I've hosted a few tournaments in the past and looking to do another. The one thing that is always tricky is when to crush tables or move players after busting out. I will be hosting a 4 table tournament (36 players) coming up and looking to see if anyone has a structure plan on how to move players/when to move players/and to what table to move them to? Any suggestions?
Number the tables, and have a plan to break them down in a specific order. I use a reverse order: #4 first, then #3, followed by #2 leaving #1 as the final table. It is best if this is written down and/or posted somewhere, so people know there is a plan, and you have something to reference.
Have a plan on when to collapse each table. Generally, for four tables of nine, I'd consolidate when there are 27 remaining players, (creating three tables of 9), 18 remaining players (two tables of nine), and 10 remaining players (final tables generally have one extra player than the field tables). Most rules specify that in multi-table tournaments, all remaining seats are randomly redrawn when collapsing down to 3, then 2, and finally just 1 table. Using seating chips can make this process much smoother, and is highly recommended. All this should also be written down and/or posted, so you have a guideline to follow during the chaos of an actual multi-table event.
Keep all active tables balanced. That means that no table should have more than
one more or
one fewer players than any other. If there is a difference of two or more, somebody needs to move. To do this, move one player from the over-seated table to the short table. Most rules specify moving the player who is next in line to post the big blind, and that player goes to the open seat at the new table that will be in the big blind the soonest (if there is more than one open seat). If there is more than one over-seated table, or more than one short table, then yank and re-seat per your already-defined table order (#4 down moves first, #1 up gets re-seated first). It is important that none of the chairs be removed from active tables during play, so that seat reassignments can be easily made (ditching chairs and stretching out is not an option just because a table is down to 7 players, for example). Chairs need to stay with the table, as they will be needed again after consolidating, and they identify table seat locations. Once again, having a predefined written plan makes it easier to implement.
Track the player numbers. Of course, doing any of the things above means you have to track the number of players at each table, and you need to track the total number of players remaining. When it is announced
"player down on table #3", you should be able to immediately recognize if table #3 is now short by 2 or more, or if you have reached one of your predefined table collapse numbers.
Recruit help/assistance. Any event larger than two tables probably needs more than one person to successfully manage it, especially if all of the tables are not in the same area. Recruiting an assistant TD is a great way to lessen the workload, especially when trying to do several things at once. Designating a "table captain" at each active table to publicly announce when a player is eliminated goes a long way towards making event management easier for the TD. If you have dedicated dealers, use them to handle notifications and resolve disputes (appeals can be resolved by the TD, freeing him up from having to run around all the tables taking care of minor rulings). Table captains can also be granted authority to issue rulings if they are adequately familiar with the tournament rules in use.
