TwistPoker

Blind structure calculator

Tell it how many players, how many chips each, and when the game should end. It builds a blind schedule that gets there on time, with every blind a number your chips can actually make.

12 levels of 20 minutes. 80,000 chips in play; the last planned level's big blind of 4,000 makes that 20 big blinds in total. Levels in italics are spares in case the game runs long.

Level Starts Small blind Big blind BB ante Stack in BB M Zone
1 0:00 50 100 — 100.0 66.7 Green
2 0:20 75 150 — 66.7 44.4 Green
3 0:40 100 200 — 50.0 33.3 Green
4 1:00 125 250 — 40.0 26.7 Green
5 1:20 200 400 400 25.0 10.0 Yellow
6 1:40 250 500 500 20.0 8.0 Orange
7 2:00 400 800 800 12.5 5.0 Red
8 2:20 500 1,000 1,000 10.0 4.0 Red
9 2:40 750 1,500 1,500 6.7 2.7 Red
10 3:00 1,000 2,000 2,000 5.0 2.0 Red
11 3:20 1,500 3,000 3,000 3.3 1.3 Red
12 3:40 2,000 4,000 4,000 2.5 1.0 Red
13 4:00 3,000 6,000 6,000 1.7 0.7 Dead
14 4:20 4,000 8,000 8,000 1.3 0.5 Dead
15 4:40 5,000 10,000 10,000 1.0 0.4 Dead
Run this on the tournament clock

Opens the tournament clock with these levels and a 10-minute break every four levels. Edit anything there.

How to use it

Enter the number of players and the starting stack, then how long you want the whole tournament to last and how long each level should be. Smallest chip is the lowest denomination you will have on the table: every small blind is a multiple of it, so nobody needs change that does not exist. Starting depth sets the first level: 100 big blinds is a comfortable, skill-rewarding start; 50 or fewer makes a faster game.

The Starts column is the clock time from the first hand, without breaks. Add a 10-minute break every hour or so. The tournament clock runs this schedule on a TV with the breaks put in for you.

The method

A tournament ends when one player has all the chips, and it gets close to ending when the chips in play are worth only a handful of big blinds in total, because every hand is then an all-in. This calculator aims for the chips in play to be worth about 20 big blinds at the target end time: roughly two players with ten big blinds each.

Each ideal value is then snapped to the nearest "round" number (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 8 times a power of ten) whose half, the small blind, the smallest chip can make, and always above the previous level. That is why the steps in the table are not perfectly even: real structures are not either. Three extra levels are added at the end in case the game runs long.

Worked example

Eight players with 10,000 chips each put 80,000 in play. Starting 100 big blinds deep gives a first big blind of 100, so level 1 is 50/100. Four hours of 20-minute levels is 12 levels. The target last big blind is 80,000 / 20 = 4,000, so the blinds must rise by (4,000 / 100)^(1/11), about 40% per level. Snapping to round numbers gives 100, 150, 200, 250, 400, 500, 800, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000. At level 12, a starting stack is 2.5 big blinds, but by then the average remaining player has several starting stacks, which is exactly what makes the game end on time.

Stack depth and M

The last three columns show what a starting stack is worth at each level, as a guide to when the game changes character. Stack in BB is the stack divided by the big blind. M is Dan Harrington's measure from Harrington on Hold'em: the stack divided by the cost of one full orbit, stack / (SB + BB + antes), where a big blind ante counts once per orbit. The zone names are Harrington's: green above 20, yellow 10 to 20, orange 6 to 10, red 1 to 5, and dead below 1. A player whose own stack has grown can divide it by the same blinds to find their own M.

Where the plan will not match the night

Tournaments do not lose players on a schedule. An aggressive table can finish an hour early and a cautious one can run long, whatever the structure. The target is a middle estimate, not a promise; if your group tends to overrun, set the target half an hour shorter. Rebuys and add-ons put more chips in play, so either count them in the player number or expect a longer game.

Once the small blind is a multiple of a larger chip, the smallest chips are no longer needed. That is the moment to colour up: exchange them for larger chips so the table is not cluttered. The chip calculator works out how to hand out your set at the start.

Common questions

How long should blind levels be for a home game?

Fifteen to twenty minutes suits most home tournaments that want to finish in an evening. Shorter levels, ten to twelve minutes, make a fast game where the blinds soon dominate. Thirty minutes or more gives a deep, slow game. For a fixed finishing time, shorter levels mean smaller jumps between levels, not a faster game.

What starting stack should we use?

The number itself does not matter; what matters is how many big blinds it is at the first level. One hundred big blinds is a comfortable, deep start. Fifty makes for a quicker game with more all-ins early. Pick a stack your chips can make easily, such as 10,000 with 25/50 or 50/100 blinds.

What is a big blind ante?

Instead of every player posting a small ante each hand, the player in the big blind posts one ante for the whole table, usually equal to the big blind. It adds the same pressure as a full-table ante with much less chip handling, which is why most tournaments have switched to it.

What is the M-ratio in the table?

Dan Harrington's M: your stack divided by the cost of one round of blinds and antes. It says roughly how many orbits you can survive without playing a hand. Harrington describes M above 20 as a comfortable green zone, 10 to 20 yellow, 6 to 10 orange, 1 to 5 red where you must look to go all-in, and below 1 dead.

What if we have rebuys or add-ons?

Add the extra chips to the total. The quickest way is to raise the player count by the number of rebuys you expect, since the structure only depends on the chips in play. Rebuys make any tournament run longer than planned, which is what the extra levels at the bottom of the table are for.

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