Video 18 - Home Poker Tournament Tutorial - The PERFECT Starting Stack, Breakdown & Structure

For the first time I go face to face with y'all to bring you a home poker tournament Starting Stack, Chip Breakdown and Blind Structure 14 years in the making!
I've had a successful No-Limit Hold-Em poker tournament, once a month for the past decade and a half - and I'm here to share with you everything regarding poker chips and how they play into a great night of tournament poker.
Please feel to comment and ask questions - I'm sure there's details I forgot, I will do my best to answer all of your inquiries!

[@pieterpost6607]

I was watching this video and i thought to myself: "those are nice chips, i wanna buy 'em". Yea nah i don't feel like selling my house.

[@brianchesbrough4686]

@@MrAntonGunnarsson You can buy them, you just need to find someone who is willing to sell them :)

[@prototypep4]

@@MrAntonGunnarsson they do pop up on PCF from time to time at about $7-$8 a chip.

[@SThompsonRAMM_1203]

Chris, not sure how your video popped up on my channel but I’m so happy it did. Before the pandemic hit, I was asked to run a charity poker tournament with 80 players. This event would include re-buys in the first hour and I’m struggling to determine how many chips I need. Watching your video gives me some sort of idea but my OCD to get this right is killing me. Your expertise and experience would really be appreciated.

[@chrismanzoni3586]

So glad you got some good info. I’m hopefully going to do a more in depth video on running tournaments soon.

[@averybomb2]

how did it turn out?

[@Trephining]

pretty easy spreadsheet work

[@joshlonon2614]

Thanks to this video I have hosted around 20 tournaments this last year ranging from 6 to 14 guys and it has been a blast. The 20K structure is great!

[@CodeThreeBack]

I'm adopting this format for a game in a couple weeks. I'm from the much lower stack crowd previously (1500). How long did you find your games go for by adjusting to this 20K starting stack with one rebuy format? I just wanna be sure it doesn't go all night.

[@joshlonon2614]

I think as long as you get the blind structure moving according to how long you wanna play that’s what matters. 3 hours into my main structure the blinds are at 4K/8k so that’s when people really start getting out. But it usually goes about another hour after that.

[@Librarian85]

Hi, Im now trying to customise my second poker set, and Ive seen this video, comments like yours. Ive decided to go with 25-100-500-1000-5000 denominated chips. I will buy a 300 set, and I excluded 1-5-10s from that. Im customizing a set proper for this set up. 75 - 25$ 75 - 100$ 50 - 500$ 50 - 1000$ 25 - 5000$ this is what Im gonna buy but here is the problem: this whole set makes 275 chips and I must choose one roll of 25 for any denomination. I cant decide which one to go, 25$ or 100$ ? one of them will be 100 chips and the other will be 75. We generally play as 6 men, but sometimes maybe 7. what do you suggest as a person who hosts tournaments? 100 pieces of 25$ and 75 of 100$ or opposite? (or another suggestion of yours) Id appreciate if you help me.

[@Rageinggames1]

@@Librarian85 I would personally recommend leaning towards more chips of a higher denomination for tournament play. For your situation I'd suggest the extra 25x 100$ chips. This is for 2 main reasons 1. if people want to buy back in or you have an extra person or 2, you can always give out a smaller amount of higher value chips yet still create the same overall value (for example 1x $100 chip can be given out instead of 4x $25 chips) and 2. if you are going to color up as you go through the tournament the smallest denomination will be colored up first meaning they will be played with the least.

[@Librarian85]

@@Rageinggames1 Thank you, Ive just placed an order and did just as you said. 75x 25$ and 100x 100$. I think it will be much better like this, because of the reasons you said. Thanx again.

[@Hornsvinet]

I hope your pokerplayers appriciate the effort AND the fact you got Aurora star poker chips. Those 25s are sooo gorgeous! Thx for the vid!

[@chriskoch2200]

Hi Chris. I hosted our first tournament this weekend. 19 guys. It went great. A few small hiccups, but very smooth. It's all because of your videos! Ty!

[@iNaRRoWs]

Some beautiful chips man. Gorgeous. Wish there were more out there for lower prices. Your set is my dream one day!

[@Ross-fo2vw]

yeah super unfortunate they stopped making them for the public in 2015 or whatever

[@prototypep4]

@@Ross-fo2vw these were never made for the public, it was a single buy by about 30 people from Paulson directly. Don't know the full story on the boat chips but that original purchase is all that's made it to the general market.

[@Ross-fo2vw]

@@prototypep4 oh wow I didn’t know that . So 30 people went in and bought millions of chips then sold them on the secondary market? And now what you need a casino license to purchase?

[@RememberTheGame]

Dude, just found your channel. Long-time home tourney host as well, really enjoying these. Cheers!

[@DrQuadmaster4000]

About to host a poker night with some friends for the first time, and this video had exactly what I needed in terms of the chip breakdown.

