On-Time Bonus Chips when hosting Home Tournament (2 Viewers)

[Gojira777]

Hello!
I‘ve been hosting home tournaments every now and then for a few years now. We recently came back together and I‘m planning to host regularly (once a month) from now on. We often were 5-6 players but now I‘m looking to have 8-9 for our next game. I want to introduce giving out bonus chips, in addition to the regular starting stack, for being early. (10-20% of starting stack, haven‘t decided yet, suggestions are welcome!)I find it very annoying to wait for players being late and delaying the tourney, but I don‘t want to be the strict douche bag since these are all my friends, so maybe this is a more fun way to get everybody to show up on time. I got that idea from Chris M. on YouTube. So now my question is: do I give the bonus to myself too? It feels kind of wrong, since it‘s my place and I‘m obviosly on time, but of course I would like to start with more chips as well.

 

[krafticus]

Yes, you paid on time too

 

[Machine]

First Welcome!
​

I think the callout of giving yourself the bonus, 'questionable', is great for your players; it means you're mindful of things!

This is a spin on punitive action; you want to encourage a behavior, but it shouldn't have a negative impact on the host.
If you need justification, 1) you are not late, 2) you are hosting, which is more effort than being on time, 3) this is really to prevent the game from starting late, which you're not doing. It would put you behind to not have the chip.

There is nothing wrong with getting the bonus for the host.

I hope the best for you on hosting monthly, keep the momentum going!!!

 

[Gojira777]

First Welcome!
​

I think the callout of giving yourself the bonus, 'questionable', is great for your players; it means you're mindful of things!

This is a spin on punitive action; you want to encourage a behavior, but it shouldn't have a negative impact on the host.
If you need justification, 1) you are not late, 2) you are hosting, which is more effort than being on time, 3) this is really to prevent the game from starting late, which you're not doing. It would put you behind to not have the chip.

There is nothing wrong with getting the bonus for the host.

I hope the best for you on hosting monthly, keep the momentum going!!!

Thank you for you thoughts!
How much % of starting stack would you recommend?

 

[Roslindale]

On time bonus works great here.

If you get pushback on your personal bonus, (which i wouldn't expect) tell them its a bonus for cleaning up after you guys.

 

[jfmav]

We play a T7000 tournament. Start at 7pm, 15 minute blinds. If you show up within the 1st 2 blinds, you get the full chip stack. If you show up in blind 3-4, you get T6000 chips, if you show up in blind 5-6, you get T5000 chips. After that, you are out of luck. At 15 minute blinds, if you cant be there within 90 minutes of starting, you can hang out and wait to play cash when others bust out.

 

[justsomedude]

Hello!
I‘ve been hosting home tournaments every now and then for a few years now. We recently came back together and I‘m planning to host regularly (once a month) from now on. We often were 5-6 players but now I‘m looking to have 8-9 for our next game. I want to introduce giving out bonus chips, in addition to the regular starting stack, for being early. (10-20% of starting stack, haven‘t decided yet, suggestions are welcome!)I find it very annoying to wait for players being late and delaying the tourney, but I don‘t want to be the strict douche bag since these are all my friends, so maybe this is a more fun way to get everybody to show up on time. I got that idea from Chris M. on YouTube. So now my question is: do I give the bonus to myself too? It feels kind of wrong, since it‘s my place and I‘m obviosly on time, but of course I would like to start with more chips as well.

An on-time bonus is great, and I've had great success with them in the past. And yes, you definitely give it to yourself.

Instead of thinking of it as a "bonus" for yourself and everyone else, think of it as the opposite: it is a penalty for those who arrive late.

When people find out they can get "bonus" chips the vast majority will usually show up on time, or even early. This makes the bonus stack the "default starting stack." Then only those who show up late are short-stacked.

I ran a tourney with @Kyle last summer. Starting stack was 50k with a 10k "on-time bonus." Only a couple folks were late. So basically, it was just a 60k tournament with a couple of the 50k stacks.

No, you're not being a douchebag. And yes, you need to be strict with this stuff for it to be meaningful and to get people to show up on time. Once one or two people feel the pain of being the shorter stack, you can bet your ass they'll be on-time for the next game.

PS: Don't worry about exact percentages, just make the bonus a simple rounded amount, like a 5k chip or something, that you can easily hand out quickly... I usually just hand out the bonus when people buy-in. Once the deadline is hit, no more bonus chips go out.

 

[chippitydoodah]

I never once thought that the host didnt deserve the on-time bonus. I would have never considered it if you hadn't brought it up. But now that you mention it...
Just kidding. I fully agree with @Machine. Hosting is work and you prepared the tournament to start on time. Bonus.

