Shootout opinions sought

Muddguts

This Saturday my group of friends are having our trophy tournament. We switch up the format each time and this time it's going to be a shootout. 4 tables of 4 players each. You must win your table in order to advance to the final table of 4.

My question to you seasoned poker personalities is this; when the final table is established, do you think we should reset the clock and reset our chip counts and start fresh or do you think we should carry our chip stacks and continue with the clock and blinds the way they are after the last table breaks up? My one concern is that there is always a possibility of the last table taking a long time to finish and that by the time you get to the FT, blinds will be so big that it will take the skill out of the game and just become a one move game, a bingo.

With 16 players, I was going to keep it to just pay 3 and have one person at the final table bubble. Do you think that's fair or do you think that each of the 4 "winners" ought to be rewarded, even if 4th just means money back?

opinions, tips, suggestions and critiques por favour

schabs

make the blinds longer like 30 min

i dont have a problem paying top 3 sounds legit

just cuz you win a table on an online shootout doesnt mean you win anything so why make it any different.

moose

I would carry the chips forward since everyone will have the same amount but reset the blinds so that you have the same starting # of BB's or even slightly higher. ie if round one starts with 50 BB for each player, start round 2 with 50 BB (or more) for each player but a bigger starting stack. It will provide a better 'feel' for the final table even though the chip stack relative to the blinds will be the same.

BuyinBank

When we ran these, we would have players bring their stacks to the final table as is (unless the chips were needed for cash games) and alter the blind structure based on how much play you want for the final showdown.

Also, with 16 players in a shootout format, I would always suggest paying out 4 spots: Something like 45:30:15:10

djgolfcan

I like the idea of the final four getting paid something. 45:30:15:10 seems like a good split.
I agree with Moose that the blinds would need to be reset for the final table as each table in the first round will finish at different times.

Muddguts

thanks for suggestions so far. I'm glad I wasn't far off base with the clock resetting issue. A couple more people have been added, so we're definitely paying the top 4.
IF, it gets to 20, would you still pay 4 or bump it to 5. There would be 5 at the FT if 20 show up

Muddguts

4 handed, blinds come around quick. Would 100 BB to start the tourney be too big?

BuyinBank

I like a 5 way payout of something like 40:24:16:12:8, just so that everyone who final tables gets something for their efforts.

100BB should be fine depending on the structure.