[@notanonymous3976]

hope you had a good time

[@ts4gv]

How we play home cash games. whites $1, reds $5, blues $20, greens $50. (Chip values are 10-20 times higher than actual cash values.) Blinds start at $1/$2 in chips as a deepstack warmup, quickly move up to $2/$5 and stay there. min buyin, $200 in chips ($10-$20 in cash) $1 x 20 $5 x 16 $20 x 5 $50 x 0 max buyin, $500 in chips ($25-$50 in cash) $1 x 20 $5 x 16 $20 x 10 $50 x 4 Chip-to-cash conversion rates are pretty simple: If the min buyin is set at $20, Chips ÷ 10 = Cash. ($200 in chips ÷ 10 = $20 in cash.) If the min buyin is set at $10, Chips x 5 = Cents. ($200 in chips x 5 = 1000 cents = $10.00) Other details: We run a $1 ante that you can bypass if you take a drink. Some of us roll 2 die to determine the size of our preflop open. We do alternative gambling games for low stakes (white chips only) every 10 hands or so. Hope this helps.

[@Trephining]

Why go through all the nonsense of converting from a cash valuve to a nominal value and back when you're playing a cash game? Why not just determine a cash value for each denomination of chip and leave it at that? Then you can cut out the completely unnecessary steps of multiplying by 10 or dividing by 5. Just buy in for $20, get $20 in chips, at the end cash out with your $13 or $33.50 or whatever. Also, why the denominatoins of 1,, 5, 20, and 50? Why not just use 1, 5, 25, and 100? May as well line up with casinos.

[@ts4gv]

@@Trephining because when i wrote that comment we played microstakes for fun, and saying "I raise to 75¢" is lame. Abstracting the dollar amount makes the action a little more exciting. Also our system uses chips more efficiently than other systems in my opinion, so I don't have to buy more chips than i need. Also the fictional dollar amounts line up with actual dollar bills in circulation ($1,$5,$20). And they work out nicely in their actual value (5¢,25¢,$1). You can color them whatever you want of course. We stumbled on that system before any of us had ever been to a casino, and decided to stick with it.

[@scottherndon5563]

Just getting into Poker and I ran across your channel. Just wanted to say Thank You! Very informative and full of information explained clearly. You've helped me immensely! Great Channel Chris!

[@gabrielgosselin824]

Thanks for sharing Chris! I discovered your channel by this video and I must say that I am impressed with all these chips, Your collection is the envy of many ;) I've played a few 2-table tournaments with this structure and I have to say it works really well. For a one table game however (6-9 players), I've change the denomination to 12/12/8/7/2 (22500) as there are less chips in play and players love to have more chips in front of them. I've also change level 9 to 700/1400 (16bb) then which I find is by far the level where everyone comes out at the same time taking unecesseray risk with the recommended 800/1600 (14bb) (works well with multiple tables but finds it just too much for a single table game). I also increased the level time to 30 minutes and left the antes as they are. Tournaments usually last 5-6 hours, maybe 7 hours with a group of 9 more tight players. If you want 7 hours with 6-7 players, get rid of the ante. Anyway, hope this helps anyone trying to set up a one table tournament and again thanks for sharing this valuable information. I would also love to have your thoughts on this, maybe you have different perspective that may even more improve a one table game, as I believe is the most played format by everyone as multiple table home game takes much more time, organisation and ressources. Thanks!

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Thanks for the great feedback. Yes, I have found over the years that a single table is a different animal than a mult-table event. We dispense with the ante but keep everything else with a single table and it seems to work fine. We are def aiming for more of a 4 1/2 - 5 hour tourney and not a longer event.

[@mrgoob76]

this was so helpful i am planning a poker torny as well, and before seeing this video i was kinda surprised just how similar everything i had was to yours

[@JackFischer115]

I used to implement a nearly identical structure in my friend's home game tournament. I think it worked perfectly. Then one day, a new player convinced him to change up the entire format. Now, the starting stack is lower, the on-time bonus has been removed, the rebuys are unlimited, and there's an add-on at the cutoff. It's warped into a turbo shovefest, which I think takes away a good chunk of strategy. I no longer attend this game.

[@johnnyfulton4755]

That really sucks, how did he convince the friend?

[@giusepperaccuglia231]

Hey can you please make a video on bounties. Or you can just reply to this lol how do I host a tournament with bounties . Thanks

[@rcook2608]

If you knock a player out you get $5

[@twhitten828]

Newbie...trying to set up a friendly game with my co-workers. Decided to set up a tourney...to cut time...cause 3/4 of us have to work the next day. Thank you!

[@merrikceadall4620]

As a tournament director I stand behind this video. Very informative and the 5 hour estimation for this structure is correct although im curious as to the restrictions you put on the re-entry.. can you use it at any time? I mean theoretically if they became heads up and lose but havent used their optional rebuy can they use it and get another chance? That would seem a bit wrong in my opinion and i would suggest the optional rebuy for everyone needs to be used before a certain blind level or before the money or something along those lines

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Thanks so much for the kind words! Yes you are absolutely correct about ending re-entry after the first break, I can’t believe I forgot to mention that!