 

[Gojira777]

We play a T7000 tournament. Start at 7pm, 15 minute blinds. If you show up within the 1st 2 blinds, you get the full chip stack. If you show up in blind 3-4, you get T6000 chips, if you show up in blind 5-6, you get T5000 chips. After that, you are out of luck. At 15 minute blinds, if you cant be there within 90 minutes of starting, you can hang out and wait to play cash when others bust out.

That‘s a very cool approach too, I‘ve never heard of that! But, that would still make it ‚normal‘ for players to come in late, which is what I want to avoid. I want all the players on the table when we start, so that I don‘t have to manage any buy-ins while playing. Just my personal preference I guess.

An on-time bonus is great, and I've had great success with them in the past. And yes, you definitely give it to yourself.

Instead of thinking of it as a "bonus" for yourself and everyone else, think of it as the opposite: it is a penalty for those who arrive late.

When people find out they can get "bonus" chips the vast majority will usually show up on time, or even early. This makes the bonus stack the "default starting stack." Then only those who show up late are short-stacked.

I ran a tourney with @Kyle last summer. Starting stack was 50k with a 10k "on-time bonus." Only a couple folks were late. So basically, it was just a 60k tournament with a couple of the 50k stacks.

No, you're not being a douchebag. And yes, you need to be strict with this stuff for it to be meaningful and to get people to show up on time. Once one or two people feel the pain of being the shorter stack, you can bet your ass they'll be on-time for the next game.

PS: Don't worry about percentages, just make the bonus a simple amount, like a 5k chip or something, that you can easily hand out quickly... I usually just hand out the bonus when people buy-in. Once the deadline is hit, no more bonus chips go out.

Thank you for you thoughts! I like thinking of it as a penalty for those who don‘t get it, rather than a bonus. Makes sense.

I never once thought that the host didnt deserve the on-time bonus. I would have never considered it if you hadn't brought it up. But now that you mention it...
Just kidding. I fully agree with @Machine. Hosting is work and you prepared the tournament to start on time. Bonus.

Thanks! Yeah now that I‘m reading all you guys opinions it makes more sense! It is just a new topic for me and it felt weird awarding me for being on time in my own place.

 

[Mesnik44]

I recently re-introduced the on-time / early registration bonus. My game starts at 4pm sharp. Registration closes at 3:45pm. The reason for this is two-fold. I run a 3 table tournament, and there is a lot of admin work to do (Collecting payments, drawing a card for the Kill Shot pot, etc), and I like to have a moment of peace before the tournament starts. I hate rushing. It causes errors, that lead to long delays.

The bonuses shouldn't be used as any form of punishment, however, having said that, if a player shows up late, they miss the bonus. In my league it is only 1k on top of the 10k starting start. Nothing major, but not too insignificant.

Qualifications for the bonus in my league is you either pay by etransfer before a certain time on Friday (We play on Saturdays), or you pay before 3:45pm. You can pay the etransfer and show up before the start of the 4th round. You will still receive your bonus as you have paid, and your stack is live.

I very recently (read: Last game), had an issue where one and only one player showed up late. He was a little miffed that the etransfer people got their bonuses even though butts were not in seat. I had previously announced the bonus was returning in a pre-season email. But, I had to go and update the "Official Rules", which they should have been, but I am lazy.

Anyways, my sb/bb for what it's worth.

 

[Machine]

How much % of starting stack would you recommend?

I'm a player and I don't play many tourneys.

I would say it correlates with how often and how many people are late. I would start low %, then, if that doesn't get ppl in the door on time, ramp it up.

If that doesn't help, put in a $5 bounty and with the on-time bonus, that will really put incentives into being on time.

 

[Godzilla28]

Welcome fellow Gojira!

Most home game tournaments I go to start at T7k to T12k stacks. And extras are usually a 500 or 1k chip as being on time.

For cash games, I've been splashing the pot on the first hand with scratchers, small sample sets or cut cards/dealer buttons. Something small but fun for the people that show up on time.

 

[BigGrizz]

I just hosted a 9 person tournament. T-25k starting stacks.
1k bonus for paying in cash (2 T-500s)
2k bonus for being on time (2 T-1ks)
5k bonus for contributing to the pot luck (1 T-5k).

Worked wonderfully! All players were on time. All but 1 paid cash. All but 1 pitched in food and drink. So all but 2 players started with 33k.

And yes. I got the bonuses. I paid in cash. I provided water, plates, utencils, cups, and some beer. I was on time (easy since I live at the tournament location).

