Charity Poker Tournaments, How to Run a Poker Fundraiser, Texas Hold'em Fundraisers

For your next event, consider hosting texas holdem poker tournament. With the growing popularity of Texas Hold'em poker on television, the uses of a poker tournament are endless:

Team Building - See who is the best poker player in the office. Bragging rights are at stake!
Client appreciation - Thank your clients with a fun evening of poker. If you ask each client to bring a friend, you can even use it to increase your business.
Bar or restaurants - Reward your loyal customers with a chance to win free food and prizes.
Just for fun - Poker tournaments are great fun, why do you need any other excuse?

Running the Event

As your guests arrive, they will select a seat card. This will tell them their starting table and seat number. Upon arriving at the table, the dealer will direct them to their seat, collect the seat card and give the player his starting chips.

Once all of the players are seated, the tournament director will announce to the dealers to "Shuffle up and deal" as seen on many television poker tournaments. Any late players will still be allowed to play. A position will be held for them and any blind bets will be removed from their chip stack as if they were folding every hand.

Play begins with each player receiving an equal amount of chips. There will be two blinds posted per hand to force the action. As play progresses, the amount of the blind bets increase. The tournament director will customize the blind amounts based upon the starting chip count, number of players, and length of the event. Most events are scheduled for three hours but larger events can take longer.

As play continues, players will be eliminated from the tournament. The tournament director will continually move players around and break down tables to keep the same number of players at each table. Once wthe group is down to nine players the final table will begin. Play will continue until one person accumulates all of the chips and is declared the winner.

What should be  provided

Tables - High quality Texas Hold'em tables. Most will have padded railings with cup holders and professional felts. Tables should seat nine players plus the dealer. Usually the facility will provide the chairs for the players
Tournament Director - The tournament director will be the main person in charge of your event. He will set the blinds and chip amounts to make sure the event ends on time. He is also in charge of moving players and breaking down tables until the final table is reached at which time he will announce the action to spectators until a winner is determined. Tournament directors should employ the rules developed by the Tournament Directors Association. These rules are used in many big buy-in professional events so that your event is run to the same standards as a televised poker tournament.
Dealers - Dealers should be professionally attired in tuxedo shirts and bow ties. Tournament dealers are usually well trained to ensure your event runs smoothly and all of your guests have a great time. They also will assist novice players by clearly explaining rules and procedures.
Tournament Software - Most companies employ tournament software to track play and blind levels as well as to keep the tournament clock. You may consider providing a projection system for larger events to display the event information onto a screen to keep all players and guests informed about the progress of play.
Accessories - All of the chips, cards and other accessories needed to run a tournament.