[@merrikceadall4620]

@@chrismanzoni3586 Well you had a lot of things to go over in this video, its an inevitability to miss a small detail. Keep doing what your doing your home games sound epic.

[@blackjackandmore6774]

Just finished your video and I gotta say I really enjoyed this one !

[@aaronspektor2624]

Great vids, Chris. Ppl like Tourneys bc it limits their expenditures. They bring a buy in and 1-2 rebuys and they’re comfy w that. Others, like me, look for games where a cash game follows the tourney as people bust, and use the tourney as a gate to a profitable cash game. If Incash in tourney, great. If not, I try to make my buy in and more, through the cash game. But you know this, I’m sure.

[@toddchilders2263]

You did very well on this video. To the point, with a few explanations and examples. Great job, and thanks for the help!

[@kellyanderson3345]

Thank you for this video. I feel confident about my home game I’m about to do in few hrs. Appreciate you bro!

[@joeisaaca8668]

Hi Christopher M. I need some advice for dummies here. See my friends and I are all beginners (we still need a chart of hand rankings handy to see what beats what) and I'd like to host a simple home game for us. I have an ok set of poker chips and when I watch poker on tv I can follow what's going on, but as far as setting up and running a game myself I don't have a clue how to do it. Unfortunately I'm the most knowledgeable in my friend group about this so if I can't get this going it'll never happen. Anyway here's what we'd hope for: a game that we can come together to play (maybe 5-6 ppl, def not more than 10), a game that'll last about 2 to maybe 3 hours tops to finish, and everyone would pitch in $5-$10 to play if they even want to pay to play at all. most likely it'll be a free event. Just a fun poker night with the guys, but I want it to feel official. If you already have a video that suits my situation please link it here, or if you know where I can find info on how to run it that would be welcome too. Right now everything I find online is too complex for what we'll be doing, because we aren't serious players. Also if anyone in the comments can provide help I'm all ears. Thanks in advance!

[@chrismanzoni3586]

This video is probably the one of mine that most applies to your situation - I think a tournament is likely your best bet with a very new group. Low entry fee, with a cheap re-entry, is always a great way to go and get people coming back.

[@RickLane11]

So glad I found you have already wanted to run a gentleman's card game I plan to use your videos as a Bible to follow as I like your setup and teaching Im totally green but with experience and time perfection is learned Any suggestions other than studying everyone of your videos TABLES RULES SETUP REQUIREMENTS and so forth Thanks look forward to watching all 21 videos

[@sgtforge21]

thats funny, i came up with a 20k starting stack almost exactly the same way you did!

[@williamrobinson6033]

Thank you so much the guidelines were amazing.

[@mdifranco7]

Question about buying back in. Suppose a single table, 10 player tournament. If you buy the number of chips you suggest, then all the 25s, 100s, 500s, and 1000s are in play, but there are extra 5000s. So when someone busts and buys back in, do you give them the exact composition of their starting stack again (meaning you would need more chips) or do you just give them the value of their buy-in a larger denom and have them make change at the table?

[@giusepperaccuglia231]

I just give them 4 5k chips and they can make change at the table. Makes it easier later on. If it’s really early in the tournament, I might give 5 1k chips and 3 5k chips

[@arthur007ification]

Man.. those chips are Beautiful

[@jessebaseballny3700]

Thanks for your important information Sure helps. Can you also please include your breakdown on your cash sets.

[@chrismanzoni3586]

New video - #20 - Cash Chip breakdown!

[@tpain8638]

Hi Chris, love the videos. I’ve patterned my hime games after yours including the 8, 8, 6, 6, 2 $20,000 starting stacks. How do you manage your rebuy chips? Seems I remember you mentioning in another video rebuys get you a large denomination chip? How’s that work at the table. Does the rebuy player then sit down and begin to make change with the big stack? What do you give rebuyer in chips in this tourney as well as a similar $40 cash came rebuy chips? Thanks in advance.

[@Kestrel342]

Yeah that's what we do at our university tournaments! The structure is a lot faster annoyingly as the place is only open for five hours and there's usually 80-100 players (max. 130 entries, rebuys close either then or at first break) - 100/200 first level and doubles once 20 mins in (so down to 25bb average at level 2 as we only get 10k chips) But that's usually how it works, we give the rebuys 2x5000 chips, and they change with the big stack when they need to, there'll always be enough change to go around!!

[@pnwsportsman4036]

Dude, great video- Just added some chips to my Tiki chips order- I’m using the 5000 plaques instead of chips so should be fun 🤘

[@Mr_Racoon_zz]

I owned the full set but still comeback to see this clip

[@josephmann3520]

Hey Chris glad I found your channel. Enjoying watching your videos. If you have a table of 3 and for argument sake they're all staring even, how do you determine who to pull from which table if you lose players. Do you consolidate into two at 20 people or wait for 10 people and make one? You very well may have a video explaining this but I haven't found it yet. Thanks!

