Poker Tournament Blind Calculator
Tell it how many players you have, how many chips each gets and how long you want to play. You get a blind schedule that finishes on time, and the chips to hand out.
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Learn & Play Poker
Poker Extreme
Poker Extreme is built for the practice side: Sit & Go and simulated tournaments against bots at five levels, a live coach that shows your equity as you play, and hand review afterwards.
Coming to the App Store
How it works
The rule of thumb behind the table
Two numbers shape every blind structure. The first is the starting stack, which should be about 50 to 100 big blinds, or more for a relaxed game. The second is how fast the blinds rise. About 20 to 30 percent each level is gentle enough that players can still make moves, and fast enough that the chips end up in fewer hands.
The table starts from your stack, works out the blind level at the finish and spreads the climb across your levels. Each big blind is then moved to a tidy number that your smallest chip can pay. The last level is set so the whole table holds only about 15 big blinds, which is roughly the point where one player holds most of the chips.
Chips
Splitting the stack
The chip split gives each player the same stack in a handful of colours. Most of the value sits in bigger chips, with enough small ones to pay the early blinds and make change. Check the whole-table column to see how many of each chip you need before the night.
If you are short on a colour, change the chip value you enter, or hand out a little less than the suggested number and keep a few spares in the middle for changing up.
On the night
Running the clock
Set a timer for each level and announce the new blinds out loud as it goes off. Many hosts add a short break every few levels, which is where players change up their smallest chips. The times in the table do not include breaks.
Hosting for the first time? The home game guide covers chips, blinds, dealing and house rules. To learn the betting itself, start with Texas Hold'em rules.
Questions
Quick answers
How many chips should each player start with?
Aim for 50 to 100 big blinds at the first level, and more if you want a slower game. With blinds of 50/100, a stack of 5,000 gives everyone 50 big blinds. A deeper stack gives more room to play after the flop, and a shallow one gets to all-in poker faster.
How fast should the blinds go up?
A common rule is 20 to 30 percent per level, so blinds roughly double every three or four levels. Games that need to finish on time often climb faster, and the table tells you how fast yours is going.
How long should each level last?
Fifteen to twenty minutes suits a home game that should finish in a few hours. Twenty to thirty minutes gives deeper play. Anything under ten minutes turns it into a lottery.
Why do the blinds jump around the smallest chip?
Every small blind has to be made of chips you own. If the smallest chip is 25, the small blind must be a multiple of 25, so the schedule only uses blinds you can pay. Smaller chips give a smoother climb.
What happens when the schedule runs out?
The last level is sized so the whole table holds only about 15 big blinds in total, which means most players are all-in or gone. If you are still playing, keep the final blinds going or raise them a notch each level until someone has everything.
Keep reading
More poker guides
- Poker hand rankings — The ten hands, odds and tie-breaks
- Texas Hold'em rules — Blinds, betting rounds and showdown
- Omaha rules — Pot-Limit Omaha and Hi-Lo
- Poker odds calculator — Outs, pot odds and the rule of 4 and 2
- Home game guide — Chips, blinds and house rules
- Seven Card Stud rules — Antes, the bring-in, streets and Razz
- Poker terms — The words you'll hear at the table
- Poker guides home — Where to start
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