Tourney Saying hello and a question about starting stack T200.000 (2 Viewers)

[Waarwaar]

Hello everybody,

Since a few months i am a member of this forum and this is my first post. I'm from Europe and started playing poker when i was a teenager like 8-10 years ago (during the pokerboom with tv-programs like poker after dark and with players like Tom Durrr, Phil Laak and Tony G). I always played mirco-stakes at homegames. At that time we played every weekend and we always used dice chips... I know, but we didn't know any better. After some years our games stopped (many universal reasons like girlfriends, study and work)

After a long break i decided i would love to reintroduce our poker nights. Luckily i found some friends to have a table with around 6-8 people. I always liked pokerchips (even the dice chips back then) and for our future games i wanted some new pokerchips.
So what did i buy? Monte Carlo chips.... But i didnt know what denominations i needed so i ended up with 1.800 chips total and with the denominations 0.25, 0.50, 1, 5, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10000 :s.

As a proud owner of a big Monte Carlo poker chipcollection i started to surf around the internet. And then.......... I saw a picture of the custom pokerset The Colony Club, to be honest my world changed... It was the most beautiful pokerset i had ever seen. I also realised that my Monte Carlo pokerset wasn't the set i was looking for.

I discovered this forum and CP and i was amazed how great some sets look and i am even more impressed about how you help each other on this forum. I also discovered the company CPC and played with the designtool.

But before i start thinking about my own custom set i first needed to feel the chips. So i purchased a month ago a sample set of the Key West chips. And after some shuffling i was sold, they feel amazing! Also the H-mold and colors/design are beautiful.

So now my question: is this a good starting stack?

At this point i am thinking of a tourney set with the Key West chips (maybe in the future my custom cash set). I really like the high demons. Because i don't like to have a 500 and a 1k chip, i am thinking about a three denomination set: 1k, 5k and 25k. I think a T200.000 tournament with 100bb will do fine. For the structure:

Small blind / Big blind
1000/2000
1000/3000
2000/4000
3000/6000
4000/8000
......

For the starting stack:

15x 1k (15.000)
12x 5k (60.000)
5x 25k (125.000)
--------------------------------------
32 chips and 200.000 total

The post is longer then i expected, but i really hope someone reads this and can give me some advice. I dont want to end up again with 11 different denominations .Thank you very much!

And because the first post needs a picture i added a random picture of the Key West chips!

Best regards,

Rob

 

[Mike2023]

I don't have any advice, but I'm subbing as I'm looking to do something very similar to you.

After talking to a few people on this board I have come up with this. Still a work in progress of course.

 

[AWenger]

Your breakdown above with the 500/1000/5000/25,000 chips and $100,000 plaques is much better than the one originally posted - more chips in the middle denoms, fewer small denoms.

I'd go another step, and say you could do with less than 200 $500 chips. Because the next denom up (1000) is only double the $500, it's common to have fewer 500s. You could probably get by with 6 or 8 $500s per player/per starting stack, for a total of 120 or 160 $500 chips. The remainder should go into 1000s, or a few more 25000s and or other denoms as you see fit.

I'd also recommend you could get by with 800 chips instead of 1000. An 800 chip tournament set should be more than adequate for 20 players.

Instead of 10/10/17/2 (39 chips), starting stacks could be 6/12/12/3 (31 chips). 31 chips x 20 players = 620 chips. Then add some 5000 for color-ups, (optionally add some 1000), and some 25k and 100k for color-ups & rebuys to get 800 total. Order some spares of each denom, just in case.

If you play with 20 players often, assuming no rebuys, there will be 3,000,000 chips in play, so when it gets to heads up, each player will have 1,500,000 in chips (if split 50/50). If this stack size was colored up into $25,000 chips, it would be 60-$25,000 chips for each player.

Edit: I just noticed this was @Mike2023 breakdown with the $500 chips, but I kind of like this better with the 500 chips added. As a player, if the blinds are 1000/2000, I like being able to bet 5500 instead of just 5000 or 6000. I could even see reducing the number of $500 chips to 4 per starting stack, or 80 total for the whole set.

