Poker tournament
at your venue
Tables, dealers and chips in your own room. One start, one final table, and a winner at the end of the evening.
No money changes hands
Our poker tournament is played with chips that are worth nothing outside the evening. There's no buy-in and nothing is paid out, so it's a game format, not gambling. What there is to win is first place, and possibly a prize that you provide yourselves.
That changes the game less than people expect. The tension is in the tournament, in who is still in and who drops out just before the final table. That works without anything being at stake, and it keeps the evening relaxed for everyone.
- Tables, chips, cards and dealers included
- Texas hold'em, with explanations during the first rounds
- Tournament schedule with rising blinds and a final table
- Suitable from about 18 participants
From starting stack to final table
Starting stack and seating
Everyone starts with the same stack of chips and is seated at random across the tables. That way departments don't end up sitting together, which is usually the point for a staff evening.
Rising blinds
The stakes go up every fifteen minutes. That pushes the game forward, so a tournament does not get stuck for three hours in cautious play.
Merging tables
As players drop out, we merge tables. The dealer takes care of that, and the participants notice little of it apart from getting new opponents.
The final table
The last nine play at one table with everyone else around them. From that moment the whole room is watching and the evening naturally has a conclusion.
Even beginners keep playing well into the evening
The tournament format keeps inexperienced players in the game for a long time. In a casual game of poker, someone who makes two bad bets is out within half an hour. In a tournament with a generous starting stack and slowly rising blinds, it takes much longer before you're really in trouble.
That's why we deliberately set the blinds low at the start. The first 45 minutes are for learning the game, after which it gets sharper. Anyone who's out early joins a table to watch, and on an evening like this that happens naturally.
A compact tournament with two tables starts at €195. After the first conversation you'll get a firm price.
What we need from you
For a poker tournament we need floor space and power for the lighting. Allow about three by three metres per table, including the chairs around it. We bring the tables, the cloth, the chips and the dealers.
Give us the number of participants in advance and the time available. The blind schedule depends on it: in a two-hour evening the blinds rise faster than in a three-hour one, otherwise there is still no winner at midnight.
Setting up takes about an hour and happens before you start. Afterwards we pack up in half an hour.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to be able to play poker to take part?
No poker experience is needed. We play Texas hold'em, the variant with the fewest rules, and the dealer at the table explains the first rounds out loud while the game is being played. In practice there's almost always someone in the final who played the game for the first time that evening.
What's the difference between a poker tournament and a casino night?
A poker tournament has one start, one end and one winner, and everyone plays the same game at the same time. A casino night keeps running and guests join in whenever they like, at blackjack, roulette or poker. If you want a programme with a clear finish, the tournament is the better choice.
How long does a poker tournament take?
Our poker tournaments take two to three hours. We control the length with the blinds: the faster they rise, the sooner the tournament works its way to a final table. If you have a hard finishing time, tell us and we'll set the schedule accordingly.
How many participants can take part?
A poker tournament works from about eighteen participants, split across tables of nine. For larger groups we scale up by adding tables, and we merge them as soon as players drop out. That keeps the tables full and nobody is left waiting with just two others.
Tell us about your plan
Interested in a poker tournament? Fill in the short form and we'll send a price estimate within 1 working day.
Poker tournament at your venue
Tell us the number of participants and how much time there is, and we will send a proposal.