and decrease blinds to 20 min? 150x big blind start with a 10/10/14/2 distribution (plus I get to get more of my $25ks into play

View attachment 1238067

Absolutely not, imo. Puts short stacks at a serious disadvantage and takes a lot of skill out of the game.

How long do you want the game to go?

Take 9 x 30k (270,000), then multiply it by 5%. That tells me the game will end when there is 13,500 in the pot pre-flop. That means Level 12 or 13 will be the end of the tournament. So your game, as you have it, should end in about 4.5 hrs. Works every time.

 

[GreekRedEye]

Here is an option:

I wouldn't bother with Antes for a single table.
Add at least a 100/100. Maybe a 500/1000 as well.
With 9 players I'd pay out 3 players (50% / 30% / 20%)
25k stacks and 9 players should end no later than the 10k BB mark.
With 20 min blinds, the structure below should max out around 5.5 hours but probably end a level or two sooner.

100/100
100/200
200/300
-break- 5-10 min
400/800
300/600
400/800
-break- 5-10 min
500/1000
600/1200
800/1600
-break color 100s- 5-10 min
1000/2000
1500/3000
2000/4000
-break color 500s- 5-10 min
3000/6000
4000/8000
5000/10000

This thread and this proposed blind structure is helpful for others looking at base T100 tournament setups.

@buzzmonkey Is there a typo in this? Should the first round after the first break be 300/600? And do you intend to repeat 400/800? Thanks.

 

[buzzmonkey]

This thread and this proposed blind structure is helpful for others looking at base T100 tournament setups.

@buzzmonkey Is there a typo in this? Should the first round after the first break be 300/600? And do you intend to repeat 400/800? Thanks.

There is a typo. Not sure how I missed that.

100/100
100/200
200/300
-break- 5-10 min
200/400
300/600
400/800
-break- 5-10 min
500/1000
600/1200
800/1600
-break color 100s- 5-10 min
1000/2000
1500/3000
2000/4000
-break color 500s- 5-10 min
3000/6000
4000/8000
5000/10000

 

[Defarse]

There is a typo. Not sure how I missed that.

100/100
100/200
200/300
-break- 5-10 min
200/400
300/600
400/800
-break- 5-10 min
500/1000
600/1200
800/1600
-break color 100s- 5-10 min
1000/2000
1500/3000
2000/4000
-break color 500s- 5-10 min
3000/6000
4000/8000
5000/10000

I like a 2000/3000 level instead of 1500/3000 and take all the 100s and 500s off the table in one shot.