Does anyone know how to calculate whether a tournament structure is to fast (supporting all in plays) or a good structure where there is room for skillful play. There is a way by taking into account starting chips and how fast the blinds go up to determine if the tourny structure is good or bad. I usesd to know how to calculate this but can't seem to remember now. Does anyone know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-ratio

Thanks. What I meant was how do you know a tournament structure is good or bad (e.g. Tourny #1 with starting chips of 1,000 with blinds that go up every 15 minutes vs. Tourny #2 with starting chips of 5,000 with blinds that go up every 30 minutes). There's a way of calculating a good tournament structure but I can't remember how.

It really depends on what you mean by "good". Some people prefer deep stacks while others like turbos. There is not a single formula that will tell you if a tournament is "good" or "bad".

Here's an example:

Player A plans is to compete in a $1,500 no limit tournament, at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

What is the structure of this tournament? Why is this important?

This year the players will get $4,500 in chips--significantly more chips than last year!! The blinds start at $25-$50, with one hour levels. Last year there were 2,700 players with a first place prize of over $625,000--not bad for three days of work.

One way to evaluate the structure is to use Arnold Snyder's Patience factor in The Poker Tournament Formula. It is a way to determine how fast you may need to play in a poker tournament.

The formula uses the world's most patient player (WMPP) and estimates when he will be blinded off. With 60 minute rounds, it assumes this player will see blinds three times at each level (every 20 minutes).

Therefore:

blinds ---- total ------- 3x/hr ----- Cumulative
$25-$50 - total $75 - 3x/h $225 - Cumulative $225
$50-$100 - total 150 - 3x/h 450 - Cumulative 675
$75-$150 - total 225 - 3x/h 675 - Cumulative 1,350
$100-$200 - total 300 - 3x/h 900 - Cumulative 2,250
$100-$200
ante $25 - total 550 - 3x/h 1,650 - Cumulative 3,900
$150-$300
ante $50 - total 950 - 3x/h 2,850 - Cumulative 6,750

What this chart shows is that the WMPP will last into the 7th round if he never plays a hand--that is incredible!!

The WMPP will be gone in roughly 6.2 hours. The patience factor is 6.2 squared or 38.44.

The net result is that this structure will favor the most skilled players. This is a new development that you must know to plan ahead for the WSOP.