GSI · Global Structure Index
FAQ
Understanding GSI
What is GSI?
GSI — Global Structure Index — is the world index dedicated to analyzing and rating live poker tournament structures.
What does GSI measure?
The structure itself, as published by the organiser — nine components, measured by a versioned engine under the same rules for every structure.
What does GSI not measure?
The casino, the organization, the field, the prize pool, the lived experience — and the buy-in: the price has no part in the rating.
Why are some tournaments not rated?
A structure must be complete and contain enough playing levels. Some variants (mixed games, special formats) appear in the agenda without a rating.
Scope and ties
These two tournaments show the same rating even though their structures differ. Why?
Because the GSI Score is measured on the first 20 playing levels, breaks excluded. If two structures are identical over those levels, everything GSI measures is identical — so the rating is identical, even if their grids diverge afterwards. That equality is deliberate: the same blind schedule must always produce the same rating.
Does the GSI Score measure the whole grid?
No. It measures the first 20 playing levels, breaks excluded, and nothing beyond. That is where depth of play is decided; what follows is played at stacks too short to tell one structure from another. We prefer to say it plainly rather than suggest a coverage we do not have.
How are two tournaments ranked when they are tied?
They share the same rank, and the ranks behind are consumed — exactly as in sport. Two structures tied in first place both rank first, nobody ranks second, and the next one ranks third. Splitting a genuine tie would mean inventing a difference we did not measure.
The GSI Score
How is it calculated?
By the GSI Intelligence Engine, from nine components of the structure. Exact formulas, weightings and thresholds remain proprietary.
Can a score change?
Only if the structure's data is corrected or completed. The engine is frozen and versioned.
What do the stars and labels mean?
A visual reading of the score: 7 stars with proportional fill, and a label from Turbo to Skill.
World Structure Award
What is the World Structure Award?
GSI's annual distinction rewarding the best structures of the year, awarded from published GSI Scores. No application, no fees: the ranking alone decides.
What does "Award Eligible" mean?
That the structure reaches the eligibility threshold for the current year's World Structure Award. It rates neither the festival, nor the casino, nor the organizer.
When is the Award given?
At the end of the year, based on the season's frozen scores. Results published on GSI.
Structures and corrections
How do I report an error on a structure?
By sending us the official published structure (URL, PDF or document). Every correction is verified at the source before recalculation.
Can an organizer pay to improve their score?
No. No commercial offer influences the calculation, the score or the ranking.