Level Structure Setup

What It Does

The Level Structure Setup screen allows you to create and manage blind level templates for your tournaments. These reusable structures control how blinds increase throughout your event, including level timing, blind amounts, big blind antes, antes, breaks, and special instructions.

Who It's For

Tournament directors and poker room managers who design tournament structures and want to maintain consistent experiences across similar events.

Creating Level Structures

Accessing Level Structure

1. From the main CardOpz menu, click on the Tournament icon

2. Select "Level Structure" to access the level structure dashboard

Starting a New Structure

1. Click the "+" button in the top-right corner to create a new level structure

2. Enter a descriptive name in the Name field (e.g., "Bounty Structure", "Standard NLH", "Turbo PLO")

3. Click Save in the top-right corner to save your structure

Level Configuration Interface

The level configuration screen displays:

• Structure name field

• Number of levels field

• Action buttons: Add Break, Remove Level, Add Level

• Level configuration grid

• Time Total, Levels, and Breaks counters

• Save and Cancel buttons

Configuring Individual Levels

For each level, set:

• Time/Minutes: Duration of each level (typically 15-30 minutes)

• Game Type: Select the poker variant (No Limit Hold'em, PLO, Mixed Games, etc.)

• Color Up/Race-Off: Notes about chip color changes (if applicable)

• Ante: Fixed ante amount for the level

• Small Blind: Small blind amount

• Big Blind: Big blind amount

• Big Blind Ante: BB ante amount (if using BB ante format)

• Bring In: For stud games

• Completion: For mixed games

• Limit 1/Limit 2: For limit games

Adding Breaks

1. Click "Add Break"

2. Set break duration

3. Add any special notes (e.g., "Race Off 100's" or "Color Up")

4. Breaks appear in the level grid

5. Move break to appropriate position

Removing Elements

• To remove a level, select the level row and click "Remove Level"

• To remove a break, select the break row and click "Remove Level"

• To start over, click "Cancel" and begin again

Saving Your Structure

1. Review all levels for accuracy

2. Check the Time Total, which calculates the full tournament duration

3. Click "Save" to store your level structure

4. The structure will now be available when creating tournaments

Best Practices

Blind Progression

• Standard Progression: Typically 1.5x to 2x increase between levels

• Turbo Progression: 2x or greater increase between levels

• Deep Stack: Slower blind progression with more starting chips

Level Timing Examples

• Turbo: 10-15 minute levels

• Daily: 20-30 minute levels

• Deep Stack: 30-40 minute levels

Break Scheduling

• Add breaks as needed

  • Common to see breaks at the same interval i.e, every 3 levels

  • Breaks are usually placed based on duration of levels

• Break every 1 - 2 hours is common in most daily tournaments

• Late registration usually ends at the end of a break level

• Notate race off/color up clearly on level structure by listing the color or denomination being raced off/colored up

Structure Planning

• Consider your target tournament duration when designing

  • Smaller buy-in tournaments usually have a less generous structure compared to a tournament with a larger buy-in

• For multi-day events that change level duration for final day, ensure that you edit the correct structure before re-starting your event.

• Test new structures with simulations before implementation

• Keep structures consistent for similar buy-in and types of tournaments

Common Questions

How many levels should I include?

This will vary based on your field size, starting stack, desired end time, etc.,

When should I use Big Blind Ante format (BBA)?

BBA is very commonly used in most tournaments nowadays, however any questions like these should be decided internally based on internal procedures and desired outcome.

How do I accommodate mixed game tournaments?

Each level can be completely unique!

Can I modify a structure after it's been used in a tournament?

Yes, you can modify structures at anytime, although we recommend not doing it during a live event unless you have no other option.

Related Features

For more information on connecting your level structure to tournaments, see:

• Schedule Events

• Tournament Events

• Payout Structure Setup