How To Host a Texas Hold'em Party

When hosting a Texas Hold'em tournament party we prefer to play No-Limit Texas Hold'em, often called the Cadillac of Poker. The tournament is completed faster than Limit Texas Hold'em and there is a possibility of hosting several tournaments in one night. Also, no-limit is the tournament game most played by the professionals. We believe you will certainly find it quite exciting and a great way to learn and experience the excitement of Texas Hold'em.

One important thing to consider when hosting a Texas Hold'em party is the number of players and their experience with the game. Before the night of the tournament, if the players are new to the game, you may want to refer them to the portion of our site that spells out How the Game is Played.

To start, have each player buy-in for whatever amount is determined by the group. Give each player $1000 worth of chips when they buy-in. Each player should receive 12 $25 chips, 3 $100 chips, and 1 $500 chip. Another variation could be: each player $2000 worth of chips when they buy-in. Each player should receive 12 $25 chips, 12 $50 chips, and 11 $100 chips. Have them take a seat and prepare for the action. Determine the payout structure.

An ideal number of players is ten, or groups of ten, plus full time dealers. Dealers are not required, but it is nice and moves the game along faster. If you do not have a dealer, you may want to have the first players eliminated become the dealers. If there are more than eleven players, you want to split into two or more tables with equal number of players at each table. As the players are eliminated, try to keep the tables as even as possible by moving players from one table to another. When you are down to ten players, or groups of ten, close down a table and continue play.

Once set-up is completed and the players are seated, have the dealers deal one card face up to each player. High card gets the dealer button. If the high card is matched at the table then the first high card dealt starts the deal. Have the blinds posted at $25 and $50. You are on your way. Every 12 minutes change the limit of the blinds. We recommend setting a timer. Make the blinds $25-$50, then $50-$100, $100-$200, $200-$400, $400-$800, $500-$1,000. The time between blind changes can be shorter or longer or based on the number of hands played. Also as a variation, the amount of increase in the blinds will have an effect on how long the tournament lasts.

Payouts to winners should be determined and posted before the start of the tournament. For larger tournaments with over 15 players, 20% of players should win money. The smallest payout should be close to the buy-in, or a small amount over the buy-in. The winner should receive around 30%-40% of the prize pool. For smaller tournaments with 15 or less players, the top 3 finishers should be paid 20%, 30% and 50% of the total prize pool. There are certainly many variations to the payouts, so everyone should agree before the tournament starts and it should be posted.

As a host, you may want to keep in consideration if you wish to recover your expenses of hosting the party. (i.e. snacks, ice, drinks, etc.) One way to do this is to charge a fee over and above the buy-in. This way everyone pays a bit. Another is to keep a portion of the prize pool. This essentially makes only the winners pay a portion.