Running a Tournament (For Home Games)

BY: Ashley Adams
Contact at: (Asha34@aol.com)
Author of Winning 7-Card Stud

I play a lot of poker. Some of it is casinos. Some of it is in home games. By "home game" I don't mean a poker room run as a business out of someone's house, apartment or hotel room (I call those "house games"). I mean instead those somewhat casual affairs, generally with little or no rake, called by friends for friends and acquaintances where Dealer's Choice games tend to dominate.

I prefer a good home game. There are a few reasons for this: convenience, friendliness, quality of opponents, and of course the rake. But I've found that most people are not very good at all at organizing home games. There seems to be some art to it. I'd like to share some of my secrets of organizing good home game tournaments in this column. Next time I'll talk about running a regular ring game.

I've found, in the last year especially, that there is a great deal of interest in No Limit Hold Em. So I've organized a few home games where this is exclusively what we played. It's really amazing. Where, two years ago, it was nearly impossible to find enough players for a short handed No Limit Hold Em game, just a month ago, by sending out a few dozens invites on the Internet, I easily filled two tables with No Limit Hold Em players.

It was at this no limit hold em home game, at my house, that I decided to organize a No Limit Hold Em tournament and a Stud tournament. Since then, I've seen a number of posts on the Internet discussion group for poker, rec.gambling.poker, where people asked how to organize such an event. So I've decided to share my experiences with you.

The key to organizing a good tournament (and the key to organizing ANY home poker game for that matter) is getting enough players. For the most part, as I'll explain in more detail, the rest of the organizing is pretty much common sense. But without a good group of players you don't have a game. So let's look at how to attract players.

The first step is to make a list of everyone you know who plays poker or who might know people who play poker. Make this list on paper. Systematically get every email address and phone number. Put together a group email list.

Next, compose a simple letter of invitation. Make it short and simple, something like, "Hi. I'm organizing a no limit hold em tournament. I'd like to know if you might be interested in playing. Please email me if you, or anyone you know, would like to play. If I get enough responses I'll email you with the information. Thanks."

Send this letter out to everyone on your email list. Similarly, list your game with www.homepokergames.com. This is a free service for people to use as a clearinghouse on poker games. It lists games by state and city. I've gotten many players for my games from here.

Next, post an announcement on rec.gambling.poker. Don't list the specific game information, just make a posting with the city and the game and ask people who are interested to email you directly with their names and the names of others who might be interested. I've gotten a number of players using this method.

Finally, I would make phone calls to everyone you know who plays poker regularly. Ask them to invite people from their games, but ask that they send you the names and emails of people who are interested. You can then add them to your email list.

Decide on a buy-in. I've had games that ranged from $25 to $100. My experience has been that with my target group I've gotten the most interest in games that are either $25 or $50 with at least one rebuy and one add on. I've also had good experience with unlimited rebuys during the first hour. The choice is yours. Remember, that if you have a limit of one rebuy you might end up having a number of players knocked out before the add on period. Your prize pool will be considerably limited because of this and the lack of multiple rebuys from the wilder and more aggressive players.

Decide on a a structure. You need to know how long each stage will last and what stakes each stage will be. I've found that 20 minute rounds work fine when the tournament is self dealt. 15 minute stages provide too few hands for the players to feel that they have enough time at each level. While 20 minutes is quick -- it has been a good middle ground between tournament structures that are too fast and tournaments that last too long.

Decide on how many chips people start with. My best experience was when players started with $500 and the blinds began at $10/20 or the limits began at $15/30. This gives players a few rounds of using the $5 chips. This didn't work, however, for my largest tournaments. I started everyone off with $1,000 in chips. My 1,000 chips weren't sufficient if people used $5 denomination chips. So I started with two $25 blinds. This worked out fine -- though I still think the $10/20 worked better with a $500 stack to start.

You'll want to type up your structure sheet. Again, my opinion is that it is better to err on the side of a quicker tournament for a home game than for lengthier stages that provide more play. If you're looking to have fun, then you don't want the tournament to drag on (unless you can get a side game going while the tournament is being decided).