 

[Waarwaar]

At this point i am thinking of a tourney set with the Key West chips (maybe in the future my custom cash set)

Correction, maybe in the future i want a custom micro cash set. But first a tourney set.

 

[Waarwaar]

Your breakdown above with the 500/1000/5000/25,000 chips and $100,000 plaques is much better than the one originally posted - more chips in the middle denoms, fewer small denoms.

Thank you for your reaction. Still have some trouble with the reply option. But is a 500 chip adding that much for the tournament? Is playing with only three demons also an option?

 

[Mike2023]

I'm sorry @Waarwaar, I did not mean to highjack this thread, just wanted to see what people had say.

@AWenger, some good feedback and I will reply to your comments on my thread HERE in a bit so we keep this one on the OPs topic.

 

[Waarwaar]

I'm sorry @Waarwaar, I did not mean to highjack this thread, just wanted to see what people had say.

@AWenger, some good feedback and I will reply to your comments on my thread HERE in a bit so we keep this one on the OPs topic.

@Mike2023 i don't mind that your structure is given feedback in here. It only helps me!

 

[Mike2023]

@Mike2023 i don't mind that your structure is given feedback in here. It only helps me!

Good good, I just don't like stepping on toes. I'll post my thoughts on what he said, as well as limiting to 3 chips in a bit.

 

[Mental Nomad]

Welcome!

For the starting stack:

15x 1k (15.000)
12x 5k (60.000)
5x 25k (125.000)
--------------------------------------
32 chips and 200.000 total

Totally playable set, and keeps it to 320 pieces for 10 players (before rebuys).

Is playing with only three demons also an option?

Of course. If you like it, it's fine.

I'd note that if you add merely 20 of T500 chips, replacing one of the T1k chips in the starting stack, that's only ten extra chips in the set... But you allow the starting blinds to be 500/1000 instead of 1000/2000. That means your 200.000 starting stack is 200 BB instead of 100 BB, which allows for a different style of play in the early rounds, if that's what you want.

I once did a similar concept T100,000 buy-in set for ten players (a T1,000,000 tourney set) with the Nine Dragons chips:

Starting stacks were 2/9/13/1 of 500/1K/5K/25K. 25 chips each, 100 BB stack, first blinds 500/1000.

Spare 40 x 25K chips allow for ten rebuys, or allow me to make it T200k stacks (200BB) if I want, and spare 10 x 1K chips allow me to replace the 500s but keep the rest in play, if I want. It was a good little set. Some more pics, since I sold them last month and miss them already:

Another fun option is to play a 25BB Turbo shove-fest; starting stacks of 5/4/1 using 1k/5k/25k - so a 50k starting stack. Full set for that would be only:

50 x T1000
40 x T5000
10 x T25000
-----
100 chips

Handy to bring one rack with you to an event and have quick smash-up!

 

[AWenger]

At this point i am thinking of a tourney set with the Key West chips (maybe in the future my custom cash set). I really like the high demons. Because i don't like to have a 500 and a 1k chip, i am thinking about a three denomination set: 1k, 5k and 25k. I think a T200.000 tournament with 100bb will do fine.

Cheers and welcome to PCF.

In general, for tournament chip starting stacks, it tends to work out best to have slightly more chips of the middle denominations, and fewer for the smallest and largest denom, but it depends on how many denoms are in play. In later levels, as people get knocked out, and blinds go up, a 3x raise will often not even use the small chips.

I play a 1 table tournament every few months, and the starting stack is T10,000, with 5 different denoms, the largest denom being 5,000. Denoms are 25/100/500/1000/5000. Just for comparison, that tournament runs with 4 or 5 denominations. Blinds start at 25/50, double to 50/100 the next level, but don't double after that. That tournament also uses antes in later levels, which makes the small denominations still in use in later levels. [If I was running the tournament, I'd probably put 5-1000 chips in the starting stack instead of one 5000 chip, and just keep the 5000 chips for rebuys.]

For T200,000 starting stacks, for 10 people, I guess it would work out OK with just 3 denoms, if you went that route. I would probably prefer to use a few 500 chips along with your breakdown, and have the blinds go to 1500/3000 right after 1000/2000, but if your players are ok with 1000/3000, then it's ok. Also, if you ever want to consider a tournament that uses antes in later rounds, then you could add some 500s to the set for flexibility.


