Guide · 4 min read
What to put on a pool tournament flyer
Most tournament posters fail for one reason: they do not say what it costs or when it starts.
The six things it must say
- The day and the time it starts. "Tuesdays, sign up 7:30, first break 8:00." Both numbers, because they are different.
- The buy-in. In large type. The most common reason somebody does not enter is that they do not know whether it is five dollars or fifty.
- What they can win. "Winner takes the pot — usually $80–120" is far better than "cash prizes".
- The format, in one line. "Three strikes — one shot each, three misses and you're out." That is enough for anyone to decide.
- That beginners are welcome, if they are. Say it explicitly; people assume otherwise.
- Where to sign up. "At the bar" is fine. Silence is not.
What to leave off
The full ruleset. Nobody reads it on a poster and it makes the night look complicated. Explain the rules on the night, in twenty seconds, out loud.
Stock photography of somebody in a waistcoat lining up a shot. Everybody knows what pool looks like.
A QR code to a Facebook event. If you must have a QR code, point it at something immediately useful — the standings, or the rules.
Where to put it
At the table. The people most likely to enter are already standing there with a cue in their hand. A poster by the front door reaches people on their way out.
Second best: the back of the toilet door. Genuinely. It is the only poster in the building with a captive audience.
Third: behind the bar at eye level, where someone waiting to be served will read anything.
The one that works all week
If you run a league, the single most effective poster is not a poster — it is the standings, on a screen behind the bar, all week. People check whether they are still third. That does more for turnout than any amount of design.