Egon Towst
Cardschat Elite
Silver Level
Tournament Structure Comparison
This is a small research project which I put together for my own information, but it may be of interest to other CCers.
I have listed below the ten biggest (in terms of traffic) online poker rooms, together with their blind structures for a typical tournament in the $11-$33 buyin range. Against each one I have then calculated how many hands one would see before the big blind reaches ten percent of the starting stack (assuming a constant dealing rate of 60 hands per hour).
The purpose of this is to determine which poker rooms have the most preferable structure, assuming that one is an above-average player and has an edge over the field. If you have an edge, it is advantageous to see more hands and have more opportunity to win pots and increase your stack before it is depleted and you are obliged to make a desperation move.
Notice that slower structures don`t necessarily mean that the stronger player will win more over the long term. The structure is, of course, the same for all players in the tourney. Their advantage of a slower structure is that it reduces variance by making it more likely that the strong player can increase his stack without having to make a move which is highly luck-dependent.
I have also calculated how many hands one would see before being totally blinded off, assuming one were to sit out entirely from the start. This is of rather less practical value. I have included it as a kind of tie-breaker where the ten percent figure is the same.
The sites are listed in order according to the desirability of their structure.
Microgaming (Ladbrokes, Pokertime etc.)
Stack 2500, 15 min levels, 10 man tbls, 10/20, 15/30, 25/50, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 100/200/20, 125/250/25, 150/300/30, 200/400/40, 250/500/50, 300/600/60.
BB = 10% of start stack in 106 hands, total blind-off in 113.
Cereus (Absolute, Ultimate)
Stack 1500, 12 min levels, 9 man tbls, 5/10, 10/20, 15/30, 20/40, 30/60, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 150/300, 150/300/25, 200/400/50, 300/600/75.
BB = 10% of start stack in 73 hands, total blind-off in 99.
Ipoker (Titan, Victor Chandler etc.)
Stack 1500, 10 min levels, 10 man tbls, 10/20, 15/30, 20/40, 30/60, 40/80, 50/100, 60/120, 80/160, 100/200, 100/200/25, 125/250/25, 150/300/50
BB = 10% of start stack in 71 hands, total blind-off in 99.
Full Tilt
Stack 1500, 10 min levels, 9 man tbls, 15/30, 20/40, 25/50, 30/60, 40/80, 50/100, 60/120, 80/160, 100/200, 120/240/25, 150/300/25, 200/400/50
BB = 10% of start stack in 71 hands, total blind-off in 90.
Party
Stack 3000, 15 min levels, 10 man tbls, 20/40, 30/60, 50/100, 100/200, 150/300, 200/400, 300/600, 400/800/25, 600/1200/50, 800/1600/50
BB = 10% of start stack in 61 hands, total blind-off in 99.
PokerStars
Stack 1500, 15 min levels, 9 man tbls, 10/20, 15/30, 25/50, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 150/300, 200/400, 300/600, 400/800, 600/1200, 800/1600
(NB. I do not have an account at Stars and cannot be certain that the above info is current and up-to-date. Please help with a correction, if necssary.)
BB = 10% of start stack in 61 hands, total blind-off in 98.
Ongame (Redkings, Hollywood etc.)
Stack 1500, 12 min levels, 10 man tbls, 10/20, 15/30, 25/50, 40/80, 60/120, 80/160, 100/200, 100/200/20, 125/250/25, 150/300/30, 200/400/40, 250/500/50
BB = 10% of start stack in 61 hands, total blind-off in 90.
Boss Media (Paradise, Virgin etc.)
Stack 1500, 12 min levels, 10 man tbls, 10/20, 15/30, 25/50, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 100/200/25, 150/300/25, 200/400/50, 300/600/50, 300/800/75, 500/1000/100.
BB = 10% of start stack in 49 hands, total blind-off in 90.
Everest
Stack 1000, 10 min levels, 10 man tbls, 5/10, 10/20, 15/30, 20/40, 30/60, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 150/300, 150/300/25, 200/400/50, 300/600/75.
BB = 10% of start stack in 41 hands, total blind-off in 89.
Cake
Stack 1500, 10 min levels, 10 man tbls,10/20, 15/30, 25/50, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 100/200/25, 200/400/25, 300/600/50, 400/800/50, 600/1200/75, 800/1600/75
BB = 10% of start stack in 41 hands, total blind-off in 75.
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Although not among the top ten busiest sites, here for comparison are two others where regular CC games are held:-
Bodog
Stack 1500, 12 min levels, 9 man tbls, 10/20, 15/30, 20/40, 30/60, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 125/250, 150/300/25, 200/400/50, 300/600/75, 400/800/100
BB = 10% of start stack in 61 hands, total blind-off in 90.
Merge (Carbon, Reefer etc.)
Stack 2500, 10 min levels, 10 man tbls, 10/20, 15/30, 25/50, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 125/250/25, 150/300/30, 200/400/40, 250/500/50, 300/600/60, 400/800/80
BB = 10% of start stack in 61 hands, total blind-off in 88.