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Pokeo

Home game

A blind timer tracks how long each level lasts and tells the table when the blinds go up, so nobody has to keep an eye on the time. Enter how many players you have, how many chips each one starts with and how long you want the game to run: it builds a blind structure that fits your chips and runs it on a big clock.

It works in your browser with no account, and once the page has loaded it needs no connection. Prop a phone or a laptop in the middle of the table: in full screen it reads from every seat.

First lesson · 6 min The cards To the clock The structure

Blind timer

Your game and its clock

Change anything and the structure rebuilds on the spot. The clock waits on pause: hit Start when the first hand is dealt.

Level 1 of 9

20:00

Small blind
5
Paid with 1 red
Big blind
10
Paid with 2 reds

Next, 10/20

0:00 of 3:00

The structure, level by level

Levels of 20 minutes. The blinds go up about 53% a level, and the game should be decided in around 3 hr.

Level Blinds Starts
1 5/10 0:00
2 10/20 0:20
The whites aren't needed anymore: color them up for reds.
3 15/30 0:40
4 20/40 1:00
5 30/60 1:20
6 50/100 1:40
The reds aren't needed anymore: color them up for greens.
7 75/150 2:00
8 100/200 2:20
9 150/300 2:40
Planned end: 3 hr of playIn case the game runs long
10 250/500 3:00
The greens aren't needed anymore: color them up for blacks.
11 400/800 3:20
12 600/1,200 3:40
13 1,000/2,000 4:00

The four rules it follows

  1. It starts at the blinds from the chip values page: the ones that leave each stack at about 100 big blinds.

  2. When time is up, the big blind is a twentieth of all the chips on the table. With two players left, each holds about ten big blinds and the game is over in a few hands.

  3. In between, the blinds climb at a steady pace, as close to 40% a level as round numbers allow. Each level lasts whatever fits that climb into your time, from 10 to 60 minutes, unless you pick the length.

  4. Every blind and ante can be paid with the chips still on the table. Once a color is worth less than a tenth of the small blind, it isn't needed anymore and gets colored up.

Starts: playing time from the first hand, breaks not included. Every level is the same length.

How to pick a blind structure

Three numbers decide what kind of night it'll be: how many big blinds everyone starts with, how long a level lasts and how much the blinds go up from one level to the next.

  1. Start with about 100 big blinds

    With 100 big blinds there's room to play hands, make mistakes and still be in the game. With 50 everything moves faster, and soon it's all-in or fold. More than 200 makes the night longer without making it better. That's why the chip values page deals for about 100, and the timer starts where it does.

  2. Levels of 15 to 20 minutes

    A home game deals 20 to 30 hands an hour, fewer at the start while people check the rules. Levels of 15 or 20 minutes fit five to ten hands each: enough for the blinds to matter without running anyone over.

  3. Raise them by a third to a half

    If the blinds double every level, two bad levels knock you out; if they barely move, the night never ends. The usual step is 30% to 50%: from 50/100 to 75/150, from 100/200 to 150/300. Early on they sometimes double, from 5/10 to 10/20, because there are no round numbers in between.

  4. Antes from the first third

    An ante is a small chip every player puts in before the deal, on top of the blinds. It builds the pot and gets people playing hands. It's optional, and plenty of home games skip it. If you use it, bring it in once the blinds start to bite, at about a tenth of the big blind.

What each blind is and who posts it

How long a home poker game lasts

Usually two to four hours. With six players, 1,000 chips each and 20-minute levels, the structure on this page runs about three, which is what most evenings have room for. On the same structure, every extra player makes the game longer, because there are more chips to win before only one player is left.

The blinds decide how long it lasts, not the cards. So settle it before you start, the same way you settle when the night ends: if the game has to be over by midnight, set the clock so it is. The timer does the math backward: with more players it raises the blinds a little faster, and if the night runs long, the next levels are already in the table.

Poker chip values

What to do when someone is short-stacked

It happens at every game: the blinds go up and someone is left with a small stack. There are three different situations, and each has an answer.

They can't cover the blind

They put in what they have and they're all-in: still in the hand and able to win it. From each opponent they can win only as much as they put in; whatever the others bet beyond that goes into a side pot they play for among themselves.

They have fewer than ten big blinds

There's no room left to bet and then fold: any bet eats a big piece of the stack. The usual play is to wait for a good hand and move all-in with it. Waiting too long costs more, because the blinds eat the stack on their own.

They bust in the first hour

In a game without money, it costs nothing to let them buy back in with a fresh stack, the same as the starting one. Agree before you start whether that's allowed and until which level. The structure stays the same; the game just runs a little longer.

How an all-in is split: the side pot calculator

Common questions

How often should the blinds go up in a home game?

Every 15 or 20 minutes is typical for a three- or four-hour game. With shorter levels everything speeds up and the blinds decide more than the decisions do; with levels of half an hour or more, the night drags on.

What blinds should a home game start with?

The ones that leave each player about 100 big blinds: 5 and 10 if everyone starts with 1,000 chips, 1 and 2 if they start with 200. They're the same blinds the chip calculator on the chip values page gives.

How long does a home poker tournament last?

Two to four hours, depending on the players, the chips and the structure. With six players, 1,000 chips each and 20-minute levels, about three. This timer works it out backward: you tell it how long the game should last and it sets the levels.

Do you need antes?

No. Antes liven up the game once the blinds start to bite, but plenty of home games play without them. If you use them, bring them in about a third of the way through the night, at roughly a tenth of the big blind.

What do you do with the small chips when the blinds go up?

Color them up for the next color: five whites for a red, five reds for a green, four greens for a black. Whatever doesn't make a whole chip gets rounded: half or more becomes one more chip. Nobody busts because of a color-up. The table shows the level where each one happens.

Does the screen turn off while the clock is running?

Not in browsers that allow it: while the clock runs, the page asks for the screen to stay on. If yours can't, the page says so, and it's worth setting your phone's auto-lock to a longer time for the game.

Keep going

The chips Poker chip values What each color is worth and how many chips each player gets. All-in Side pot calculator Who can win each pot when someone is all-in for less. At home Hosting a poker night What you need, how to deal and the three arguments that always come up.

The game, from the start

The clock tells you what the blinds are; who posts them and when it's your turn you learn by playing. The course starts with the cards and gets to a home table with no dealer in path 3, “Playing with friends”.

First lesson · 6 min The cards Every card has two facts: rank and suit. You'll learn to read both, and which one says which card is worth more. Play now

No sign-up · No money · In your browser