[@chrismanzoni3586]

I do indeed! Video number 25 is all about the seating! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXS5hJZ-gNmtmqc

[@beaglegod1]

So glad I found this, I just learned the game and got my first set, 300 chips and then thought I needed a ton more. I think one more sleeve of chips and I can hold my first single table tourny next month! Unfortunately my set consists of 1s(100),5s(100),25s(50),100s(25) and 500s(25). Using your setup im thinking to buy 25 more 100s and distribute 8-10-6-6-3 respectively. Should work? ( I could return the set and search for a 500 )

[@lightburn2296]

These videos where very helpful, not related but only issue we ran into was when 3 or more people where in the pot and someone went all in and there were was still more betting. Got a little confusing at the end

[@RYNO2511]

Thats when you have to make split pots

[@davesweat1953]

I am now devoting my life to becoming a friend of a friend just to join your game to prove you wrong

[@UnrealHero]

It just seems like, to me, you would run out of low value chips really fast?! I don’t know tho... I host a poker night and I’m trying to make it a little more serious. But I feel that there is too few low value chips. Your thoughts on this comment?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Use the larger denomination chips when people have to rebuy or it’s time to color up. Don’t give a reentry/rebuy a full five denomination starting stack, give them four 5K chips and they can make change at the table.

[@UnrealHero]

Christopher M. Thanks Chris. Good stuff! I like the “on-time” bonus. Coulda used that last week🤔

[@stannisburns1974]

Face for radio, faces gets red as soon as the sentence is over, my guy keep doing your thing and keep making videos, enjoy urself

[@Bmoneypoker]

How many chips will be needed of $5k or $25k for color ups later on? Do you have a recommendation for that? I watched your video on color ups but it only discussed coloring up green 25s and I would like to know how many $5k or $25 chips are needed to own for color up when the tournament gets later on. Thx!

[@Cross40Productions]

Wait so you’re allowed to charge people to play the tournament but you’re not allowed to have a rake? 🤔

[@wellardo8833]

What is your payout to 1st place, second place, ect?

[@davidtrundley5590]

Have all the chips for the 10 handed option but wondering what chips you give for re entry?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Yes, I believe my single table breakdown gives you a spare 20 barrel of 5K chips which is enough for 5 re-entries, which should be sufficient for a normal group with a single re-entry format. If you have an especially gamble-y group or if you’re doing multiple or unlimited rebuys I would recommend extra 5K barrels for sure.

[@davidtrundley5590]

@@chrismanzoni3586 Yeah thats cool. What method are you using with this setup to colour up the 100 and 500 chips in the later stages?

[@kristiangravem]

Hey Mr. Manzoni. What are your thoughts on the T100 tournament that supposedly is increasing in popularity. Have you done any T100 in your home games?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

These days I have switched to a T100 base, I have to admit it’s a lot easier for a host. If I was to update this video I would put that in as the first recommendation. If you watch this video closely, you will see that it is an option.

[@kristiangravem]

@@chrismanzoni3586 Im just about to put together a T100 set and see if I can start gathering some friends for a friendly tournament every 4-6 weeks or so. Did you do any revision on the blind structure posted in the video? (Id probably start off with a single table, so in my case I'm guessing I can leave antes out of the game). And by the way, thanks for creating such great content. Good quality and very inspiring!

[@chrismanzoni3586]

@@kristiangravem no revision but I do include a T100 base structure in the video! GL hosting!

[@melitonchaidez2504]

Where can I find the "No One Cares What you Folded" sign? It's awesome! Would love to get one for my poker room

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Custom made at SmartSign.com !

[@cmactual]

Please explain the bounty chip in your games. Thanks

[@factualprod8758]

its basically everyone has it and if you get someones bounty chip than you get $5 for each bounty chip you end with. even if you loose if you have bounty chips you will get some money

[@joselg20044yahoo]

@@factualprod8758 so 2 persons go all in one wins, the loser hands over their bounty chip, right? ok now the winner has two, the winner goes all in with another player and losses, they just hand over one bounty chip and cash the other or how ever many they have for the $5each? and if they rebuy can they loss another bounty chip is they loss thier stack again?

[@LosashExote]

you didn't say what your blinds/ante are, which is crucial to understanding why your stack breakdown is like that. I'm a newbie and I don't know if blinds are obvious 25/50 or what.

[@RYNO2511]

He does show the blind structure? At 8:19

[@salz2406]

I’m sorry but I’m confused why the extra 500 for “exact change”. Change for what? Great videos by the way!

[@chrismanzoni3586]

The entry fee for my tournament is $45, so when a player buys in if they give me exactly the right amount and I don’t have to make change, I reward them with a 500 chip bonus. If I didn’t offer this bonus I’m sure I would get lots of people handing me three $20 bills and then I would have to make change. With a bonus incentive it’s much less work for me.

