Home Game Growth - 1 or 2 Tables??? (1 Viewer)

Cdgiguob

Waiting List
Joined
Oct 24, 2018
Messages
8
Reaction score
7
Location
Mobile, AL
I need some help on multi-table tournament procedures. Our 1 table neighborhood tournament has been going for 7 months and we have grown to 10 people. When do you move to 2 tables? What is the process to combine the 2 tables back into one? I assume you wouldn’t want a 6 handed table and a 3 handed table. What is your method? Thanks.
 
for me, any more than 10 will separate to 2 tables. if i have 11 we play 5 and 6 till someone bust's and then combine at 10. but if you have 2 tables and say you have 7 at 1 and 8 at the other, and a player busts out at the table with 7, you would rotate someone from the other table to make it balanced. how i move player's is i move the next big blind from one table to the other big blind position so that it doesn't interrupt the blind's.
 
I've recently (within the last year), had that same issue. If I have 10 players I will use 1 table. 11 = wait list unless it is a spouse, 12 = 2 tables of 6. I then combine the tables at 9 players.
 
for me, any more than 10 will separate to 2 tables. if i have 11 we play 5 and 6 till someone bust's and then combine at 10. but if you have 2 tables and say you have 7 at 1 and 8 at the other, and a player busts out at the table with 7, you would rotate someone from the other table to make it balanced. how i move player's is i move the next big blind from one table to the other big blind position so that it doesn't interrupt the blind's.

Same
 
When do you move to 2 tables? What is the process to combine the 2 tables back into one? I assume you wouldn’t want a 6 handed table and a 3 handed table. What is your method? Thanks.
for me, any more than 10 will separate to 2 tables. if i have 11 we play 5 and 6 till someone bust's and then combine at 10. but if you have 2 tables and say you have 7 at 1 and 8 at the other, and a player busts out at the table with 7, you would rotate someone from the other table to make it balanced. how i move player's is i move the next big blind from one table to the other big blind position so that it doesn't interrupt the blind's.
I'm generally not a big fan of playing 10-handed (and especially if you have a 7-foot table I have found it to be a bit of a squeeze with 10 grown men). So usually if we've started playing on one table and then a tenth player arrives, I pause the clock and draw four players to switch over to the second table with the new player. You can deal cards and take the four highest cards or whatever. If you need to balance tables without combining, I do what @WhiteMamba1646 describes and move the player who is next to take the big blind. Sometimes I have to have guys slide over a seat to make room, but it generally works out. Also, if I have an odd number like 11 early in the tournament, sometimes I will move a player after 30-40 minutes just so one table isn't playing 5-handed with the other playing 6-handed for really extended periods.

I re-combine to the final table when we get down to 9 players. Sometimes I do a full re-draw, sometimes I just draw seats for the players moving from the broken table, depending on my laziness.
 
We used to always split to 2 tables once we hit 11 - so one table of 5 and one of 6. Last year we had a game with a late rsvp'er and I didn't have the second table set up - we squeezed in 11 and everyone much preferred the larger table instead of starting the tourney with two tables of 5/6. So now we do 1 table up to 11, than split to 2 tables of 6 each at players.

If you have 2 full(ish) tables to start, you want to balance the tables so there's never more than +1 at one table. So if you start with 2 tables of 10 and 2 guys get eliminated from table 1, one guy gets moved from table 2 to table 1 so there's 9 each instead of 10/8.

For moving players, if you're going strictly by Robert's Rules, here's how it's handled:

15. In button games, if a player is needed to move from a table to balance tables, the player due for the big blind will be automatically selected to move, and will be given the earliest seat due for the big blind if more than one seat is open.

For my games, we typically we use one of the following methods:
  1. The player at the highest populated sitting in the same seat (relative to the button) as the empty seat at the lowest populated table will be moved.
  2. The player on the button at the highest populated table will be moved to the seat to the right of the button at the lowest populated table.
  3. The tournament computer software or the tournament director will select the player to be moved from the highest populated table to the seat to the right of the button at the lowest populated table.
#1 is nice because people don't have to get up and re-arrange seats - given my place has limited space, this works best for us. The slight disadvantage to this method is that you could potentially move from one table to another and sit down with 8 brand new players - on the big blind. #2 corrects this, but will likely require everyone to shuffle seats. I reserve the right to #3 for the rare instance when one player has a commanding chip lead and is "scheduled" to move per #1 or #2 - I'd rather pick someone else than have a very large imbalance of chips between tables.

We recombine to one table at 9-10 players - 9 if there's someone available to steady deal. I have seating chips that go in a Crown Royal bag, everyone draws for their seat order at the final table, button goes to seat chip #1.
 
We’ve gone to eight-handed tables and our players love it. We usually have three tables and combine to one at nine players.
 
We play with 10 at 1 table, and for 11, we go to 2 tables. I've tried 11 at a table a few times, but I don't like it and neither do most players.

I have an 8 ft table, a 7 ft table, and when we need a 3rd table, an 8 ft table. We can get 10 at all of them, though it can be a little crowded at the 7 ft table, but it's more because of the room itself than the table.

Anytime you have more than 1 player difference at tables, you need to move someone. We move the player in the same position as the player knocked out. I have 2 permanent dealers at each table, so if it falls on them, it goes to the player to the permanent dealer's right.

If your tables are built for 8, I'd play 8 to a table and go to 2 tables when you have 9.
 
I've tried 11 at one table a few times and there is not enough room for it, so I'll go 2 tables as from 11 and consolidate to one table when 8 player still in play.
I'll go for 3 tables as from 21 players and I can't host more than 30 (lack of chairs).
If we start with multiple tables with 10 players I consider increasing the duration of the levels because it play slower than 7 players tables.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom