The configuration of a poker tournament can be complicated. Indeed, many parameters need to be taken into account:
- How long should the game last?
- How to calculate the prize pool?
- How to distribute the winnings fairly?
- How to distribute players across different tables?
- ...
Poker Tournament Assistant was created to make the life of the tournament director easier. Often, the tournament director, in addition to organizing the game, plays with other players. The goal for the TD is to free himself from administrative tasks so that he can focus as much as possible on his game. We will see how to efficiently configure a tournament, taking into account your specificities.
Create the Tournament
To create a tournament, go to the "Tournaments" menu from the top bar of the screen. Once the screen displaying the list of available tournaments is shown, simply click on the "Add a tournament" button located at the top right of the screen.
The tournament creation screen appears to let you enter the essential information for organizing your tournament. The screen is composed of 4 (3 in individual mode) input blocks that allow for a quick configuration of a tournament.
The only mandatory field to create a tournament is its name. The other elements can be configured later.
General Block
This block allows you to enter the name as well as the start date of the tournament and its estimated or desired end date. The date can be entered manually in the format DD/MM/YYYY HH:mm, or selected from the calendar that appears when clicking in the input area. By default, the proposed date is the current date. Only the name field is mandatory. The estimated end date currently has no impact on the use of PTA. It is simply information. This date will be used later to facilitate the configuration of the tournament structure.
Club Block
This block is only available in club mode. It allows you to attach the tournament to a season. Attaching to a season will allow PTA to manage player rankings across multiple tournaments. Creating a season is available from the "Club > Seasons" menu. Learn more...
(1) Allows you to define whether the tournament is included in a season or not. Example: You organize a tournament every week that counts for an annual ranking. This tournament must be included in a season (which will correspond to the current year). At the end of the year, you organize a final tournament among the best players of the year. This tournament does not count for the ranking, so it is "Off-season".
(2) If the tournament is included in a regular season, you must choose to define the season and possibly a phase. The phase allows you to divide a season into several mini-seasons (quarters or semesters, for example). This allows you to organize intermediate tournaments to determine a semi-annual or quarterly champion while having an overall annual ranking that includes the different phases.
The information in this block is optional and can be configured later. By default, a tournament is always considered as not being part of a season.
Logistics Block
This block allows you to define more precisely the location where the tournament will take place.
(1) If you have already configured a room, you can select it from the drop-down menu, and parameters 2, 3, and 4 will automatically update.
(2) Allows you to define the number of seats you set up per table. This allows for organizing short-track, for example, or a heads-up tournament. You are free to choose the mode that suits you best.
(3) The maximum number of tables will determine the number of players who can participate in the tournament. The value 0 indicates that there is no limit.
(4) The number of seats at the final table can be configured differently from the usual number of seats per table. For example, 17 players are registered for the tournament. You can either set the number of seats per table to 9 and the number of seats per table at the final table also to 9. In this case, at the start of the tournament, two tables will be open. As soon as there are only 9 players left, the players will be at the final table. You can also set 6 players per table and a final table to 9. In this case, 3 tables will be open at the start of the game, and when there are only 9 players left, they will be grouped at the final table.
Configuration Block
This block quickly allows you to configure the essential parameters to start a game. It will be usable as soon as you have created structure, prize-pool, and chip case templates. Simply choose the models that suit you from the drop-down menus 1, 2, and 3 in this block.
You can also, in this block, define the starting stack amount (4) for players and the amount of additional chips granted to "bounty" players (5)."