[@joshhazelett3804]

Trying to start my own game this video has been great. Love the chips. 3 questions. 1. When coloring up which chips are going out for each break. (25s exchange for what chip value? 100/500?, 1000s) When do you send out the 25k’s? 2. When you say “ big blind ante” you mean a forced bet to every seat or a 3rd big blind. 3. What chips go out with rebuys? Are 2nd bounty chips included with rebuy?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

For your first question, I need to do a second video on coloring up! In the meantime here's a short answer to your question - Short answer - the 25s go away in the first break, the 100s AND 500s in the second break. The 1Ks towards the end when you reach the 10K/20K level. But I really need to do a video, stay tuned! Second question - the big blind ante is posted by the big blind as a "second" big blind, in the middle of the table. This is dead money that represents an ante for the entire table. Example, if blinds are 200/400 with a big blind ante - the small blind posts 200, the big blind posts 400 and also puts another 400 in the middle. This is roughly equivalent to the entire table each posting T50 individually. (8 handed it would equal T400, ten handed T500, nine handed T450) Third question, you don't need to remove chips for a rebuy unless the player is surrendering their stack. In any case, this re-buy is just four T5Ks. I don't introduce smaller denoms with re-entries. Yes, in my tournament a bounty chip is included with a rebuy, if it's a stack surrender they can keep their current bounty and don't need to purchase another one. (I prefer to call a re-buy a re-entry, I try to emphasize to everyone that it's not a re-buy tournament, the re-entry is in case someone gets coolered early).

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Re-read question 1 - you buy up the smaller denoms on the table with the bigger denoms. Bring a new 5K to the table, make change using the stacks already there if you need to, then exchange the T25s for the bigger chips in your hand. More details coming in the video - I will try to shoot this weekend!

[@joselg20044yahoo]

@@chrismanzoni3586 ​ @Christopher M. how does this surrender thing works?they physicaly give you their chips they keep what ever bounties they have collected, and rebuy and get 20K plus another bounty chip?

[@jerry.d.kurinsky]

I am hosting a tournament for the first time in a very long time and am trying to reacquaint myself with things. I like the bonus chips idea. Also, you said you allow players with micro stacks to forfeit their chips and participate in the one rebuy. What constitutes a micro stack? Is it the number of blinds they have available or something like that? Thanks!

[@chrismanzoni3586]

I don't have a chip count requirement for someone to surrender their stack and re-enter, it's a personal choice of the player and they are free to surrender their stack and re-enter at any amount. Obviously they won't if they are close to having a starting stack.. But because it's only a $45 tournament some players will surrender if they have as much as half their chips remaining, or even a bit more than that. Others are more economical and won't surrender and re-enter until they have just a couple of big blinds. It really varies from player to player, the important thing is that they have the option if they feel they are too far behind to catch up with what chips they have left.

[@jerry.d.kurinsky]

@@chrismanzoni3586 Great. Thanks. That's the conclusion I came to. If someone is willing to forfeit what they have and restart, who cares if they gain 100% or 10%.

[@joshlonon2614]

Can you do a video on your poker tables?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Sure! Don't know when I'll have a chance, but hopefully soon, didn't know that anyone would be interested, but they're each a bit different so that might be interesting. I also want to do a video on seating poker tournaments so that might happen first. Either one might not be for awhile.

[@HagovMoreno]

excellent video buddy!

[@meatcomposite4896]

This is great, thank you.

[@bmyson]

Love your videos!! question for you... If I have a 20 person tourney with 2 re entries how many of each chip would i need?

[@benliebhaber7099]

Chris, great video and thank you! What is your suggestion for the minimum bet to be made during any part of the game? Ive played where the minimum bet is either the SB or BB. Just wondering your thoughts. Thanks

[@chrismanzoni3586]

The minimum bet is always whatever the Big Blind is. If the blind levels are 25/50 then the minimum bet would be 50.

[@RussFoster]

Good info here. Thank you for sharing. One question: Is there a different between "re-entry" and "re-buy"? You say you don't like re-buys, but you permit 1 re-entry. Can you clarify please?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

It’s not a very big distinction, it’s mostly semantics, but a rebuy implies that you stay in your seat and get fresh chips (which could be a different amount than your initial entry) by putting in money that’s not necessarily the same amount as your initial buy-in. For example, if you paid $60 for 20K in chips, you might be able to re-buy for $40 for 25K in chips and stay in the same seat. A reentry means you are treated like a completely new player, which means you redraw for any new seats that are available and don’t necessarily stay where you are, and you pay the exact amount of the entry fee that you originally paid and you get exactly the same amount of chips. So for $60 for 20K in chips, say you bust and re-enter, you would potentially draw for a new seat and pay $60 for 20K in chips. The distinction is not that great, but the point of a re-entry is to give players who get unlucky a single second chance to pay full price and come back in, whereas the purpose of a re-buy is to encourage action and let players keep playing for a bit less money and even potentially more chips.

