Blind structures for 2, 3 and 4-hour tournaments
2 min read · Updated 2026-09-26
A blind structure decides how long a tournament lasts. Blinds that rise too slowly drag on past midnight; too fast, and it turns into an all-in lottery. Each template below is built so that around the target time a full table of 8–9 players is down to its last two or three, with about 35–45 big blinds in play between them.
How to choose
| Template | Best for |
|---|---|
| About 2 hours | Weeknights, or a tournament before a cash game |
| About 3 hours | A first tournament night — the safe default |
| About 4 hours | Groups who want deep stacks and lots of play |
Note — Fewer players, shorter night: With 4–6 players there are fewer chips in play, so each template usually finishes one or two levels sooner.
Quick night · about 2 hours
5,000 chips each, 15-minute levels, one break. Fast but still leaves room to play after the flop early on.
- Starting stack: 5,000
- Chips per player: 8 × 25, 8 × 100, 4 × 500, 2 × 1,000
- Players: 4–9
| Level | Blinds | Minutes | Starts at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 / 50 | 15 | 0:00 |
| 2 | 50 / 100 | 15 | 0:15 |
| 3 | 75 / 150 | 15 | 0:30 |
| 4 | 100 / 200 | 15 | 0:45 |
| Break | colour up the 25 chips | 10 | 1:00 |
| 5 | 200 / 400 | 15 | 1:10 |
| 6 | 300 / 600 | 15 | 1:25 |
| 7 | 400 / 800 | 15 | 1:40 |
| 8 | 600 / 1,200 | 15 | 1:55 |
| 9 | 1,000 / 2,000 | 15 | 2:10 |
| 10 | 1,500 / 3,000 | 15 | 2:25 |
| 11 | 2,000 / 4,000 | 15 | 2:40 |
| 12 | 3,000 / 6,000 | 15 | 2:55 |
Classic night · about 3 hours
10,000 chips each, 20-minute levels, two breaks. The best fit for a first tournament night.
- Starting stack: 10,000
- Chips per player: 8 × 25, 8 × 100, 6 × 500, 6 × 1,000
- Players: 4–9
| Level | Blinds | Minutes | Starts at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 / 50 | 20 | 0:00 |
| 2 | 50 / 100 | 20 | 0:20 |
| 3 | 75 / 150 | 20 | 0:40 |
| 4 | 100 / 200 | 20 | 1:00 |
| Break | colour up the 25 chips | 10 | 1:20 |
| 5 | 200 / 400 | 20 | 1:30 |
| 6 | 300 / 600 | 20 | 1:50 |
| 7 | 500 / 1,000 | 20 | 2:10 |
| Break | — | 10 | 2:30 |
| 8 | 800 / 1,600 | 20 | 2:40 |
| 9 | 1,200 / 2,400 | 20 | 3:00 |
| 10 | 2,000 / 4,000 | 20 | 3:20 |
| 11 | 3,000 / 6,000 | 20 | 3:40 |
| 12 | 5,000 / 10,000 | 20 | 4:00 |
Deep night · about 4 hours
15,000 chips each, 20-minute levels, big blind ante from level 9. For groups who want plenty of play.
- Starting stack: 15,000
- Chips per player: 8 × 25, 8 × 100, 8 × 500, 10 × 1,000
- Players: 4–9
| Level | Blinds | Ante (big blind ante) | Minutes | Starts at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 / 50 | — | 20 | 0:00 |
| 2 | 50 / 100 | — | 20 | 0:20 |
| 3 | 75 / 150 | — | 20 | 0:40 |
| 4 | 100 / 200 | — | 20 | 1:00 |
| Break | colour up the 25 chips | 10 | 1:20 | |
| 5 | 200 / 400 | — | 20 | 1:30 |
| 6 | 300 / 600 | — | 20 | 1:50 |
| 7 | 400 / 800 | — | 20 | 2:10 |
| 8 | 500 / 1,000 | — | 20 | 2:30 |
| Break | — | 10 | 2:50 | |
| 9 | 600 / 1,200 | 1,200 | 20 | 3:00 |
| 10 | 800 / 1,600 | 1,600 | 20 | 3:20 |
| 11 | 1,000 / 2,000 | 2,000 | 20 | 3:40 |
| 12 | 1,500 / 3,000 | 3,000 | 20 | 4:00 |
| Break | — | 10 | 4:20 | |
| 13 | 2,000 / 4,000 | 4,000 | 20 | 4:30 |
| 14 | 3,000 / 6,000 | 6,000 | 20 | 4:50 |
| 15 | 4,000 / 8,000 | 8,000 | 20 | 5:10 |
| 16 | 6,000 / 12,000 | 12,000 | 20 | 5:30 |
From level 9 the big blind also posts a big blind ante equal to one big blind, for the whole table. It keeps the late levels moving without everyone having to ante.
Adjusting on the night
- Running late? At a break, skip one level. Don’t shorten levels in the middle of a level.
- Running early? Add 5 minutes to each level from the next break on.
- Colour up at the break listed in the table: swap 25s for 100s, and race off the leftovers.
- Announce every level change and keep the clock where everyone can see it.
- New level, new blinds from the next hand, not the hand in progress.
Tip — Timer tip: Every template is also stored as structured data, so a blinds timer can load it as a preset. Until then, any countdown timer set to the level length works.