Tourney What would your ultimate heads up setup look like? (1 Viewer)

[Potsie1]

EDIT: This is for a single heads up game.
Im curious because there are so many possibilities regarding chip denoms, chip quantity and blind structure. If you could create your favorite heads up match what would it be? How long would/should the match go for? And of course what chips would you use??

The chip I would use is:

Chip denominations and quantity:

Blind structure:




Really really curious what you guys would do. Thanks!

 

[Irish]

Do you mean a multiple player head's up tourney or just a single head's up game?

For the latter, I built my Rounders KGB set to be able to set up the final head's up match from the movie - $10k each - 4 barrels of $25s and 4 barrels of $100. Blinds start at 25/50. A little overkill I know but it's a cool set

 

[BGinGA]

I had a bunch of heads-up tourney sets at one time; I've sold most of 'em. All the heads-up chips were stored in racks, and I had a full 1000-chip bird cage. I mostly used them for heads-up tournaments, and each set contained 100 chips.

40 x T25
40 x T100
20 x T500

Each heads up stack was 20 x T25, 20 x T100, and 10 x T500 for tournament chips for T7500 stacks each. The blinds started at 50/100 +25 ante (75BB) with 6-minute levels. A single T1000 chip was used to color-up the T25 chips after L3. A typical match lasted a bit over a half-hour, and the format was best-two-of-three matches to advance (so roughly 1.5 hrs per round, max.).

After four years, we altered the tournament format to use T5 chips, and those heads-up sets also contained 100 chips:

40 x T5
40 x T25
20 x T100

Each heads up stack was 20 x T5, 20 x T25, and 9 x T100 for tournament chips for T1500 stacks each, and the extra T100 chips were used to color-up the T5 chips after L3. Those blinds started at 15/30 +10 ante (50BB) and 6-minute levels. Typical match times were still just over a half-hour, with the same best-2-of-3 format to win a round and advance.

Several of the heads-up sets had this configuration, so they could be used for either format:

40 x T5
40 x T25
40 x T100
20 x T500
10 x T1000
--------------
150 chips

Plus those sets can also support longer T10k heads-up matches, with each player getting 20 x T25, 20 x T100, 5 x T500, and 5 x T1000 (50 chips each, no color-ups). A single T10K match using 50/100 starting blinds (100BB) and 15-minute levels takes about 2 hours or less. I still have a few of these sets.

 

[pltrgyst]

I too have a whole bunch of heads-up sets for a heads-up tourney. But I use half as many smaller denom chips as BGinGA does, and prefer to start with T5s, simply because T500s are harder to come by for some sets. I also like my heads-up sets to cover both 100 and 200BB starting stacks. So my preferred sets are:

20 x T5
20 x T25
24 x T100
4 x T500 (used only for 200BB matches; the extra 2 are for chipping up)
----------------
68 chips

 

[BiGGyT]

I would like my heads-up tourney to look like this

since we are dreaming.

But in reality, BGinGA's is good in my opinion.

The brothers and I do a
T25 20
T100 15
T1000 2
at holidays after many drinks.

 

[Potsie1]

Wow! Thanks for the info. I was thinking a heads up set was around 200 chips. 80 to 100 chips sounds so much better.

 

[Potsie1]

If I wanted to use a 500, 1000 and 5000 chip for a heads up what sort of breakdown, blinds would you reccomend?

 

[BGinGA]

What would your ultimate heads up setup look like?

4,000 Paulson ACF chips, roughly 1000 each of these denominations:
.

 

[pltrgyst]

I can't see any reason to take a HU set over 100BB, so -- using more 1000s than usual because of the jump to 5K:

500 x 10
1000 x 20
5000 x 15

for each player.

... and use BGinGA's standard blinds progression for 5/10.

 

[Quicksilver-75]

I'm fairly certain @genopark could speak for my dream heads-up set. He has them all

 

[genopark]

I'm fairly certain @genopark could speak for my dream heads-up set. He has them all

????

 

[genopark]

Some size comparison:

 

[Quicksilver-75]

Yup. Thats them....flippin' gorgeous.

 

[Potsie1]

@BGinGA and anyone else who can help me figure out a specific breakdown. I bought a small 100pc heads up set of the Atlantic Club chips and I absolutely love them. I would never use a large tourney set but would have use of a larger big stack heads up set. Help me get a breakdown idea. It's not about being super practical but rather having fun with my family and having huge piles of chips in front of us when we play.

At the national heads up poker championship in the round of 64 they had stacks of 25k and in the round of 32 they had stacks of 50k. 50k sounds the best to me. Each person appeared to 160 chips. Denomination 1 x100 denomination 2x40 and denomination 3 x20. It looks like it would be 100, 500 and 1000 chips but the blinds are 150/300. Any help or ideas would be appreciated.
Hey that table looks familiar!