If you ever wanted to start with T300,000 or T400,000, consider adding a few T100,000 chips (I don't know if Key West makes a T100,000). Although if you only have 6-8 players, probably no need to color up to a T100,000 chip for a T200,000 starting stack.

I was trying to think of another tournament that had a large starting chip amount, and found the structure sheet for one -- the 111,111 one-drop-- they started with 300,000 in tournament chips. (but no info on the chip breakdown) Now, this structure is for 3 days, and multiple tables, so need to adjust for a single table/single day tournament. Link here:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/structure-sheet.asp?tid=12845
[Note, they made a mistake, because the chart lists "Remove 500 Chips" but the next 2 levels have Antes of 500]

 

[Waarwaar]

Welcome!



Totally playable set, and keeps it to 320 pieces for 10 players (before rebuys).



Of course. If you like it, it's fine.

I'd note that if you add merely 20 of T500 chips, replacing one of the T1k chips in the starting stack, that's only ten extra chips in the set... But you allow the starting blinds to be 500/1000 instead of 1000/2000. That means your 200.000 starting stack is 200 BB instead of 100 BB, which allows for a different style of play in the early rounds, if that's what you want.

I once did a similar concept T100,000 buy-in set for ten players (a T1,000,000 tourney set) with the Nine Dragons chips:

Starting stacks were 2/9/13/1 of 500/1K/5K/25K. 25 chips each, 100 BB stack, first blinds 500/1000.

Spare 40 x 25K chips allow for ten rebuys, or allow me to make it T200k stacks (200BB) if I want, and spare 10 x 1K chips allow me to replace the 500s but keep the rest in play, if I want. It was a good little set. Some more pics, since I sold them last month and miss them already:

Another fun option is to play a 25BB Turbo shove-fest; starting stacks of 5/4/1 using 1k/5k/25k - so a 50k starting stack. Full set for that would be only:

50 x T1000
40 x T5000
10 x T25000
-----
100 chips

Handy to bring one rack with you to an event and have quick smash-up!

@Mental Nomad thank you very much for your input and the great pictures! Adding a couple of T500 chips in each starting stacks gives way more options with the blinds i see. Does adding only 2 T500 chips not have the risk that players constantly need to trade T500 and T1k chips. 4 T500 chips looks safer, but i have no experience.

A 25BB Turbo shove-fest... Thats going to be a short night, but can be a lott of fun.

 

[Waarwaar]

Cheers and welcome to PCF.

In general, for tournament chip starting stacks, it tends to work out best to have slightly more chips of the middle denominations, and fewer for the smallest and largest denom, but it depends on how many denoms are in play. In later levels, as people get knocked out, and blinds go up, a 3x raise will often not even use the small chips.

I play a 1 table tournament every few months, and the starting stack is T10,000, with 5 different denoms, the largest denom being 5,000. Denoms are 25/100/500/1000/5000. Just for comparison, that tournament runs with 4 or 5 denominations. Blinds start at 25/50, double to 50/100 the next level, but don't double after that. That tournament also uses antes in later levels, which makes the small denominations still in use in later levels. [If I was running the tournament, I'd probably put 5-1000 chips in the starting stack instead of one 5000 chip, and just keep the 5000 chips for rebuys.]

For T200,000 starting stacks, for 10 people, I guess it would work out OK with just 3 denoms, if you went that route. I would probably prefer to use a few 500 chips along with your breakdown, and have the blinds go to 1500/3000 right after 1000/2000, but if your players are ok with 1000/3000, then it's ok. Also, if you ever want to consider a tournament that uses antes in later rounds, then you could add some 500s to the set for flexibility.


If you ever wanted to start with T300,000 or T400,000, consider adding a few T100,000 chips (I don't know if Key West makes a T100,000). Although if you only have 6-8 players, probably no need to color up to a T100,000 chip for a T200,000 starting stack.

