Guides · 4 November 2026

How to run a live poker tournament

From choosing the format to paying the winners: the steps for a tournament that runs smoothly, at home or at the club.

1. Choose the format

• Freezeout: one entry only; lose your chips and you are out.
• Rebuy and add-on: for a set period, players who run out of chips can buy more; at the end of the period, often at the first break, everyone can take an add-on.
• Re-entry: eliminated players can enter again, with a new stack, while registration is open.
• Bounties: a prize for every player you knock out, fixed, progressive (PKO) or a surprise (mystery bounty).

2. Set the buy-in and stack

Decide the buy-in, the starting stack and, if any, the price and chips of rebuys and add-ons. For a relaxed tournament, a starting stack of at least 100 big blinds at the first level leaves room to play.

3. Prepare the chips

4 or 5 colors are enough. Give each color a value and work out how many chips you need for all starting stacks, rebuys and add-ons. When the small chips are no longer needed, color them up at the break.

4. Prepare the blind structure

Choose the length of the levels (15–20 minutes for an evening, 30 or more for a long event), how fast the blinds rise and where the breaks go. You will find a complete example in the guide on blind structure.

5. Set the payouts

Decide before the start how many players get paid, with which percentages, and any fee kept by the organizer. See the guide on how to split the prize pool.

6. Entries and tables

Register the players, draw the seats and, as players bust, balance the tables by moving players from the fullest table to the emptiest. When there are few enough players for one table, move to the final table.

7. During the tournament

Put the timer on a screen everyone can see, announce level changes and breaks, record eliminations, rebuys and re-entries. At the final table players may decide to split the prize pool with an ICM deal.

8. Payouts and standings

Pay the prizes, then record the result: if you run a league, the points go into the season standings.

More guides

• Blind structure for a poker tournamentLevel length, blind increases, antes and breaks: how to build a balanced structure, with a ready-made example.
• How to split the prize pool of a poker tournamentHow many places to pay, which percentages and what to take off first: payouts explained with an example.
• ICM deal: how to split the prizes at the final tableWhen the remaining players want to end the tournament by splitting the prizes, ICM tells you what each stack is really worth.
• The blind timer for your poker tournamentThe blind timer tells every table how long until the next increase. Here is what it should do and what it should show.