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Got a home poker league (or looking to start one) and have questions? Here are some resources for you. And, feel free to drop us a line with any other questions/thoughts you may have.

Chip Counts

Generally, we recommend a 2000 or 3000 starting stack. Use denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000. We started with 2000 and now use 3000.

Blind Levels and Lengths

This is really where the tweaking comes in. How long do you want to play? This is where you can make that happen. We start with 10/20 blinds levels and did try to "deep stack" it for for 20 minutes. But, we continually make adjustments. In order to finish around the 3 hr mark (usually a little earlier than that), the blind level times need to "shrink" at some point - or, the level amounts need to really move up. As noted, we make adjustments about each session - click the "Home Game Resources" label below to see some of the structural changes we've made over time.

Mostly, experiment with your own structure to find what works best for your game. As long as everyone know what's going on prior to the start - then "them's the rules" as my Grandpa used to say.

Poker Tournament Clocks

Sure, you can use an electronic egg timer or your buddy's Casio wrist watch to keep time, but where's the fun in that?

Some of our league members that host like to use Dr. Neau's Tourney clock: http://www.drneau.com/download.htm Largely free (some cost if you want all the bells and whistles).

The CPL Directors however prefer the free poker tourney clock from old Holdempoker.com. They were bought out by Pokerroom.com (who tweaked the clock to now say Pokerroom), but you should be able to get the original at: http://www.holdempoker.com/poker-tournaments/poker-clock . Otherwise, find the same clock on Pokerroom.

Additional Tips and Fun Things

Missouri Chip The Missouri Chip gives you an opportunity, once per match, to force an opponent to show his/her cards. For leagues that have player improvement as a goal this is an innovative way to add an educational element to the game. Read more about the Missouri Chip in this blog entry from us.

We hope this gets your home game off to a good start!!