I was trying to think of another tournament that had a large starting chip amount, and found the structure sheet for one -- the 111,111 one-drop-- they started with 300,000 in tournament chips. (but no info on the chip breakdown) Now, this structure is for 3 days, and multiple tables, so need to adjust for a single table/single day tournament. Link here:
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/structure-sheet.asp?tid=12845
[Note, they made a mistake, because the chart lists "Remove 500 Chips" but the next 2 levels have Antes of 500]

@AWenger thanks for the structure sheet! Really helpful. Adding 4 T500 chips gives me a lott of extra options i see. And maybe 1 25k less and 5 5k chips more, will create more middle demons:

4 x T500 (2.000)
13 x T1000 (13.000)
17 x T5000 (85.000)
4 x T25.000 (100.000)
-----------------------------
38 chips total (200.000)

 

[Craig D]

I really like the high demons. Because i don't like to have a 500 and a 1k chip, i am thinking about a three denomination set: 1k, 5k and 25k. I think a T200.000 tournament with 100bb will do fine

Have you considered a 500, 2000, 10000 chips as an alternative?

No rule says you must use a 500 chip then a 1000 chip, I think going from 500 to 2000 is best

Have Fun
EDIT: I would still start the blinds at 1000-2000

 

[Waarwaar]

Have you considered a 500, 2000, 10000 chips as an alternative?

No rule says you must use a 500 chip then a 1000 chip, I think going from 500 to 2000 is best

Have Fun
EDIT: I would still start the blinds at 1000-2000

@Craig D i like what you are saying, but for 2k and 10k chips i need to go custom. And i really like to start with the Key West chips.

 

[Mental Nomad]

Does adding only 2 T500 chips not have the risk that players constantly need to trade T500 and T1k chips

Not really, because it's only used for the small blind. We declare that bets must be increments of 1000. The 500s only play for small blind or all-in.

 

[AWenger]

4 x T500 (2.000)
13 x T1000 (13.000)
17 x T5000 (85.000)
4 x T25.000 (100.000)
-----------------------------
38 chips total (200.000)

Looks good! May also want to consider 4/13/12/5 = 34 chips. It's not a huge difference, but will be slightly less chips and/or allow for more chips for rebuys & color ups. (I see Key West makes a blue NCV chip, which could be used as a Bounty chip or as 100,000.)

Good luck, and have fun with the chips.

 

[Waarwaar]

Looks good! May also want to consider 4/13/12/5 = 34 chips. It's not a huge difference, but will be slightly less chips and/or allow for more chips for rebuys & color ups. (I see Key West makes a blue NCV chip, which could be used as a Bounty chip or as 100,000.)

Good luck, and have fun with the chips.

Thanks! 4/13/12/5 is even better i think. Yep, Key West makes blue NCV chips which i can use as 100.000 when needed. I already have some Key West roulette chips for the Bounty.

 

[Squibyboom]

Another fun option is to play a 25BB Turbo shove-fest; starting stacks of 5/4/1 using 1k/5k/25k - so a 50k starting stack. Full set for that would be only:

50 x T1000
40 x T5000
10 x T25000
-----
100 chips

Handy to bring one rack with you to an event and have quick smash-up!

I really like the idea of this smash-up game! how would you work the blind schedule ?

@Mental Nomad

Thanks !

 

[Mental Nomad]

I just run BlindValet, pick the run time, and let it set the structure. I shorten the level times until the progression looks decent, and hit go.

 

[BGinGA]

I have built a one- or two-table T150K/T200K blind structure that uses T500 as the smallest denomination in play. It was at the request of another forum member who really liked the T5000 and T25000 chips in his set, and wanted to see them get more play.

Starting stack sizes:
10 x T500
10 x T1000
7 x T5000
4 x T25000
--------------
31 chips = T150K

The structure requires only 400 chips (single-table), and is perfectly efficient -- all chips get used:
100 x T500
100 x T1000
100 x T5000 (includes 30 chips to color-up T500/T1000 chips)
100 x T25000 (includes 20 chips to color-up T5000)

The extra 20 x T25K chips may also be used to create larger T200K starting stacks (by adding two chips to each stack) , or to allow re-buys (up to 3, which is about typical for a 10-player field).

