Tournament Strategy: Blind Structure

When the word structure is used in relation to a poker tournament, it is referring to two things: the blind structure and the pay out structure. Let's take a look at blind structure today.


Unlike ring games, the blinds in a tournament continually increase in order to force the action. If the blinds didn't rise then a tournament could go on forever. The blind structure simply defines how long each level will be and states how much the blinds are at each level. Here is an example of a blind structure for an on-line tournament in which participants start out with $15,000 in tournament chips. In this particular structure each level lasted for ten minutes, which is typical of on-line tournaments. Levels typically last longer in real-life tournaments .

Level--Blinds--(Antes)
1 10/20
2 15/30
3 20/40
4 25/50
5 30/60
6 40/80
7 50/100
8 60/120
9 80/160
10 100/200
11 120/240 (25)
12 150/300 (25)
13 200/400 (50)
14 250/500 (50)
15 300/600 (75)
16 400/800 (100)
17 500/1,000 (125)
18 600/1,200 (150)
19 800/1,600 (200)
20 1,000/2,000 (250)

This particular tournament actually lasted into the 25th level but I got tired of typing at 20. Anyway, you get the idea.

Knowing the structure is important because it allows you to plan your strategy optimally. You might like to wait for great hands but if the blinds are coming up quickly you might not have that luxury. Any time your stack falls below 10 times the big blind you enter the "all-in" zone where you are just looking for a hand to gamble on. As the blinds rise that important threshold can sneak up you, so be aware of it.

I play tight in the early stages because the name of the game is survival. I don't take unnecessary chances. But as the blinds come up, taking more chances becomes necessary to keep a healthy stack.

Note that at the eleventh level of our example the ante comes into play. At only $25, this might not seem like much but with nine players this adds up to an additional $225 in the pot before the cards are even dealt. At level 10 the blinds total $300, but at level 11 the blinds plus antes total almost doubles to $585. This makes the pot much more worthwhile to win. If you have been cultivating a tight image to this point, now is the time to exploit that and start attacking.