By Rafael CardosoNovember 3, 20264 min readWhat Should Starting Blinds Be in a Poker Tournament?
Starting blinds are not chosen independently: they are chosen against the starting stack. The number that matters is how many big blinds the stack is worth, and everything else follows from there.
Set the starting blinds so that the starting stack is worth at least 100 big blinds. With a 5,000 stack that is 25/50; with 10,000 it is 25/50 (200 big blinds) or 50/100 (100 big blinds). The small blind must also be a denomination every player actually holds.
Starting blinds by stack size
| Starting stack | Blinds | Big blinds | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000 | 10/20 | 100 | Standard |
| 5,000 | 25/50 | 100 | Standard |
| 10,000 | 50/100 | 100 | Standard |
| 10,000 | 25/50 | 200 | Deep, the home-game favourite |
| 20,000 | 50/100 | 200 | Deep |
| 20,000 | 100/200 | 100 | Standard |
The two constraints
1. At least 100 big blinds
Below 100 big blinds the first hour starts making decisions for players. At 50 big blinds, a single raise and re-raise commits a meaningful share of a stack, and the tournament becomes a shoving contest earlier than most home games want.
Home games often go deeper, to 150–200 big blinds, precisely because the first hour is the sociable part of the evening and nobody wants it to be decisive. The cost is length. See how many big blinds to start with.
2. The small blind must exist as a chip
If the blinds start at 25/50, every player needs 25-value chips in their stack. This sounds obvious and is the most common structural error in home games: a beautifully designed structure opening at 10/20 when the smallest chip in the set is worth 25.
Look at your smallest denomination first. That is your level-one small blind. Then choose a starting stack that makes 100–200 big blinds out of the chips you own. Designing the structure first and discovering the chip problem on the night is a bad twenty minutes.
What happens if you start too high
The first level is already short-stacked. Players fold or shove, and there is very little poker.
The tournament finishes far too early, often in half the time you planned.
Skill matters less. Short stacks compress the range of decisions available.
What happens if you start too low
The first two levels are meaningless. Blinds too small to be worth contesting means everyone waits.
The tournament runs long unless the blinds climb steeply later, which produces a jarring transition.
Too many small chips in play, which slows every pot.
Fitting the blinds to an awkward chip set
Real chip sets rarely offer the denomination you would choose. Three ways round it, in order of preference.
| Problem | Fix | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest chip is 25, you wanted 10/20 | Open at 25/50 and scale the stack up | None |
| Smallest chip is 5, blinds would be tiny | Treat the 5 as 25 and re-map every colour | One announcement |
| Too few of the smallest denomination | Use the next one up as the small blind unit | A shallower start |
| No chip between 100 and 1,000 | Skip the 500 tier; blinds climb 100 → 200 → 400 | A slightly steeper ladder |
Antes and the opening level
Do not put an ante on level one. The stack is at its deepest, the pot is already worth contesting relative to the stacks, and the ante simply removes chips before anyone has had a chance to play. Introduce antes around level 4 to 6. See when antes should start.
Frequently asked questions
What should the starting blinds be in a poker tournament?
Whatever makes the starting stack worth 100 to 200 big blinds, using a denomination every player holds. For a 5,000 stack that is 25/50; for a 10,000 stack, 25/50 gives 200 big blinds and 50/100 gives 100.
Is 25/50 a good starting blind level?
It is the most common home-game opening level, because 25 is the smallest chip in most sets and it produces 100–200 big blinds from a 5,000 or 10,000 stack.
Does the starting chip amount matter?
Only in relation to the blinds. A 5,000 stack at 25/50 and a 10,000 stack at 50/100 play identically. The larger number simply requires more chips.
Your next step
With the opening level fixed, build the rest of the ladder: blind structures explained covers the climb rate, or the blind structure calculator will generate the whole table. Then check it against your chip distribution.