To accommodate two-table events up to 20 players, just double those denomination quantities (800 chips total)


The blind structure starts with 500/1000 blinds (150BB):

lvl sb bb
L1 500 1000
L2 500 1500
L3 1000 2000
L4 1500 3000
remove T500 chips
L5 2000 4000
L6 3000 6000
L7 4000 8000
L8 6000 12000
L9 8000 16000
remove T1000 chips
L10 10000 20000
L11 15000 30000
L12 20000 40000
L13 25000 50000
L14 35000 70000 ***
remove T5000 chips (optional)
L15 50000 100000
L16 75000 150000
L17 100000 200000
L18 150000 300000
L19 200000 400000

With 10 players and 15-minute blind levels, the event will typically last no longer than L14 (3.5 hours plus breaks). Using 20-minute levels bumps total time to around 5 hours with breaks. Running a two-table event will typically add about 1/2-hour to those times.


Next up: a proven T1000-base set/structure.

 

[BGinGA]

T1000-base blind structure / chip set

Chip set:

100 x T1000
100 x T5000 (includes 20 chips for T1000 color-up)
100 x T25000 (includes 20 chips for T5000 color-up)
------------------
300 chips


T250K starting stacks (125BB):

10 x T1000
8 x T5000
8 x T25000
------------------
26 chips = T250K

The extra T25K chips may be used to create larger T300K starting stacks (150BB), or for up to two re-buys.


Blind structure:

lvl sb bb
L1 1000 2000
L2 1000 3000
L3 2000 4000
L4 3000 6000
L5 4000 8000
L6 6000 12000
L7 8000 16000
remove T1000 chips
L8 10000 20000
L9 15000 30000
L10 20000 40000
L11 25000 50000
L12 35000 70000
remove T5000 chips
L13 50000 100000 ***
L14 75000 150000
L15 100000 200000
L16 150000 300000
L17 200000 400000

Event will typically conclude by L13, or around 3.5 hours with 15-minute levels (4.5 hours with 20-minute levels).

 

[SwampYankee]

Great stuff @BGinGA (y) :thumbsup:

 

[Waarwaar]

Welcome!



Totally playable set, and keeps it to 320 pieces for 10 players (before rebuys).



Of course. If you like it, it's fine.

I'd note that if you add merely 20 of T500 chips, replacing one of the T1k chips in the starting stack, that's only ten extra chips in the set... But you allow the starting blinds to be 500/1000 instead of 1000/2000. That means your 200.000 starting stack is 200 BB instead of 100 BB, which allows for a different style of play in the early rounds, if that's what you want.

I once did a similar concept T100,000 buy-in set for ten players (a T1,000,000 tourney set) with the Nine Dragons chips:

Starting stacks were 2/9/13/1 of 500/1K/5K/25K. 25 chips each, 100 BB stack, first blinds 500/1000.

Spare 40 x 25K chips allow for ten rebuys, or allow me to make it T200k stacks (200BB) if I want, and spare 10 x 1K chips allow me to replace the 500s but keep the rest in play, if I want. It was a good little set. Some more pics, since I sold them last month and miss them already:

Another fun option is to play a 25BB Turbo shove-fest; starting stacks of 5/4/1 using 1k/5k/25k - so a 50k starting stack. Full set for that would be only:

50 x T1000
40 x T5000
10 x T25000
-----
100 chips

Handy to bring one rack with you to an event and have quick smash-up!

Hello Mental Nomad,

Recently i had the first poker night with my friends. It was a great poker evening and a lot of fun. We played with eight players total. I noticed that my friends don't really like to play with deep stacks. I started the tournament with 100bb, but somebody suggested to skip the first blind next time and start at the second level 66bb. I prefer deep stacks, but i am just searching what is working for the group.

So i was happily surprised that my threat was reborn out of nowhere ! I want to use this opportunity to ask you a little bit more about the 25bb turbo shove-fest. Like how long would that last, and how quIck do you raise the blinds? Do you use antes to make even quicker ? Could i play two or even more 25bb turbo's on one evening? I know you give a quick anwser before, but i really love to know a little more.