 

[BGinGA]

in the round of 32 they had stacks of 50k.....Each person appeared to 160 chips. Denomination 1 x100 denomination 2x40 and denomination 3 x20. It looks like it would be 100, 500 and 1000 chips but the blinds are 150/300.

If opening blinds are 150/300, then T25 chips are needed. This is what I think each player started with:

20 x T25
40 x T100
91 x T500
-------------
151 chips = T50,000

Erik Seidel's stack would appear to have this configuration.


EDIT:
If you are wanting your custom T50K heads-up set to fit neatly in three racks or a 300-chip case, go with the following starting stacks:
20 x T25
40 x T100
89 x T500
1 x T1000
-------------
150 chips = T50,000

 

[BGinGA]

And this sub-set can be used for T25K starting stacks:
20 x T25
40 x T100
39 x T500
1 x T1000
-------------
100 chips = T25,000

I'd use 100/200 starting blinds with T25K stacks.

 

[Potsie1]

If you are wanting your custom T50K heads-up set to fit neatly in three racks or a 300-chip case, go with the following starting stacks:
20 x T25
40 x T100
89 x T500
1 x T1000
-------------
150 chips = T50,000

Doesnt need to fit in anything neatly. It looks based on your numbers like it would be easy to to morph a T25k stack into a T50k stack with only a few extra chips and could use it for both.
I like the breakdown you give. I will probably trade out some of the 500s for the 1k. The 1k DG tiger is awesome. Now I just need to figure out the colors before the 21st. As always thank you.

 

[Potsie1]

If opening blinds are 150/300, then T25 chips are needed. This is what I think each player started with:

20 x T25
40 x T100
91 x T500
-------------
151 chips = T50,000

After watching videos I had my numbers wrong. They start with 149 chips each. Blinds are 150/300 and starting stacks are actually 25k for those blinds. The breakdown is:
20x T25
100x T100
29x T500

I read somewhere the big stacks were simply for television. When I watch the video they mostly handle the 500s and just use a 25 or 100 here or there to round out the bet. I think I'm going to go with:
20x T25
50T100
29x T500
5x T1000
104 chips

The second round has only 300/600 blinds with 50k starting stacks. The breakdown is:
50x T100
30x T500
30xT1000
110 chips- I actually like this breakdown but would like to see a few 5k worked in.

The third round has 600-1200 blinds with 100k starting stacks. The breakdown is:

50x T100
30x T500
30xT1000
10x T5000
120 chips It looks like the stacks for the 50k and 100k are the same except for the addition of the 10x 5k. I like this breakdown as well.

To accomodate all 3 rounds I would need
40x T25
100x T100
60x T500
60x T1000
20x T5000

@BGinGA does this look correct? Any big things i'm missing that seem way out of wack? Thanks for your help. 280 chips total

 

[MacGrad]

I know it's not an optimal blind structure, but I used the following from HPT:

Starting Stacks: 34 (15 x $5K, 13 x $25K, 6 x $100K for a total of $1 million)

Blind structure:
SB BB
5 10
10 20
20 40
25 50
50 75
50 100

With 15 minute blind levels, these matches would likely last an hour at most... and I think there would still be enough time for proper poker before the "all in" fests occurred at the later levels.

 

[ovo]

ultimate structures are great, but don't be afraid to think outside the box. Two denoms of a certain number per person of really cool chips is still a blast, WITH really cool chips

 

[BGinGA]

@BGinGA does this look correct? Any big things i'm missing that seem way out of wack? Thanks for your help. 280 chips total

One thing you have left out is color-up chips. Most heads-up matches will go at least long enough to require removal of the smallest denomination in play.

Here is how I would structure starting stacks for the three rounds, all of which are 100 chips (one full rack) per player, 4 denominations per stack, and have been balanced for better play flow:

25K stacks (150/300 blinds)
20 x T25
50 x T100
21 x T500
9 x T1000
-------------
100 chips

50K stacks (300/600 blinds)
50 x T100
26 x T500
22 x T1000
2 x T5000
-------------
100 chips

100K stacks (600/1200 blinds)
40 x T100
24 x T500
24 x T1000
12 x T5000
-------------
100 chips

To accommodate all three levels (plus color-ups), the set should consist of at least 280 chips:

40 x T25
100 x T100
52 x T500
59 x T1000 (includes 11x to color-up T25/T100 chips)
29 x T5000 (includes 5x to color-up T500 chips)
-------------
280 total chips

Personally, I'd bump those total numbers to 40/100/60/60/40 for an even 300 chips, and that breakdown can also serve as a single-table 10-player set capable of supporting T10K to T30K starting stacks. The cost of 20 extra chips is a small price to pay for a big increase in versatility.