[@RussFoster]

@@chrismanzoni3586 Thanks for the quick response. This is very clear. A subtle, but not insignificant difference. A few years ago I started getting together with friends for a twice-monthly game night. Quickly became poker-only night. Progressed to a $1 buy-in, winner takes the entire $5-$10 at the end of the night. Recently moved to $5 buy-in and now I'm consistently getting 10+ every month. I don't anticipate moving past $5 for a while, but we definitely need to get more organized and formal to keep the chaos under control. Thanks again for sharing, this is great info.

[@JaJoJ_F1]

Chris, Is it possible for you to make a video like this, but just with 600 poker chips? I'm going to do my first home texas hold'em tournament and I have 600 poker chips but I have 10 different colors: 100, 60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 50, 50, 50 and 50. what do you suggest me to do?

[@nascara5cupseriesa5cubing18]

Do we use the highest denomination to reload? also I would use 8-8-6-6-4 meaning a 40k starting stack, but i would have a $40 dollar buy in rather than 20-25

[@Vincent-bu5me]

Chris I tried to read through the comments to see if you answered this. I'd like to skip the 25s and start with a base of 100. Is the starting stack now 10-6-6-2 and do you now only need 100-100s 60-500s 60-1000s and 40-5000s?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Yes I mentioned in the video there’s an alternate blind structure with no quarters, it’s a great way to save on cost of chips, plus it eliminates a whole color up. Your breakdown seems correct. Might want to get one more barrel of 5000s just in case you have a gambling group that re-enters a lot.

[@drne6244]

I don’t understand this: are 8 chips of 100 enough? Is it because when u put money in the pot you can get change from the pot or because the dealer can give you change from the bank?

[@williamrobinson6033]

Another great video thank you. You spoke about bounty chip, could you explain more and can someone buy a bounty chip a place on another player? Thank you for your time.

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Entire Bounty Chip video coming soon I hope!

[@giusepperaccuglia231]

@@chrismanzoni3586 I hope so too lol

[@quypham3186]

Can these recipe apply for 4 players? Sorry, I'm very new with the game 😅

[@mick4999]

Can this breakdown (8-8-6-6-2) be used in pot limit Omaha tournaments, in limit Hold'em and in 7 card Stud (tournaments)? Thank you

[@chrismanzoni3586]

PLO for sure, we’ve done it and it works great! Fixed limit Hold-Em would also be fine. Stud however, since it’s played with antes and a bring-in, would have a different structure.

[@kingjbird92]

Chris! Your structure at 10:56 shows blinds of 1,000/2,000 with a 1,000 BB Ante. Is that a typo (meaning it’s a 2,000 BB Ante), or is it really a 1,000 BB Ante?

[@johnathonwaggoner358]

Is the needs for chips still gonna be the same if you don’t do any rebuys at all, or should you still get the same in the video as insurance I’m case something does happen?

[@theultramark2799]

my next tournament (a company team building/thank you event) im going to with this break down, but i will go with an exact change bonus of 4 green and 4 black...i guess my question is how many people out of 25 buy in with exact change (on average)

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Out of an average of 25 players at my monthly tournament, typically 1 or 2 people don't buy in with exact change.

[@benduno2ndtanun436]

Sweet top hat and canes.

[@elijahpullum9527]

So I’m planning on having 5 guys total for a hold’em poker night. $50 buy in and I want the game to last about 2 hours before we switch to playing for change instead of chips and having dealer’s choice. Any suggestions?

[@IncineratingGlaive]

Hi Chris! Love this video, gearing up to host a first tournament among friends. In regards to payouts, do you treat re entries as another player? For example, if you had 10 players who all re-entered, do you still calculate payouts as paying 25% of a field of 10 or 25% of a field of 20?

[@JoeNoSay]

Where can I find those aurora star hot stamps? Or is there a site that will customize the same as yours with same material?

[@SenSuu19]

What are those bounty chips? They look pretty neat.

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Those are custom 49mm ceramics from BrProPoker.com, I've been meaning to do a video on my bounty chips for awhile now, hopefully soon.

[@Stevie1derson]

Sweet double sided bounty/all-in chip! Anyone know where to get it or something similar?

[@brodyreid5619]

What do you do for dealer? Also what are some ways you make money? You hinted at it but didn't specify

[@chrismanzoni3586]

All my games are self dealt, meaning all players take turns dealing in line with every time they are behind the button, See my recent video (#28) on playing cards for a thorough explanation of how we do it. I don’t make money at all hosting my games beyond having good results in the game itself. For me this more about hanging with my good friends in my home (garage) than it is about making money. I have a day job for that lol.

[@brodyreid5619]

@@chrismanzoni3586 (I made this comment quickly and after only watching one of your videos.) But I have now watched almost all your videos and totally understand what's going on! And I love your method for 2-deck dealing/shuffling-looks like it will work perfect!!!