Best regards, Rob

 

[Waarwaar]

T1000-base blind structure / chip set

Chip set:

100 x T1000
100 x T5000 (includes 20 chips for T1000 color-up)
100 x T25000 (includes 20 chips for T5000 color-up)
------------------
300 chips


T250K starting stacks (125BB):

10 x T1000
8 x T5000
8 x T25000
------------------
26 chips = T250K

The extra T25K chips may be used to create larger T300K starting stacks (150BB), or for up to two re-buys.


Blind structure:

lvl sb bb
L1 1000 2000
L2 1000 3000
L3 2000 4000
L4 3000 6000
L5 4000 8000
L6 6000 12000
L7 8000 16000
remove T1000 chips
L8 10000 20000
L9 15000 30000
L10 20000 40000
L11 25000 50000
L12 35000 70000
remove T5000 chips
L13 50000 100000 ***
L14 75000 150000
L15 100000 200000
L16 150000 300000
L17 200000 400000

Event will typically conclude by L13, or around 3.5 hours with 15-minute levels (4.5 hours with 20-minute levels).

Hello BGinGA,

Thank you really much for posting two possible blind structures, i really appreciate it. Becuase it are tournaments with close friends, and because i am still experimenting what works for us, i just gonna try both Blind structures soon. Personally i really like the T1000-base blind structure. I looks so simple that even the noobs can't make mistakes. Around 3,5 hours is also perfect!
I will let you know how it worked out for us.

Best regards, Rob

 

[Mental Nomad]

I noticed that my friends don't really like to play with deep stacks. I started the tournament with 100bb, but somebody suggested to skip the first blind next time and start at the second level 66bb.

100 bb is not deep stacks. Rather, 100 bb and 150 bb are typical. A deep stack tourney is usually 300 bb to start.

A 66 bb tourney is definitely a short-stacked.

Your players probably need to learn a little more about how to play no-limit poker. It's common among people who don't really know the game; I had one guy who showed up for a while at my 25c/50c who wanted to buy in for $20 (everyone else was $40 to $60) but who wanted to make the blinds $1/$2. He didn't have enough depth of understanding of the game - he was only interested in the big decision and the gambles. That kind of player kinda wants to start the game after the turn has been dealt, and just make the "big decisions" based on who they think is bluffing.

But that's not the game of poker. The game of poker is about making decision on the deal, the flop, based on position, based on the deal, based on the flop, based on how people are feeling... and then pot builds up to the point where those turn bets should be about $20 because of the prior actions... and then, if you're still there on the turn and river, making the big decisions based on everything that came before. That's the game.

But that makes no sense from the perspective of that guy I mentioned before; he wanted to make $20 decisions on the turn, so betting 50c seems pointless. Conversely, he wanted to make $20 decisions, so he didn't want to buy in for $50. He just didn't understand that 25c/50c blinds, with bets scaled to the growing pot, can easily lead to $20 and $40 and $60 pots, where a half-pot bet is suddenly $30.

The great majority of my experience is low and micro cash games, but what I've just said is largely true for both. I suggest explaining to the players that 100 bb is perfectly normal (if not the low end of normal), and that if the big blind seems low, it's because they haven't learned to raise properly yet. Every raise should be based on how much money is already up... if you total all the standing bets plus everything already in the middle, that's "the pot." Your bet should should be some fraction of the pot. Is a bet of 500 a big bet, or a small one? Well, if the pot is 750, it's big bet - 2/3 of the pot. If the pot is 3,000, then it's just 1/6 of the pot, actually quite a small bet, one which is given others good odds to call on their draws.

In my experience, the first thing new players need to learn to start learning poker is that betting is not about the amount on the chips, it's about the fraction of the pot... then they can start betting properly, which lets the pots grow properly, which makes a 100 bb starting point work better.

 

[Mental Nomad]

So i was happily surprised that my threat was reborn out of nowhere ! I want to use this opportunity to ask you a little bit more about the 25bb turbo shove-fest. Like how long would that last, and how quIck do you raise the blinds?

I don't recommend this as a regular thing - only as a fun change of pace. That having been said...

@BGinGA posted perfectly good blind schedules. All you do is make two changes:

1. Start with 25x the bb instead of 100x the bb. So, with a structure that starts at 500/1000, just start with 25,000 in chips instead of 100,000 or 150,000.

