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Poker
Tournament Manager
from MB Hammond Group LLC
After
hosting over 50 home tournaments manually with
Excel and picking random cards for seat assignment,
Poker Tournament Manager has made my life easier.
Now, I am able to focus on my cards and let Poker
Tournament Manager calculate everything from
seat assignments to league point standings (deluxe
version). Setting up a tournament has never been
easier. I can actually play poker without having
to take care of all the annoying little things.
Tournament
Set-up
Poker
Tournament Manager has made setting up a tourney
easier. The only thing the program does not do
is assist in carrying the tables and chairs upstairs
to the game-room. Other than that, everything
else has been considered. The set-up is broken
down into a five step process.
1. ‘Basics’ – this screen allows
for the host to enter the name of the tourney,
the date, and the maximum players at each table.
2. ‘Buying in’ – here you input
the buy-in amount, house fees (if any), and the
total # of chips to start out with. In addition,
the host is able to allow re-buys and add-ons.
After inputting this data, the software calculates
what the estimated prize pot (estimated for re-buy
tourneys).
3. ‘Chips’ – this is a great
tool. Here you select which color chips to use
and assign a value to each color. After assigning
values, the host is able to input how many chips
(by color) each player will be allotted. After
inputting the number of chips each player gets,
the program calculates the total chip value. This
makes the chip counting process a breeze.
4. ‘Levels’ – Choosing your
blind schedule has never been easier. There are
three different methods in calculating the blinds.
First, fully automated based upon the length of
time the tourney should last. Second, semi-automated
which doubles the blinds each level after the
host enters the starting blind. Last, manually
adjust blinds after each blind increment is complete.
In my tourney, we used the fully automated method
with some manual modifications to the blind schedule.
This is done by clicking on the blind value and
inputting a new value (very easy).
5. ‘Payouts’ - again, very easy. It
allows fixed and percentage payouts and rounds.
This is the screen where you can assign league
points (deluxe version).
6. ‘Advanced’ – here you can
add graphics, pictures and custom messages. In
addition, the host can post tourney rules. Here
I have included the rules that are most forgotten,
like the raise rule.
After
you have entered all the data for your tournament,
you can print out a checklist that includes the
total number of chips needed and how many chips
to issue to each player. You then enter the data
for the players and optionally seat them automatically.
Consolidating/Moving Players
The host is able to move player manually or automatically
(players that have been moved are shown with the
">" sign next to their name). The
program will automatically notify you when the
tables need to be balanced. This is another feature
that allows the host to spend more time playing
and less time managing. Excellent system. In addition,
the host can manually reduce tables.
You can easily eliminate or rebuy/add-on players
by clicking the player name on the timer screen.
League Stats
The deluxe version allows for the host to post
league tournament results on a free Poker Tournament
Manager web page from within the program. You
can then email the link to your players to let
them know about the tournament results being posted.
Cost
The cost of The Poker
Tournament Manager is $29.95. The deluxe edition
is $59.95 and includes the Tournament Assistant
and league tracking capabilities.
Overall
The Poker Tournament Manager is an all inclusive
tournament manager and a very easy program to
use. The tournament set-up system is a very simple
step by step process, which makes set up so easy.
The tourney screens during play displays all pertinent
information (time left, chip legend and average
chip stack). For just $29.95 for this program
and $59.95 for the deluxe addition (adds tournament
assistant and league tracking) this program allows
the host to concentrate on the game and spend
less time dealing with managing the tourney. Of
course, the host still has to pay the prizes.
At a glance anyone can see where they stand at
any moment.
Poker
Tournament Manager Easily gets our PokerLizard
Seal of Approval , if you run home tournaments
it is a must have! Check it out at http://www.pokertournamentmanager.com
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