Recently I had a friend tell me about a poker tournament that he wanted to play in. He was excited that the starting stacks for each player was 10,000 chips. That was all he said so I asked him, What are the starting blinds? He just looked at me with confused look and said, I dont know, but we get to start with 10,000 chips!
Being blinded by the advertised starting stack size is common for many poker tournament players. 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.
Of course, there are poker players that can specialize in short-stack tournaments. They take the opportunity to aggressively steal blinds and push small edges. However, the majority of players feel more comfortable when they have a deep stack. So, it is important to consider the starting blinds and the blind structure when deciding on a tournament to play.
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.
Not only is the starting blind level important, you must also consider the blind structure. If the starting blinds make it appear to be a deep-stack poker tournament it may have a blind structure where the blinds double every round and the rounds are only 15 minutes long. While the players may start with a relative 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 poker 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 tournament structure is one that you are most comfortable to play in.
Being blinded by the advertised starting stack size is common for many poker tournament players. 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.
Of course, there are poker players that can specialize in short-stack tournaments. They take the opportunity to aggressively steal blinds and push small edges. However, the majority of players feel more comfortable when they have a deep stack. So, it is important to consider the starting blinds and the blind structure when deciding on a tournament to play.
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.
Not only is the starting blind level important, you must also consider the blind structure. If the starting blinds make it appear to be a deep-stack poker tournament it may have a blind structure where the blinds double every round and the rounds are only 15 minutes long. While the players may start with a relative 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 poker 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 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 a decade. Sean has written a free report on how to determine your poker chip breakdown for a game. Stop the frustration. Get your free report on Poker Chip Breakdown now. You have full rights to reprint this article as long as this box is not changed. --------
0 comments:
Post a Comment