2. Progress up the blind schedule every five minutes.

With the combination of tiny 25bb starting stacks and short five-minute levels, the tourney should end in well under an hour. Probably closer to 30 minutes, usually. Also, do not be surprised if it's over in 15 minutes.

Caveats:

- you guys will need to already be familiar with the mechanics and be able to keep the game moving, or else you'll end up playing only 2 or 3 hands at a given level. This means the folders need to be ready to fold, bettors ready to bet, and the next deck needs to be shuffled and ready as soon as the showdown is seen. My regs can really keep the game moving, plus they have me - as a former dealer, I can shuffle and cut the deck in about 8 seconds, and I can break down and chop a pot very quickly. Feel free to pause the timer if you have a discrepancy, or if you need to take your time chopping a pot - you don't want to screw up the game for the sake of speed.

Five minute levels go by really quickly, and people will start feeling the pressure. That's part of what makes it fun as a diversion and change of pace... but I wouldn't want this as a regular game.

Do you use antes to make even quicker ?

Hell, no! Adding antes would make things dramatically slower, because everyone will be making change and trying to figure out who forgot to ante. You'd get even fewer hands per level. Also, the end of the game happens because the total of the blinds/antes goes up... it's the total amount that does it. With the blinds going up this quick, you're covered. The game will definitely end quickly.

Could i play two or even more 25bb turbo's on one evening?

Yes. When we're doing Turbos, we set the structure for a 30 or 45 minute play time, and get four or more of them into an evening. We take breaks between Turbos. Sometimes, we'll play a single Turbo as a foursome if we're waiting for more players for a cash game - again, that takes 30 to 45 minutes to play out.

BG's blind schedules are better than what's generated by a tool like Blind Valet, but Blind Valet lets me quickly adjust for time/players, and gives me a pausable timer, so I just use it.

With 1000/2000 starting blinds, I set Bind Valet in the Parameters (at bottom) like this:

This is for a 1, 5, 25 chip set, but just add zeroes in your head - it's 1,000, 5,000, 25,000.

Small blind 1,000. Starting Stack 25,000.

That gives you the following structure:

It'll end in half an hour or so (no more than 45 or 50 minutes), but you can adjust the setting easily... Just change the duration to 1.00 hours. Or 1.25 hours. Or whatever.

If the levels are hitting you too fast and furious, change the level time to 6 or 7 minutes.

Also, when using Blind Valet, Iike to insert a manual level into the mix it gives - I hit the edit button at the top-right, then click the plus sign at the bottom to add a level:

That makes the overall schedule:

That's a better progression, in terms of avoiding a big jump in blinds at the start...

HOWEVER, I don't always bother with that for a Turbo. It honestly doesn't matter; the blinds are going to be jumping like mad and people are frantic for half an hour. That's part of the fun.

Finally: again, I don't recommend this as a regular game. I highly recommend a 100bb or 150bb starting stack and a longer run time for a Tourney, which is a "normal" stack, not a "deep" stack. Alternately, I'd recommend playing a cash game. But either way, people need a chance to learn to play poker.

A Turbo is not a good way to learn to play poker. And the fact that 100bb seems deep stack to you and your crew means that you all haven't yet learned the game.

There's something to be gained by seeing a lot of hands go by - and Turbos let you see a lot of hands and rivers happen - but you're hard-pressed to learn anything about the game while it's going on at that pace.

 

[Mental Nomad]

Sometimes I think that what novices really want to play is limit poker.

But they think it's lame if nobody can go all-in.

So they want limit poker with the option to go all-in. Which is weird. I sometimes wonder how it would play, though.

 

[Waarwaar]

I don't recommend this as a regular thing - only as a fun change of pace. That having been said...

@BGinGA posted perfectly good blind schedules. All you do is make two changes:

1. Start with 25x the bb instead of 100x the bb. So, with a structure that starts at 500/1000, just start with 25,000 in chips instead of 100,000 or 150,000.

2. Progress up the blind schedule every five minutes.

With the combination of tiny 25bb starting stacks and short five-minute levels, the tourney should end in well under an hour. Probably closer to 30 minutes, usually. Also, do not be surprised if it's over in 15 minutes.

