[kuniabow]

We usually have an 8 or 9 person NL tournament with a $1000 chip starting count. The guys I play with want a structure that ensures the tournament ends in 3 hours so the bust-outs aren't sitting around forever to see the end of the tournament. I don't necessarily share their viewpoint but I'm trying to strike some kind of a balance in a structure that allows some play but keeps things moving when it gets down to 3 or 4 players. I'd much rather come up with a solution to this issue than theirs which would probably be to give everyone about 30 chips and double the blinds from 1/2 on every round or every time someone busts out. I'd like to think we've progressed from this

We've played with the following structure:
T1000
10/20
15/30
20/40
25/50
50/100
75/150
100/200
150/300
with blinds at 20 min intervals for each level. Because we have a few maniacs, we usually have 3-4 guys gone by the 4th level and the blinds are still not that significant relative to the remaining players' stacks. Would it be sufficient to just shorten the intervals to 15 minutes for the first 4 levels and then to 10 the rest of the way? What about an ante? I hesitate to introduce an ante since it will probably complicate things a bit with this group. Would appreciate some suggestions. I'm also thinking about a re-buy maybe in the first 4 levels but don't want to add too much time to the duration. This is probably a bit selfish since the re-buys will be mostly the dead money maniacs that seem to bust early. Plus it provides some protection to the others who get caught in some ridiculous suck out from the aforementioned players/gamblers.

[Captn_All_In]

Well striking a balance is never easy!! You might want to start with 5/10, and 15min blinds, but then when you get down to 3 players shorten the rounds to 12. Also I would add an ante when you are down to 2.

This will be amazingly fast, but still leaves some room for skill.

Do you play with two decks of cards? It will allow you to see more hands per round which is always a good thing!

[omar]

I recently ended the rebuys for 2 reasons, one to shorten the game (we normally play twice in one night) and just because my personal feeloing is that if you bust out, you're out. But, I added a side cash game to keep the players that bust out occupied till the start of the next game. It's a little bit of a hassle since I had to get another table (have it currently on loan from Triple D) and the room I have is pretty tight with 2 tables, but the positives far outwiegh the negatives. Everyone loves the cash game.

As far as you blinds, yours are pretty standard, and the same ones we use. We use 15-20 minutes depending on the number of players (8-10 = 20 minutes; <8 = 15 minutes). Also we use 2 decks and encourage the dealer to control the table and facilitate prompt (but reaonable) pace of play.

[vrecksler]

There has been a great blind schedule/starting chip thread going on here that you should definitely check out.

[Frankenswat]

Look here: http://www.homepokertourney.com/blinds.htm