Poker tournament clock for your home game
Updated: Diese Seite auf Deutsch
Contents: 7 sections
The tournament clock shows the current blinds, the forced bets at the start of every hand, in large type. It counts down the time of each level and plays a sound when the next one starts. It is free and runs in your browser, with no account and no app.
Pick the starting stack and the speed below, press Start and put the laptop where everyone can see it. The table of blind levels under the clock shows every level, the current one is marked.
Level 1 of 12
Break in 80 min
Small blind / big blind
5 / 10
20:00
Next: 10 / 20
Rebuys until the break
The clock runs in your browser. Keep this page open.
Blind levels
| Level | Small blind / big blind | Starts after |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 / 10 | 0:00 |
| 2 | 10 / 20 | 0:20 |
| 3 | 15 / 30 | 0:40 |
| 4 | 25 / 50 | 1:00 |
| Break, 10 minutes | ||
| 5 | 50 / 100 | 1:30 |
| 6 | 75 / 150 | 1:50 |
| 7 | 100 / 200 | 2:10 |
| 8 | 150 / 300 | 2:30 |
| Break, 10 minutes | ||
| 9 | 200 / 400 | 3:00 |
| 10 | 300 / 600 | 3:20 |
| 11 | 400 / 800 | 3:40 |
| 12 | 500 / 1,000 | 4:00 |
How to use the clock
- Start and Pause: the big button in the middle. The clock runs until you pause it. “Resume” carries on at the same point.
- Back and Next: left and right of it. They jump one level back or forward, each with the full time.
- Sound: top left. When it is on, the button is white. There are three tones when a new level starts, two lower ones for a break and one short tone a minute before the change. When you turn the sound on, you hear it once as a test, so you can set the volume first.
- Fullscreen: top right. Just the clock, large across the whole screen. Press Esc to get back.
- Restart: at the bottom of the settings, back to level 1 with the full time. Once the last level is over, “Restart” is on the big button.
The templates
All three templates use the blinds from our table for a poker night at home: twelve levels from 5/10 to 500/1,000, breaks after levels 4 and 8. They only differ in the time per level.
| Template | Time per level | Level 12 starts after |
|---|---|---|
| Fast | 15 minutes | 3:05 |
| Normal | 20 minutes | 4:00 |
| Relaxed | 30 minutes | 5:50 |
The times include the two breaks of ten minutes each. If you pick 2,000, 5,000 or 10,000 starting chips, the clock scales every level: with 5,000 the blinds start at 25 and 50. The chip calculator works out how to split your chips for that.
When the blinds go up
The blinds go up so the tournament comes to an end. The bigger they get compared to the chips, the sooner everyone has to take a risk. With 20 minutes per level, one round of blinds costs almost a whole starting stack after a little over three hours. Then it ends quickly.
How fast you play is up to you. If someone arrives late, a slow template helps: they miss less.
Breaks and coloring up
During a break the clock shows how long it still lasts and which blinds come next. The first break is a good moment for coloring up: small chips you no longer need for the blinds get swapped for bigger ones. How that works is under poker chip values.
Rebuys: getting back in
A rebuy means: whoever has lost all their chips gets a new starting stack and keeps playing. With us it costs nothing, the chips come from the case. Whether you allow it and until when, you agree before the first deal.
Our suggestion: once per player, until the first break. Whoever loses all their chips before then buys back in with a new starting stack at the latest during the break. After that it is hardly worth it: from level 5 on, 1,000 chips are only ten big blinds. Anyone who arrives late also joins with a full starting stack until the first break.
Under “Settings”, the “Rebuys” menu lets you choose between “No rebuys”, “Until the first break” and “Until the second break”. The small “i” next to it explains it briefly. The clock then shows under the blinds whether a rebuy is still allowed. The chip calculator works out how many more starting stacks your case has for that.
Your own blinds
If you play with other chips or other levels, enter them yourself. “Edit blinds” turns the table into input fields: small blind, big blind and a checkbox for a break after the level. “Add a level” adds a level about one and a half times as high as the last one.
The clock remembers your blinds in the browser on this device. With “Share link” you send the starting stack and the speed to others; your own blinds and where the clock is do not travel with the link.
Who posts which blind and how a hand plays out is in the poker rules. Which hand wins at the showdown is in the poker hand rankings.
Questions and answers
How often should the blinds go up?
We use every 20 minutes. With 1,000 starting chips, one round of blinds then costs almost a whole starting stack after a little over three hours. If you want to finish earlier, use 15 minutes per level, for a long night 30.
How high are the blinds at the start?
The big blind is one hundredth of the starting stack, so 10 with 1,000 chips, and the small blind is 5. That gives everyone 100 big blinds.
Does the clock keep running if I reload the page?
Yes. The clock works with the time on your device and saves where it is in your browser. After a reload it carries on at the same point. The sound comes back as soon as you click on the page once.
Does the screen stay on?
While the clock is running, it asks your browser to keep the screen on. Whether that worked is shown under the buttons. If not, set your screen lock to a longer time for the night.
Until when can a player buy back in?
You agree on that before you start. Our suggestion: once per player until the first break, with a new starting stack from the case. The clock shows under the blinds whether a rebuy is still allowed.
Can I enter my own blinds?
Yes. Under “Edit blinds” you enter every level yourself, add levels and choose after which level a break comes. The clock remembers this in your browser.