A complete poker set up guide for home games. Pick a player count (6–10 for one table), set a buy-in, agree on payouts, build a blind structure, and run the night with a free browser-based blinds timer. No installs, no signup.
Lock in three things before anyone shows up: player count, buy-in, and target duration. A single-table home poker tournament works best with 6–10 players, a buy-in of $10–$50, and a 2–4 hour window. Send a group message with the date, time, buy-in, and "cash on arrival, payouts top 3" so nobody arrives confused.
| Denomination | Count | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 25 (white) | 8 | 200 |
| 100 (red) | 8 | 800 |
| 500 (green) | 4 | 2,000 |
| 1,000 (black) | 2 | 2,000 |
| Total | 22 | 5,000 |
Start blinds at 25/50 so the smallest chip is in play. Race off the 25s around level 5 once the big blind reaches 500.
Three home-game presets cover almost every night. Turbo (15-minute levels, 50 BB start) finishes near 2 hours. Standard (20-minute levels, 100 BB start) lasts about 3 hours and is the most popular for home games. Deep Stack (30-minute levels, 300 BB start) runs 4–5 hours and rewards real post-flop poker.
Use the free poker blind structure calculator to generate the full level-by-level schedule for your duration and chip set — it adds breaks every 4 levels automatically and snaps blinds to values your chips can make.
Pay roughly the top 15–20% of the field. Common splits:
Announce the rules before cards go in the air and don't change them mid-tournament. Standard structure: unlimited rebuys during the first 4 blind levels (~90 minutes) at the original buy-in for the original starting stack. Once the rebuy period ends, one optional add-on — typically 1.5× the starting stack for the buy-in amount — is offered at the first break. After that the tournament is freezeout.
A player can rebuy any time their stack drops at or below the starting stack. Track every rebuy and add-on against the prize pool as it happens — a $20 buy-in with 8 players and 5 rebuys is a $260 pool, not $160.
In a home game the deal rotates with the button. Keep it consistent for the whole night.
If the dealer exposes a card, most home games treat it as a misdeal — reshuffle and re-deal from scratch.
Every regular home game needs a short list of house rules agreed on before the first hand. Rules worth agreeing on up front:
When a genuine dispute happens, pause the clock, let each player state their case once, and take a table vote of the uninvolved players. The host has the final call.
Heads-up: the short stack pushes, the opponent calls up to that amount (extras come back), both players table their cards, the dealer runs the remaining community cards, best five-card hand wins.
Three-way or more all-ins create side pots. Example: Player A is all-in for 1,000; B and C each commit 3,000. Main pot is 3,000 — all three compete. Side pot is 4,000 — only B and C compete. If A wins the hand, A takes only the main pot; the better hand between B and C takes the side pot. If chips don't divide evenly on a tie, the odd chip goes to the player left of the button.
Pick a date and player count (6–10 for one table), agree on a buy-in, get a 500-chip set with 4 denominations, print a blind structure, and use a free browser-based blinds timer so levels advance automatically.
A 500-chip set with 4 denominations. Give each player a 5,000-chip starting stack — 8 × 25, 8 × 100, 4 × 500, 2 × 1,000 per player (22 chips each, 176 total). The remainder covers rebuys and add-ons.
20 minutes for a Standard 3-hour tournament, 15 minutes for a Turbo (~2 hours), 30 minutes for a Deep Stack (~5 hours). Pick one and stick with it end-to-end.
Unlimited rebuys during the first 4 levels at the original buy-in, one optional add-on at the first break (usually 1.5× the starting stack). After that it's freezeout.
Pay roughly the top 15–20% of the field: top 2 for 4–6 players (65/35), top 3 for 7–10 (50/30/20), top 5 for 11–18 (40/25/18/12/5).
A poker-size table or felt, two decks of cards, a dealer button, small/big blind buttons, a 500-chip set (300 white, 100 red, 50 green, 50 black is a common split), and a phone, tablet, or TV running a blinds timer.
For a 5,000-chip starting stack: 8 × 25 = 200, 8 × 100 = 800, 4 × 500 = 2,000, 2 × 1,000 = 2,000. Start blinds at 25/50 so the smallest chip is in play.
For most home games, 20-minute levels and a 100 BB starting stack — roughly 3 hours, 9 levels, break every 4. Switch to 15-minute levels and a 50 BB start for a quicker night.
Seat players randomly, set the small/big blind buttons, start the blinds timer, and let it advance levels automatically. Track eliminations, take the scheduled break every 4 levels, and pay out from the pre-agreed structure once one player has all the chips.
A common split for 7–10 players is 50/30/20. For 4–6 players pay top two (65/35); for 12+ pay 4–5 places. Chip Challenger calculates payouts automatically from your buy-in or lump sum.
Plan on 2.5–4 hours for a single-table game with 8–10 players. Turbo ~2 hours, Standard ~3 hours, Deep Stack 4–5 hours. Add 30 minutes buffer for breaks and the final-table slow-down.
No. Rotate the deal with the button. It's slower than a pro dealer but keeps everyone engaged. Hire a dealer for the final table if you can — hands play much faster once blinds are steep.
Not strictly, but a blinds timer keeps the night moving. A browser-based tool like Chip Challenger shows the current blinds on any phone, tablet, or TV, plays an audio cue at each level change, and tracks payouts — free, no install, no account.
Chip Challenger handles the blinds timer, player tracking, and payout math from any browser. Start a free tournament or open the blinds calculator.