Tourney How often do you have breaks in your home tournament? (2 Viewers)

[Frode789]

Just wondering how many breaks people on PCF enjoy. 5 min breaks every hour? One long 15 min break in the middle? Etc.
During a 4-5 hour tournament.

 

[BGinGA]

I schedule a 5-minute break every hour (10-minutes if it's also a color-up)..... but we use dedicated dealers, and the breaks are for the dealers.

Without dedicated dealers, I usually include a 10-15 minute player break every 90 to 120 minutes of play, depending on how it fits with the blind schedule.

 

[Rhodeman77]

Our group does a 10 to 15 minute break every 4 to 5 levels to match up with coloring up. Longer breaks early since there are more players left and the bathroom line is longer. Shorter breaks later as the players left drops.

For 10-12 hour tournaments we will schedule an hour long dinner break.

 

[v1pe]

Last tournament I ran we took a 10 min break every 4 levels or so, and mixed in a 30 min break for dinner when the pizza arrived.

This next to tournament I'm hosting will have dinner served early beforehand, and then a 10 min break approximately every 90 minutes.

 

[fish72s]

I usually take a break after about 5 minutes.
Everyone else keeps playing but I will be on 'break' for a few hours til the cash games start.

 

[CraigT78]

3 - 15 min breaks in a 5 hour tourney. The beer and bathroom are very close by.

 

[bergs]

We had a break in my tournament in 2011. We're still on it.

 

[Mojo1312]

Our two table tournament ran around 5.5 hours from start to finish. We took an 8 to10 minute break every 90 minutes.

 

[Poker Zombie]

We schedule a 12 minute break after each hour of play. It sounds excessive but...

All times approximate
First break, 8pm: Players that arrived late for dinner can load up on food. Since most guests also bring a dish to pass, early arrivals usually miss the later arrivals dishes, so this gives them another go.

Nobody loses weight at Zombie Poker night.

Second break, 9:12pm: Dessert time. We usually have 4-6 desserts available, so even if you had some dessert earlier, you can find something completely different. I told you, there is no weight loss here. Main course and spoilable foods are put into the fridge. Snack trays, crock-pot foods, and chips remain out as well.

Third break, 10:24pm: The peak in player eliminations occurs between 2nd and 3rd break. Players that don't want to hang around usually wait until 3rd break before heading out. This allows them a chance to say their goodbyes to everyone (our poker room is difficult to maneuver in once everyone is seated).

Fourth break, 11:36pm: This break is primarily a smoker's break and color-up. The field is reduced to the final few and other than the color-up, this break is optional. Once everyone returns, cards are in the air again, but more times than not, a smoker will smoke, a drinker will pee, and all will be ready to go fairly quickly.

I will add that our group is extremely social and players like to talk away from the tables. I will also add that my room is crowded with 2 tables, and getting a drink or making a restroom run is difficult (and from some seats impossible) unless people clear out.