Caveats:

- you guys will need to already be familiar with the mechanics and be able to keep the game moving, or else you'll end up playing only 2 or 3 hands at a given level. This means the folders need to be ready to fold, bettors ready to bet, and the next deck needs to be shuffled and ready as soon as the showdown is seen. My regs can really keep the game moving, plus they have me - as a former dealer, I can shuffle and cut the deck in about 8 seconds, and I can break down and chop a pot very quickly. Feel free to pause the timer if you have a discrepancy, or if you need to take your time chopping a pot - you don't want to screw up the game for the sake of speed.

Five minute levels go by really quickly, and people will start feeling the pressure. That's part of what makes it fun as a diversion and change of pace... but I wouldn't want this as a regular game.



Hell, no! Adding antes would make things dramatically slower, because everyone will be making change and trying to figure out who forgot to ante. You'd get even fewer hands per level. Also, the end of the game happens because the total of the blinds/antes goes up... it's the total amount that does it. With the blinds going up this quick, you're covered. The game will definitely end quickly.



Yes. When we're doing Turbos, we set the structure for a 30 or 45 minute play time, and get four or more of them into an evening. We take breaks between Turbos. Sometimes, we'll play a single Turbo as a foursome if we're waiting for more players for a cash game - again, that takes 30 to 45 minutes to play out.

BG's blind schedules are better than what's generated by a tool like Blind Valet, but Blind Valet lets me quickly adjust for time/players, and gives me a pausable timer, so I just use it.

With 1000/2000 starting blinds, I set Bind Valet in the Parameters (at bottom) like this:

View attachment 98339

This is for a 1, 5, 25 chip set, but just add zeroes in your head - it's 1,000, 5,000, 25,000.

Small blind 1,000. Starting Stack 25,000.

That gives you the following structure:

View attachment 98341

It'll end in half an hour or so (no more than 45 or 50 minutes), but you can adjust the setting easily... Just change the duration to 1.00 hours. Or 1.25 hours. Or whatever.

If the levels are hitting you too fast and furious, change the level time to 6 or 7 minutes.

Also, when using Blind Valet, Iike to insert a manual level into the mix it gives - I hit the edit button at the top-right, then click the plus sign at the bottom to add a level:
View attachment 98342

That makes the overall schedule:


View attachment 98343

That's a better progression, in terms of avoiding a big jump in blinds at the start...

HOWEVER, I don't always bother with that for a Turbo. It honestly doesn't matter; the blinds are going to be jumping like mad and people are frantic for half an hour. That's part of the fun.

Finally: again, I don't recommend this as a regular game. I highly recommend a 100bb or 150bb starting stack and a longer run time for a Tourney, which is a "normal" stack, not a "deep" stack. Alternately, I'd recommend playing a cash game. But either way, people need a chance to learn to play poker.

A Turbo is not a good way to learn to play poker. And the fact that 100bb seems deep stack to you and your crew means that you all haven't yet learned the game.

There's something to be gained by seeing a lot of hands go by - and Turbos let you see a lot of hands and rivers happen - but you're hard-pressed to learn anything about the game while it's going on at that pace.

Lol, i really am a noob. But its great that you and the rest of the community take the time to awnser the questions. Your explenation for the 25bb turbo is clear. I understand that it isnt a good way to learn poker. But its a great concept to play after the main tournament, there are always players who wanna stay and play some more. Thanks again!

 

[BGinGA]

Sometimes I think that what novices really want to play is limit poker.

But they think it's lame if nobody can go all-in.

So they want limit poker with the option to go all-in. Which is weird. I sometimes wonder how it would play, though.

Depending on stack sizes and how it's structured, spread-limit almost plays out like this. It's a pretty interesting format, but I don't think it works well for newbie poker players.

One thing I've never experimented with is a spread-limit tournament format/structure..... maybe I should give it some thought.

 

[Mental Nomad]

When you say spread limit, you don't mean life old 7-stud $1-$5, right?

I'm thinking something more like limit poker, played 2-4/x10. Plays like 2-4 limit, but at any point, a player can bump the bet x 10. Do you mean something like that? (I'm playing with different multiples in my head.)