Most poker tournaments will advertise what the starting chip stacks are. They will announce a tournament with 5,000 chips, 10,000 chips, or more. That sounds good but may not be a little bit of "too good to be true." Having a seemingly large starting stack is attractive to many tournament poker players.
Poker tournament players can often make this mistake. The problem is that there are no rules about what a starting stack should be and there are no rules regarding the starting blinds or even the blind structure. A poker tournament that starts with 10,000 chips may have starting blinds that are 25/50, which would make it very deep-stacked, or it could have starting blinds of 100/200, which is relatively short-stacked.
Short-stack tournaments may attract some poker players. Tournaments like this can be an opportunity to be aggressive and take advantage of small edges. The reality is that most poker players are more comfortable in a tournament where they have a deep stack. Consideration of the starting blinds and the blind structure is very important when deciding on a poker tournament to play in.
Generally, the cheaper the tournament, the shorter the starting stacks will be. A $50 daily tournament at a casino will normally be very short-stacked with a quick blind structure compared with a $500+ special event tournament. The reason is that the casino wants to make as much money in the shortest amount of time. They are not making much money with a $50 tournament so they want it end quickly.
Besides the starting blind level, you must also consider the blind structure. If the starting blinds make it seem like a deep-stack tournament it may have a blind structure where the blinds double every round and the rounds are only 20 minutes long. While the players may start with a deep stack, they will quickly be short-stacked with a structure like that.
The next time you consider a tournament make sure you get as much information about the tournament so you can make a fully informed decision. The important facts to know are starting chip stacks, the starting blind level, and the blind structure. There are other considerations to take into account, such as number of players, the vig that the casino takes, and the payout, but for now just make sure that the poker tournament structure is one that you are most comfortable to play in.
Poker tournament players can often make this mistake. The problem is that there are no rules about what a starting stack should be and there are no rules regarding the starting blinds or even the blind structure. A poker tournament that starts with 10,000 chips may have starting blinds that are 25/50, which would make it very deep-stacked, or it could have starting blinds of 100/200, which is relatively short-stacked.
Short-stack tournaments may attract some poker players. Tournaments like this can be an opportunity to be aggressive and take advantage of small edges. The reality is that most poker players are more comfortable in a tournament where they have a deep stack. Consideration of the starting blinds and the blind structure is very important when deciding on a poker tournament to play in.
Generally, the cheaper the tournament, the shorter the starting stacks will be. A $50 daily tournament at a casino will normally be very short-stacked with a quick blind structure compared with a $500+ special event tournament. The reason is that the casino wants to make as much money in the shortest amount of time. They are not making much money with a $50 tournament so they want it end quickly.
Besides the starting blind level, you must also consider the blind structure. If the starting blinds make it seem like a deep-stack tournament it may have a blind structure where the blinds double every round and the rounds are only 20 minutes long. While the players may start with a deep stack, they will quickly be short-stacked with a structure like that.
The next time you consider a tournament make sure you get as much information about the tournament so you can make a fully informed decision. The important facts to know are starting chip stacks, the starting blind level, and the blind structure. There are other considerations to take into account, such as number of players, the vig that the casino takes, and the payout, but for now just make sure that the poker tournament structure is one that you are most comfortable to play in.
About the Author:
-------- About the author: Sean Pratch has worked with Custom Poker Chips for over ten years. Sean has composed a free report on how to determine your poker chip breakdown for a game. Make it simple. Get your free report on Poker Chip Breakdown now. You have full permission to reprint this article as long as this box is kept unchanged. --------
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