amount of chips

[kobeman]

i generally hold single table tournaments with my friends. There are usually about five or six people to start. I have over 400 chips readily available and more if i needed them but generally we play starting with about 40 chips/person. We start blinds at one-two.

I find that at times i find that after playing maybe one or two hands, if i don't win, half of my stack or more is gone. So here's my question: Are we starting with too few chips? Are blinds too high? (if so i wouldn't know how to make them any lower) Or am i just betting too big and getting too much action on losing hands?

[cferejohn]

20x the BB is not much of a stack. If you play a couple hands strongly (and at these blind levels, you should be playing pretty much any hand you are going to play pretty strongly), and lose them, you will inevitably be out or close to it. On the bright side, the tournaments should be fairly short and you can start another one once there is a winner. If you want them to last longer, start with more chips...

[ThaSaltCracka]

need more chips to start, I would double the amount

[ZManODS]

40 chips per person is nothing. Buy more chips and have different values for them.