Blind Schedules
The blinds are what moves a poker tournament towards its end. I once played a single table tournament where the blinds were set and never raised (don't even ask why). Even with the no limit betting style, the game ended when we quit, not when one player had all the chips.
A simple question is how do you set up a blinds schedule for a poker tournament? We generally start with 800 chips, and the first blinds are 10/20. With two tables this is our first step on our way to a three hour tourney. One guideline you can use is to make the first big blind 1/50th of the starting chip total. Ours is 1/40th.
If you are an online player, you may be used to the blinds raising every 10 minutes, or maybe every 10 hands. In a face-to-face game, cards are neither dealt, nor played nearly as quickly as online. Blinds should remain the same for at least 20 minutes. Perhaps a half an hour. Raising the blinds only once an hour makes for a terribly long day.
Here are two possible blinds schedules to use, with starting chip totals of 800 or 1,000 recommended:
| Blind Schedule - Slow |
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind |
| 2 | 10 | 20 |
| 3 | 15 | 30 |
| 4 | 20 | 40 |
| 5 | 30 | 60 |
| 6 | 50 | 100 |
| 7 | 75 | 150 |
| 8 | 100 | 200 |
| 9 | 150 | 300 |
| 10 | 200 | 400 |
| 11 | 300 | 600 |
| 12 | 400 | 800 |
| 13 | 500 | 1,000 |
| 14 | 600 | 1,200 |
| 15 | 800 | 1,600 |
| 12 | 1,000 | 2,000 |
| 13 | 1,200 | 2,400 |
| 14 | 1,500 | 3,000 |
| 15 | 2,000 | 4,000 |
|
| Blind Schedule - Quick |
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind |
| 1 | 10 | 20 |
| 2 | 20 | 40 |
| 3 | 30 | 600 |
| 4 | 50 | 100 |
| 5 | 75 | 150 |
| 6 | 100 | 200 |
| 7 | 200 | 400 |
| 8 | 300 | 600 |
| 9 | 500 | 1,00 |
| 10 | 700 | 1,400 |
| 11 | 1,000 | 2,000 |
| 12 | 2,000 | 4,000 |
|
Dead Button Rule
One last thing to mention is what to do when a player on the blind is knocked out of the tournament. No one escapes the big blind. It is the Big Blind that moves around the table, and the deal is established behind it. It is ok if someone deals twice in a row. It is ok if someone deals three times in a row.
Simply put, when a player on the blind is knocked out, the same person keeps dealing. They deal hands until there is both a small blind and a big blind posted. Then play proceeds as normal. Sometimes there is no small blind posted, but no one escapes the big blind.
In detail, if the Small Blind is knocked out of the tournament, they would have been the dealer next hand. In this situation, the same person deals twice. The big blind moves down one player and so does the small blind. Problem solved.
If the Big Blind busts out of the tourney, that player would have been the Small Blind next round. Since he's not there, no one posts the small blind. The Big Blind moves on to the next player as always.
Once that hand is dealt, the Big Blind moves one place as always. The small blind is posted behind it. The dealer remains the same.
If both blinds are knocked out of the tournament, the big blind moves one player, as always. No one posts a small blind. The following hand the big blind moves one player, someone posts the small blind. The dealer remains the same.