 

[odorf]

When the target is to start on time then everyone who is on time got bonus. It would be ridiculous if everyone be on time and get bonus when you not

 

[PokerDogDoc]

I want to introduce giving out bonus chips, in addition to the regular starting stack, for being early. (10-20% of starting stack, haven‘t decided yet, suggestions are welcome!)

When people find out they can get "bonus" chips the vast majority will usually show up on time, or even early. This makes the bonus stack the "default starting stack."

Yes, you should give yourself the bonus.

I don’t go higher than ~10% when I use an on-time bonus (or an add on bonus) because assuming if most/all people show up on time (as you hope) if you went much higher you would have a significant increase in the number of chips in play which affects tournament length.

I didn’t see where you mention your starting stack or blind structure, but for example, if it’s normally a 20K start stack x 9 players (180,000 in play) and you go to 22K with the 10% bonus x 9 players (198,000 in play) that’s +18,000 and equivalent to 1 additional player—pretty manageable from a time perspective. If you went 20% bonus, then everyone will have 24K (216,000 in play)… that’s a big jump from 180,000 and equivalent to almost 2 additional players and will definitely cause your tourney to run longer. You just have to calculate how much longer giving a bonus for all players will cause the tourney to run and adjust blind increases and structure accordingly if the time is too long.

If I remember correctly, the calculation is that the average tourney will end when the big blind is 5% of the total chips in play.

So 180,000 chips = tourneys ends when BB = 9,000
198,000 chips = tourney ends when BB = ~10,000
216,000 chips = tourney ends when BB = ~11,000

 

[CHP TD]

yes i do it and it works a treat.

i have 2 SNGS with a 7k starting stack. 300 in extra chips gets all my guys on time. you dont need alot to get a big result.

Cheers

Geoff

 

[4SUMERZ]

I'm a player and I don't play many tourneys.

I would say it correlates with how often and how many people are late. I would start low %, then, if that doesn't get ppl in the door on time, ramp it up.

If that doesn't help, put in a $5 bounty and with the on-time bonus, that will really put incentives into being on time.

Ok, it's all fair and good, but the downside is for that person that comes in a minute early and thinks he is on time, yet your time clock says he is late. How do you deal with that? Granted, if everyone carries a smart phone, then it's a mutre point, but I have some guys at my home game that do not carry a smart phone.. I know lol

 

[justsomedude]

I don’t go higher than ~10% when I use an on-time bonus (or an add on bonus) because assuming if most/all people show up on time (as you hope) if you went much higher you would have a significant increase in the number of chips in play which affects tournament length.

As I noted yesterday, just consider the bonus stack the baseline/default, and those who show up late are the ones who are essentially 'penalized' and get a smaller stack.

That way you're building your tournament structure around the bonus stack (since most people show up on time), and there is no unexpected "increase" in chips in play. If anything, you'll have less chips in play if too many people show up late.

 

[Gojira777]

This is the blind structure we‘ve been playing last time. I can‘t decide if I should to 10k or 20k starting stacks. We used to do 20k a while back with a slightly quicker blind structure, lasting us about 4 hours. I would like the tournament to go 5-6 hours ideally, so I added a few levels. The group likes to gamble a lot sometimes, so we often finish earlier than the 5% rule of thumb. I planned one optional Re-Buy until the first break, and an Add-On option for half starting stack. I have 9 players signed up for next tournament. What do you guys think my starting stacks should be? I initially wanted to try t10k to make the 5k chips more special, only coming in with Re-Buys, Add-Ons and coloring up so for the chip leader usually. (I have a T25 based set, up until 5k, starting stack would be 12/12/5/6 or 8/8/6/6)

 

[Gojira777]

View attachment 1635511
This is the blind structure we‘ve been playing last time. I can‘t decide if I should to 10k or 20k starting stacks. We used to do 20k a while back with a slightly quicker blind structure, lasting us about 4 hours. I would like the tournament to go 5-6 hours ideally, so I added a few levels. The group likes to gamble a lot sometimes, so we often finish earlier than the 5% rule of thumb. I planned one optional Re-Buy until the first break, and an Add-On option for half starting stack. I have 9 players signed up for next tournament. What do you guys think my starting stacks should be? I initially wanted to try t10k to make the 5k chips more special, only coming in with Re-Buys, Add-Ons and coloring up so for the chip leader usually. (I have a T25 based set, up until 5k, starting stack would be 12/12/5/6 or 8/8/6/6)

I should mention: it lasted about four ours with 5 players. As I said there are 9 signed up for next tournament.