[@Gledii]

Thanks for sharing. how are the rules for the winners? i mean, im using re/buys, how could be the rule for the 2nd place? cheers

[@chrismanzoni3586]

I think you mean payouts - I always pay 3 people for a single table tournament, with a money back for 4th place if I have a single re-entry or more. If I have more than a single table then it's a sliding scale payout, with approximately 30% of the prize pool going to 1st place and sliding down from there. This is MUCH flatter than card rooms and casinos, who typically award 40%+ to first place.

[@tripwakefield8845]

Thanks for the video. I recently bought some new chips and have been struggling to find a good starting stack. This helped a ton. I’ve been running a monthly game with friends for over a year and attendance is not always as great as I would like. I’ve been thinking about trying to set up a year long league to spark more interest. Do you have any experience with a league or have any advice for starting one. Is there a program you could recommend to help me keep stats and points in order?

[@tndevildog94]

World Tavern Poker

[@gazoo1990]

Poker Timer ($4.99) iOS

[@joshears2003]

Where can I get some chips like that? Do you have a link

[@chrismanzoni3586]

These are not available for sale, join pokerchipforum.com, and after a certain number of posts you can purchase from individuals in the classifieds, sometimes these chips become available. At this point they are very expensive.

[@rentacowisgoogle]

I want to host a tournament with friends and neighbors. I think I have enough chips for 10 players + 5 rebuys, but thats at a starting stack of only 100. Breakdown could be T1 x 10, T5 x 10, T10 x 4. To color up I have T25 and T100's. Do you see any obvious issues with this small starting stack size or breakdown? Any recommendations for blind structure, with the small starting stack?

[@Trephining]

dont use T10s...wastes a denomination

[@Sparkynutz81]

Optional re-entry? Isn't that the same as a one time rebuy?

[@parafoxl7619]

How often do you incrase the blinds?

[@USARMYMEDIC21]

Dude this was exactly what I needed!!! I have a question about the payouts... You said you pay 25% of the field. How would this look for places and amounts? Thank you!!!

[@merrikceadall4620]

First place usually gets around 45% Second around 30% third 15% 4th 10% For a 20 player game this is 20% of the field and about the best kind of prize structure, you can move the percentages around as you like but bear in mind not to try and please everybody to pay more people as the ones who win or get second will feel hard done by or feel its they didnt get what they should have for winning. Good luck with your home games bud

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Yes, I pay out MUCH flatter than card rooms or casinos because I find in a home game the more people cash the happier everyone is and the more likely they are to come back. Merrik here is correct for standard casino payouts, it's a good way to do it with more serious tournament players. You have to take the pulse of your own group and see what everyone prefers, don't be shy about asking for feedback!

[@joselg20044yahoo]

@@chrismanzoni3586 Im working on my 1st tournament and im going for 3 tables 30 pplayers was thinking on payout having a bubble boy/girl once 10players left one full table the 1rts player eliminated will be the bubble no cash, rest of players make the money 1-9th (1st 30% )(2nd20%)(3rd 15%)(4th 10%)(5-9th 5% each) how does that sound ?

[@DaJakkoba]

How does the bounty factor in? What do you pay for bounty?

[@DivisionStreetDrums]

Great video

[@Acesfull7]

Sorry poker newbie when does the blinds go up please.

[@MrAntonGunnarsson]

For how long can you rebuy in to the tournament? When i played with your blind structure we played with buy in available until second break, what do you prefer?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Myself I prefer ending rebuys (or re-entry) after the first break, because if you allow them until the second break you have people buying back in with as little as 12 big blinds, or even ten big blinds if they reload during the second break. This is not great because people aren’t getting very good play value for their money. But if you and your players are ok with it then who am I to say that it’s not? If it works for you and your group then it works!

[@MrAntonGunnarsson]

@@chrismanzoni3586 thanks :D

[@ehsteev]

I need to get me a “No one cares what you folded” sign

[@johnthefisherman7047]

Would you use this structure with a tournament with 8 or less players? Seems like it would go by too fast with 8 or less.

[@chrismanzoni3586]

A short handed single table I would simply lengthen the levels to 25 or 30 minutes.

[@Mattsearle7]

How long would one table running this blind structure last roughly? 8-9 players.

[@Mattsearle7]

Nevermind I saw a previous comment about it lasting about an hour less. Thanks for the great video!

[@kingjbird92]

Hey Chris! What’s the perfect starting stack and structure for a 7 Card Stud tournament?

[@Trephining]

There is no way he will know that. But I'd go look at the structure sheets for the WSOP 7CS events as a starting point, and then take appropriate ratios from there.

[@lettersfromhelen]

Chris, where do you buy those Aurora Star chips? Thanks in advance.

[@chrismanzoni3586]

They aren’t available through retail, these were part of a private group buy a couple years back. These days they are very hard to find and very expensive once you do find them. I talk about them in my poker chip video #7.

[@theultramark2799]

If I may ask another questions...do you allow the one reentry all night? Or only until 1st break or 3 hours or some other limit?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Only before and during the first beak. If they are not felted before the break they have the option to surrender their stack and re-enter for full price and a fresh stack.

