Description
A Texas Hold'em Poker tournament is usually broken up into "Levels", with each level having a prescribed duration and small and big blind. Players need to be kept informed of the current level, the levels remaining time and the value of the small and big blinds.
As levels progress, the blinds get progressively bigger encouraging players to bet big and either win or drop out of the tournament.
Most tournaments provide the facility to stop play (and the countdown clock) and take a break - tournaments can last hours! It's important that when gameplay restarts, the clock can be restarted at the stopped time allowing the tournament to continue.
If a player loses all their chips they are out of the tournament, but some tournaments allow players to re-buy in requiring them to give more money to re-join the game, some tournaments do not allow this. If it's allowed, there is usually a last level where players can re-buy into the tournament.
Finally, as game play progresses and blinds increase in value, lower tournament chips are no longer needed, so players are encouraged to cash-in low denomination chips when possible.
When only one player is left the tournament is over, if the levels run out and more than one player is left the pot is divided.
The THT (Texas Holdem Tournament) Assistant application will display and announce to players, the length of each level (in minutes), and countdown the levels time remaining to 0. The application will also display and announce the levels small and big blinds.
Thirty Seconds before the level ends, the application will announce the blinds are about to change.
In addition, the application will also tell players, when they start playing the last level they can re-buy-in, and will pause the game at the level when they should cash in lower denomination chips.