 

[Potsie1]

One thing you have left out is color-up chips. Most heads-up matches will go at least long enough to require removal of the smallest denomination in play.

Here is how I would structure starting stacks for the three rounds, all of which are 100 chips (one full rack) per player, 4 denominations per stack, and have been balanced for better play flow:

25K stacks (150/300 blinds)
20 x T25
50 x T100
21 x T500
9 x T1000
-------------
100 chips

50K stacks (300/600 blinds)
50 x T100
26 x T500
22 x T1000
2 x T5000
-------------
100 chips

100K stacks (600/1200 blinds)
40 x T100
24 x T500
24 x T1000
12 x T5000
-------------
100 chips

To accommodate all three levels (plus color-ups), the set should consist of at least 280 chips:

40 x T25
100 x T100
52 x T500
59 x T1000 (includes 11x to color-up T25/T100 chips)
29 x T5000 (includes 5x to color-up T500 chips)
-------------
280 total chips

Personally, I'd bump those total numbers to 40/100/60/60/40 for an even 300 chips, and that breakdown can also serve as a single-table 10-player set capable of supporting T10K to T30K starting stacks. The cost of 20 extra chips is a small price to pay for a big increase in versatility.

I knew you'd have the answer. Thank you. Time to get my add on order in.

 

[churlbut18]

I had a bunch of heads-up tourney sets at one time; I've sold most of 'em. All the heads-up chips were stored in racks, and I had a full 1000-chip bird cage. I mostly used them for heads-up tournaments, and each set contained 100 chips.

40 x T25
40 x T100
20 x T500

Each heads up stack was 20 x T25, 20 x T100, and 10 x T500 for tournament chips for T7500 stacks each. The blinds started at 50/100 +25 ante (75BB) with 6-minute levels. A single T1000 chip was used to color-up the T25 chips after L3. A typical match lasted a bit over a half-hour, and the format was best-two-of-three matches to advance (so roughly 1.5 hrs per round, max.).

After four years, we altered the tournament format to use T5 chips, and those heads-up sets also contained 100 chips:

40 x T5
40 x T25
20 x T100

Each heads up stack was 20 x T5, 20 x T25, and 9 x T100 for tournament chips for T1500 stacks each, and the extra T100 chips were used to color-up the T5 chips after L3. Those blinds started at 15/30 +10 ante (50BB) and 6-minute levels. Typical match times were still just over a half-hour, with the same best-2-of-3 format to win a round and advance.

Several of the heads-up sets had this configuration, so they could be used for either format:

40 x T5
40 x T25
40 x T100
20 x T500
10 x T1000
--------------
150 chips

Plus those sets can also support longer T10k heads-up matches, with each player getting 20 x T25, 20 x T100, 5 x T500, and 5 x T1000 (50 chips each, no color-ups). A single T10K match using 50/100 starting blinds (100BB) and 15-minute levels takes about 2 hours or less. I still have a few of these sets.

I was in need of a heads up breakdown and just struck gold with this post. Love the T1500 with a 40xT5/40xT25/20xT100 breakdown.

@BGinGA I see that the starting blinds are 15/30 and levels are 6 minutes, but what are the recommended levels for L2 and beyond? And I don't play a lot of tournaments so remind me, to increase the length to more than 30 minutes, do you change the blind structure, increase the time of the levels, both?

 

[upNdown]

After four years, we altered the tournament format to use T5 chips, and those heads-up sets also contained 100 chips:

40 x T5
40 x T25
20 x T100

Each heads up stack was 20 x T5, 20 x T25, and 9 x T100 for tournament chips for T1500 stacks each, and the extra T100 chips were used to color-up the T5 chips after L3. Those blinds started at 15/30 +10 ante (50BB) and 6-minute levels. Typical match times were still just over a half-hour, with the same best-2-of-3 format to win a round and advance.

I tried this a couple of months ago and didn't like it one bit. I guess it accomplishes the goal of keeping things moving quickly, but it didn't feel like good poker.

 

[BGinGA]

I tried this a couple of months ago and didn't like it one bit. I guess it accomplishes the goal of keeping things moving quickly, but it didn't feel like good poker.

Maybe you were playing too slowly.

 

[BGinGA]

starting blinds are 15/30 and levels are 6 minutes, but what are the recommended levels for L2 and beyond?

to increase the length to more than 30 minutes, do you change the blind structure, increase the time of the levels, both?

Easiest would be to bump up the blind level times. Figure a 5-minute increase in total average time for every minute added to the blind levels. 9-minute levels = 45 minutes total (on average), etc.