Tourney Hosting my first "High Stakes" Tournament (1 Viewer)

rusmon

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Hi all,
I started hosting tournaments with a small group of friends about 2 years ago as a way to get together. We've since grown to a monthly $40 tournament that fills 3 full tables. In this player pool, there is a group of guys who are interested in higher buy-in tournaments, and as a result, we will be hosting our first $100 buy-in game this Saturday. For this game, I am planning on the following:
  • Starting stack of 200BB instead of 100BB
  • Single rebuy instead of unlimited
  • Single table with up to 9 players
Is there anything else that I should be aware of when hosting a higher buy-in game? Do you have any advice from those of you who have done this before? Also open to ideas to make the game special/memorable/fun.
 
Sweet! My players love bounties, especially when the buyin is higher. More fun to knock someone out; we'd probably put $10 or $20 of that buyin as a bounty on your head.

Share the rules ahead of time. I'm sure you're close with your friends but higher buyins put some people on edge, just make sure to have the rules nearby to avoid awkward situations. Don't know if you use it or something like it but Tournament Director is a lot of fun, and keeps the game moving.
 
I agree with NotRealName. Definitely definitely definitely take 5 minutes before the tournament starts and go over the rules.

I think you may consider having a time limit on the rebuy. Other than that, I’m sure you have all the standard stuff covered (time for levels / blind increases, payout structure).
 
Hi all,
I started hosting tournaments with a small group of friends about 2 years ago as a way to get together. We've since grown to a monthly $40 tournament that fills 3 full tables. In this player pool, there is a group of guys who are interested in higher buy-in tournaments, and as a result, we will be hosting our first $100 buy-in game this Saturday. For this game, I am planning on the following:
  • Starting stack of 200BB instead of 100BB
  • Single rebuy instead of unlimited
  • Single table with up to 9 players
Is there anything else that I should be aware of when hosting a higher buy-in game? Do you have any advice from those of you who have done this before? Also open to ideas to make the game special/memorable/fun.

Another option in place of doubling the starting stacks is increasing the number of BB's by 50% and adding 5 minutes to each level.
 
Definitely definitely definitely take 5 minutes before the tournament starts and go over the rules.
This is sage advice. Especially since one of the players is problematic when it comes to rules :cautious:
I think you may consider having a time limit on the rebuy.
We always cut off after 4th level. But for a single table don't mind keeping it open a little longer. Especially with a bigger starting stack.
Another option in place of doubling the starting stacks is increasing the number of BB's by 50% and adding 5 minutes to each level.
This is interesting! How would you say it changes the game between the two options?
 
I think you may consider having a time limit on the rebu

We always cut off after 4th level. But for a single table don't mind keeping it open a little longer. Especially with a bigger starting stack.
Here's an idea. Instead of a rebuy tournament have a "reload" tournament. Everyone buys the rebuy when they first buy in. If they bust they use it. When you hit the cut off for the rebuys, people who still have their rebuy chip gets a bonus
 
Here's an idea. Instead of a rebuy tournament have a "reload" tournament. Everyone buys the rebuy when they first buy in. If they bust they use it. When you hit the cut off for the rebuys, people who still have their rebuy chip gets a bonus
Could you expand on this? It seems interesting. How much are they buying the rebuy for?
 
Could you expand on this? It seems interesting. How much are they buying the rebuy for?
The same amount you would normally charge for a rebuy (rebuy tournaments I run the rebuy fee is half the normal buy in). When they bust they get their rebuy then. If they make it to the end of the rebuy phase and never used it, give them a bonus for it, like if a rebuy is good for 20K in chips the bonus could be 40K in chips. That let's the bad players rebuy while giving a bonus to the good players that don't have to.
 
This is interesting! How would you say it changes the game between the two options?

Depends on the blind structure. If the blinds increase gradually instead of doubling, the game starts out shallower in the beginning and plays deeper in the latter levels. It also extends the re-buy period, potentially leading to a greater number of re-buys since the starting stacks are smaller in size.

You have the flexibility of designing your structure based on when you want the tournament to end. For example, you can extend the first ten blind levels by five minutes instead of all of them. Based on my experience, tournaments usually end when there is 25 to 40 big blinds left in play, especially in ones that are more drawn out.
 
Hi all,
I started hosting tournaments with a small group of friends about 2 years ago as a way to get together. We've since grown to a monthly $40 tournament that fills 3 full tables. In this player pool, there is a group of guys who are interested in higher buy-in tournaments, and as a result, we will be hosting our first $100 buy-in game this Saturday. For this game, I am planning on the following:
  • Starting stack of 200BB instead of 100BB
  • Single rebuy instead of unlimited
  • Single table with up to 9 players
Is there anything else that I should be aware of when hosting a higher buy-in game? Do you have any advice from those of you who have done this before? Also open to ideas to make the game special/memorable/fun.
Side note. 3 full tables with a $40 buy-in has a bigger prize pool than an 9 person $100 buy-in game…not counting rebuys of course. I assume it would still bigger.
 
Side note. 3 full tables with a $40 buy-in has a bigger prize pool than an 9 person $100 buy-in game…not counting rebuys of course. I assume it would still bigger.
First place for our 3 tables usually ends up being ~$450 not including bounties. With 2 rebuys for the $100 buy-in it should be $600, plus there is a difference in battling against a field of 27 vs a field of 9. Although the prize pool is bigger for 3 tables, the money gets spread out more as well. Also, once I run the $100 two or three times, I will probably be able to do a 2 table tourney. Since I've announced this game, there have been some interested cash game players that don't usually come to the $40 tournaments.
 

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