[@jasonboynes4070]

Hey Chris, so if player gets felted, and decides to get a fresh stack, you charge those players full price? Do rebuys at your game pay full price as well? Thanks. Great videos!! Thanks for putting them together!

[@jm0378961]

How much is the optional re entry that you charge?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

I do the same price for the same amount of chips - $45 for 20K plus a $5 bounty. If a player surrenders their short stack, then it's just $40 for 20K

[@robertomondello2447]

What is a color up?

[@blueshells50]

What would be the starting stack of you start at 100 instead of 25?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Same 20K

[@gazoo1990]

Physically Creating starting stacks: I read a lot of the comments but didn’t get through all of them. I run an 11 game tourney , this is my third year and it runs very smoothly. But with 24 players, creating the starting stacks is a drag. Is there a way to do it versus matching up 24 stacks of each? A counter, or trick with the plastic chip holder, etc? After the stacks are created I pit them in small canvas bags and hand out with buy-in. This saves a ton of time and it’s easier to carry your chips before game time. But how long is it taking you to create stacks?

[@Trephining]

24 players, ask one to help

[@gazoo1990]

@@Trephining when 24 players show up and you need to check them in, in a 15 minute window (which I do), you want all of the chips counted, and bagged ahead of time. Surprised there isn’t some type of machine to do it. With WSOP they do it all by hand?

[@IanCredibleChannel]

What what racks are you using and where did you get them?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

They are a mix of Paulson and Chipco racks, they have a snug fit for Paulson chips. I got them from ApachePokerChips.com

[@anthonyochs48]

Chris, gotta ask, what do YOU start the tournament with? Do you give yourself the chip bonuses? xD

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Of course! I am always on time! And I always use exact change! 😁

[@anthonyochs48]

@@chrismanzoni3586 piggybacking on this, I'm about to try and host a 2 7 person table bounty tournament at a bachelor party. I think 4-5 hours is going to be a tad too long. Any suggestions on the blind structure to get it down to the 3-4 hour range?

[@RobRockoGaming]

How low of a stack do you need in order to surrender your chips?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

I allow any amount if someone wants to surrender at the break - if someone has more than half a stack it doesn't make too much sense to surrender their stack and buy a whole new stack, but it has happened!

[@Rodomonteventura]

12, 12, 5, “7”, 2 would be 21k. There’s still only 6 1k’s for a 20k stack. 4 quarters and 4 hundreds = 500, so it’s just trading a single 500 chip for 8 smaller denominations. Just wanted to clarify, really great video though!

[@roggerpenguin5699]

My chip denominations are 1, 5, 10, 25, 50. Would this apply to my set or should I purchase new chips?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Yes the structure can be used with your chipset. Start with my structure that eliminates the T25s at 10.26 so the starting blind level is 100/100. Then start lopping off the zeros on my structure so that your 1 would be my 100, your 5 would be my 500, your 10 would be my 1000, eliminate your 25s and your 50 would be my 5000. Make sense?

[@roggerpenguin5699]

@@chrismanzoni3586 yeah, thanks. Your videos are very helpful

[@jeremylevian9171]

What chips are these

[@chrismanzoni3586]

Watch my Poker Chip Video #7 for more details on these chips!

[@JosepHolt10]

Can you explain the big blind ante a little more? Is it that the big blind pays 2x but the blind is still 1x? Or does the blind go up too?

[@chrismanzoni3586]

If you understand traditional antes, where every player puts a small amount into the middle - then you understand the big blind ante. The player who is the big blind pays the ante for the entire table and puts an amount roughly equivalent to what a traditional ante from all the players would add up to. To make things simple, the amount of the big blind ante is the same size as the big blind. But the big blind ante is an entirely separate item from the big blind. The big blind ante goes into the middle of the table and is dead money. The big blind goes in front of the player whose turn it is to be the big blind. Both are paid by the player whose turn it is to be the big blind, but each amount serves a different purpose and are treated differently.

[@JosepHolt10]

@@chrismanzoni3586 thanks so much, that makes it much clearer now!

[@manuelmarin4420]

Hi Cris, I wanted to ask for information? to organize Texas holdem poker home tournaments for around 8 people with re-buys which poker set do you recommend? how many pcs? 500/750? And of what value above all? Thank you

[@Trephining]

make a spreadsheet

[@Jam15125]

Where are you based? Would love to play int his game with the lovely chips

[@chrismanzoni3586]

I’m in Southern California. New players can only come into the game if they are sponsored by a longtime regular who can vouch for them.

[@joselg20044yahoo]

How would u recommend i go about an 81 player tourney, when i only have three tables? I was thinking four days (1 st day three tables 27 players till there are 9 left)(same thing for day 2 n 3)(day four is the last 27 players till we have a winner) how would the blinds work though?

[@joselg20044yahoo]

How would the blinds work for day 4 they would start 30K/60K?