 

[detroitdad]

Hello!
I‘ve been hosting home tournaments every now and then for a few years now. We recently came back together and I‘m planning to host regularly (once a month) from now on. We often were 5-6 players but now I‘m looking to have 8-9 for our next game. I want to introduce giving out bonus chips, in addition to the regular starting stack, for being early. (10-20% of starting stack, haven‘t decided yet, suggestions are welcome!)I find it very annoying to wait for players being late and delaying the tourney, but I don‘t want to be the strict douche bag since these are all my friends, so maybe this is a more fun way to get everybody to show up on time. I got that idea from Chris M. on YouTube. So now my question is: do I give the bonus to myself too? It feels kind of wrong, since it‘s my place and I‘m obviosly on time, but of course I would like to start with more chips as well.

Great username!

 

[Gojira777]

Great username!

Thanks! My favorite Band!

 

[PokerDogDoc]

The group likes to gamble a lot sometimes, so we often finish earlier than the 5% rule of thumb. I planned one optional Re-Buy until the first break, and an Add-On option for half starting stack. I have 9 players signed up for next tournament. What do you guys think my starting stacks should be?

Looks like you use the Poker Timer app by R. Booth / Robin Apps.

Play around with the number of players, starting chip stacks, add on numbers, and rebuy numbers and see what it predicts for duration… then you can mentally adjust down “x” number of levels based on your groups aggressive play or likelihood to chop.

9 players x 10K = 90,000

I’m guessing all will do the 5,000 add on = 45,000 more

Maybe 1/3 rebuy with add ons? (3 players) = 45,000 more

So you’re basically right back at a 9 player 20K tourney ending at level 15 per your current structure. Even though you said your tournaments end early, 9 players will take longer as you need to have 8 eliminations to get a winner vs. just 4 eliminations with 5 players.

If you like your structure, you could shorten the early levels to 15 mins
leading up to the color up break and then switch to 20 mins in later stages when the play is more meaningful.

IMO, I would also eliminate your current Level 8 (500/1000) to stay better aligned with your 33-50% increases—but keep Level 11 (1K/2K) even though it’s a 25% increase as it sets up the rest of your levels nicely.

Lastly, during game play you could always shorten later levels to 15 mins (I do this on occasion) or even skip levels (not my favorite, but have done it).

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[detroitdad]

Thanks! My favorite Band!

A top three favorite of mine. I also love Lamb of God and Parkway Drive!

 

[Gojira777]

IMO, I would also eliminate your current Level 8 (500/1000) to stay better aligned with your 33-50% increases—but keep Level 11 (1K/2K) even though it’s a 25% increase as it sets up the rest of your levels nicely.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Just revisiting this thread after totally forgetting about it…

My first game was a total success! I‘ve made some adjustments to the blind structure before, the ones you mentioned and got aware of the 33-50% increases.

We were 8 players. My fiance (who also played) made pizza rolls and muffins and provided snacks for everybody, we had a really fun night. We played for about 5 hours. Everybody enjoyed the game, the stakes were just right, and some even texted me the next day telling me they had fun and wanted to come again! Everybody was on time too!

I also took first place btw!

My next tournament is scheduled for next saturday, the 21st. Really looking forward to improving my game further. Already have 2 new players in my player pool.

Thanks again for everybodys advice!

 

[RocAFella1]

@Godzilla28

 

[Nightowl]

10,000 chip starting stack. Extra $2000 if you show up on time or before 7:00 pm starting time. Been working out well.

 

[Gojira777]

10,000 chip starting stack. Extra $2000 if you show up on time or before 7:00 pm starting time. Been working out well.

I gave a 1k bonus, but it also worked out great! Everybody was on time.

 

[phys]

The on-time bonus is such a clean solution to the late player problem. Definitely give it to yourself — you were on time AND you did all the setup work. If anyone wants to argue that point, they can come help set up chairs next month.

On sizing: 10% of the starting stack is about right. The goal is just enough to make people think twice about being 20 minutes late, not so much that it meaningfully changes the tournament if most people show up on time. The math that justifies it being small: if all 8 players earn the bonus, you haven't changed anything strategically — the relative stack sizes are identical. It only matters if someone misses it. So 10% creates the right incentive signal without inflating total chips in play too much when things go well.

Congrats on getting the monthly game going — that's the hardest part honestly. Once you've got the schedule locked in, people start treating it like an actual commitment rather than a "maybe." If you find yourself needing to track points, standings, or payouts across sessions as the league grows, SuckingOut.com is worth a look — it's built specifically for running recurring home game leagues. Might be overkill for now but good to have in the back pocket once you're 6 months in and people are arguing about who's won the most this year.

 

[Max D]

Our game with 5,000T starting stack:
- All players arriving 15 minute prior to the stated start time will receive an additional 500T
- If you bring at least 2 $5 bills as part of your buy-in you will receive an additional 500T