You need to figure out a prize payout structure. I've used 50%, 25%, 15%, 10% with two tables or more and never had any complaints. Just make sure that you write it down and announce the prizes before the event is over (as soon as possible after the rebuy period is over) so everyone knows what they're shooting for.

Then, pick a date for the game. I've found that Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons work well. Give yourself at least three or four weeks lead time before the game. I don't worry too much about checking with people ahead of time to get the perfect time or date. I just schedule it and then invite everyone. I've never had a problem getting enough people for at least three tables of players. My last tournament, using the method above netted 53 players.

One thing that I do recommend is a reminder email or two -- especially one the night before the day of the game. It's incredible how many players need to be reminded. And don't be surprised by the number of players who flake out at the end. My rule of thumb is to expect about 60% of the definite yeses and 0% of the maybes to show up. So if I want at least three tables of 10 then I want at least 50 people emailing or calling me saying they're definite for the game. If 50 people say they're definitely coming then I expect about 30 to actually show up.

On the day of the game you want to make sure that you have four decks of cards available for every table. If they're Kems, Royals or other high quality plastic cards you can surely get by with just two per table. But those Bicycles and Bees tend to end up having a corner bent during the course of a self-dealt tournament. So have another set on hand just in case. And I'd recommend that in the interest of efficiency, you have two decks in play at all times -- one guy shuffles while another deals. It just makes the game go more smoothly.

You also want to make sure that you have enough chips for the tournament. I've found that 1,000 chips with four colors for 55 players, each starting with $1,000 was enough. (with one rebuy and one add). I had 500 white chips worth $25, 300 red chips worth $100, 200 green chips worth $500 and 100 black chips worth $1,000. But I had to start people off with $25 chips as the smallest chip available. In the NLHE game this meant two $25 blinds to start. In the limit stud this meant a $25 dealer ante to start. The players seemed to accept these arrangements with no problems -- though a couple of eyebrows were raised at the stud table initially. If you have 4 tables or fewer, or are willing to start people with only $500 in chips then you can use the white chips as $5.00 chips, the reds as $25, etc.

Collect the cash up front. Don't arrange to settle at the end with anyone. The last thing you need is to miss someone's buy in or rebuy or add on and end up owing the game money for your collection problem. Just do it like the casino and get the money up front and whenever a player rebuys or adds on.

Have little slips of paper to give to players when they buy in telling them which seat and which table they are assigned to play at. Label the tables of course and put a dealer button in front of the "1" seat. (a piece of paper with a "D" on it should suffice) I've never worried much about reseating and consolidating tables -- I just move people as I see fit. But having assigned random seating when people first arrive helps avoid disputes or fights over where people are playing. I've found that once people are into the event they don't pay much attention to where they are reseated -- with one exception -- getting reseated in the small or big blind after having recently posted a blind. In those instances, I'd just allow them to let the blind pass them by and then deal them in thereafter. I've yet to have a player complain that a new player, coming from another game, was allowed to sit out the blind after he was reseated.

As the tournament progresses through its stages try to color players up to higher denomination chips as they accumulate many lower denomination chips. Yes, schedule a break for the final coloring up from white to reds and reds to greens. But you can also do this during the tournament as the need arises. This saves you time during the break, helps clean up tables that might have an excessive amount of chips in any individual stack, and tends to speed up the game by eliminating the counting and recounting of lower denomination chips.

If you only expect enough players for two tables or fewer, you can probably handle all the details and play in the tournament itself. But if you have any more than that you want at least one player to help you with the money collection, seat assignments, rebuys, add ons, and payouts at the end. And YOU won't be able to play unless these assistants are very experienced. Two tables seems to be the limit of a tournament you can manage as a player. Beyond that, it really is difficult to control things and settle disputes while you are playing.

One last note. It helps to have beverages and munchies. If you're not charging a fee for the game, tell players that they need to bring something to the game. I've only known a few people who aren't overly generous when it comes to this. You'll probably end up with a frig full of beer when the night is over as payment for all your hard work. Plus, you'll have a list that you can now tap for full home games in the future.

Good luck. And if you need any more specific suggestions about running your tournaments please feel free to email me.

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