Guides · 4 November 2026
Blind structure for a poker tournament
Level length, blind increases, antes and breaks: how to build a balanced structure, with a ready-made example.
The choices to make
- Starting stack: the bigger it is compared to the big blind, the slower the tournament and the more room to play. 100 to 200 big blinds at the first level is a common choice.
- Level length: 15–20 minutes for an evening, 30–40 minutes for a full-day event.
- Blind increases: gradual steps, usually 25% to 50% per level. Jumps that are too big turn the tournament into a lottery.
- Ante: today the big blind ante is common, paid by a single player each hand (the big blind) and equal to the big blind. It is faster than everyone paying an ante.
- Breaks: one every 4–6 levels, about 10 minutes, with the color-up of the small chips.
Example: evening tournament with a 10,000 stack
An example structure with 20-minute levels and a starting stack of 10,000 chips. It is a starting point to adapt to the number of players and the time you have.
| Level | Blinds | Big blind ante | Starting stack in big blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 / 50 | — | 200 |
| 2 | 50 / 100 | — | 100 |
| 3 | 75 / 150 | — | 66 |
| 4 | 100 / 200 | — | 50 |
| Break | 10 minutes | ||
| 5 | 150 / 300 | 300 | 33 |
| 6 | 200 / 400 | 400 | 25 |
| 7 | 300 / 600 | 600 | 16 |
| 8 | 400 / 800 | 800 | 12 |
| Break | 10 minutes | ||
| 9 | 500 / 1,000 | 1,000 | 10 |
| 10 | 600 / 1,200 | 1,200 | 8 |
| 11 | 800 / 1,600 | 1,600 | 6 |
| 12 | 1,000 / 2,000 | 2,000 | 5 |
| Break | 10 minutes | ||
| 13 | 1,500 / 3,000 | 3,000 | 3 |
| 14 | 2,000 / 4,000 | 4,000 | 2 |
With 20 minutes per level, the first 12 levels and the two breaks in between last 4 hours 20 minutes. How long the tournament really lasts depends on the number of entries, on rebuys and re-entries and on how people play: if it ends too early, lengthen the levels or raise the stack; if it ends too late, do the opposite.
Common mistakes
- Levels that are too short at the start, when there are still many players.
- Big jumps mid-tournament (for example from 200/400 to 500/1,000).
- Blinds that cannot be paid with the chips left in play after the color-up.
On the room display the structure is shown by the blind timer.
In BlindMaster you build the structure once, save it as a template and reuse it every week.
Try BlindMaster for freeMore guides
- How to run a live poker tournamentFrom choosing the format to paying the winners: the steps for a tournament that runs smoothly, at home or at the club.
- 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.