A Tournament Director alternative that runs in the browser
MyPokerCaptain is a web-based alternative to The Tournament Director: it runs a poker tournament from the browser of a Mac, a PC, a tablet or a phone, and keeps working without internet. You keep the clock, table seating and balancing, payouts and a points league; you lose limit and pot-limit variants, and importing Tournament Director files isn't available yet.
Publishers' facts checked on their websites on 30 September 2026
At a glance
| Criterion | The Tournament Director | MyPokerCaptain |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Personal licence $49.99, doesn't expire for version 3; commercial licence $299.99 a year; 30-day trial | Free for 1 tournament of 9 players; Home Games €7.99, Club €12.99, Casino €47.99 a month; 14-day trial, no credit card |
| Platforms | Windows 10 and 11 only; no Mac version | Web browser on computer, tablet and phone, Windows or Mac; installable as an app from Chrome and Edge |
| Computers and accounts | Personal licence: 3 PCs owned by the licence holder, one event at a time; commercial licence: a single PC | Any of the club's devices; the plan does not limit the number of director accounts |
| Offline | Yes, after online activation; the licence revalidates online every 30 to 120 days or so | Yes: the clock, eliminations and cash desk keep working without a network; the first opening needs a connection |
| Tables and seating | Yes: automatic seating and suggested moves to keep tables balanced | Table seating and balancing (Home Games plan and up), up to 1,200 players |
| Online registration | Not documented on the publisher's website | Planned: registration from the club's Wix website |
| League | Yes: points formulas, and free online league tracking | Yes (Club plan): three points systems, best-results-only if you choose |
| French | English officially; French translations shared by users, sometimes incomplete | Yes, natively; ten other languages |
Why look for an alternative
Three situations push tournament directors to look beyond Tournament Director:
- The device. The club runs games on a Mac, a tablet, or on whoever’s laptop is running tonight. Tournament Director only runs on Windows.
- Several directors. Volunteers take turns from one night to the next. Tournament Director’s commercial licence installs on a single PC, the personal licence on three of the holder’s PCs.
- Language. The club wants software in its own language. Tournament Director is in English, with user translations; MyPokerCaptain comes in eleven languages.
What you keep
MyPokerCaptain covers what a director expects from Tournament Director for a hold’em tournament:
- the clock and blind structure, with breaks and color-ups;
- players, rebuys and add-ons;
- table seating and balancing, up to 1,200 players;
- payouts, with the club or festival structure;
- the league, with standings recalculated after every tournament;
- working without internet.
What changes
- The browser replaces installation. Nothing to install; on a computer, Chrome and Edge can also install MyPokerCaptain as an app.
- A subscription replaces the licence. Free for a 9-player tournament, then €7.99 (Home Games), €12.99 (Club) or €47.99 (Casino) a month, instead of $49.99 once or $299.99 a year.
- No game variants. Structures are made of blinds and antes: no limit or pot-limit.
- No import yet. Tournament Director files can’t be imported yet; importing is planned.
Switching from Tournament Director to MyPokerCaptain
- Create an account. The free plan is enough to try it; paid plans come with a 14-day trial and no credit card.
- Recreate your structure level by level, or work one out with the blind structure calculator.
- Enter the club’s members once: after that, they are picked from the list for every tournament.
- Run a tournament alongside Tournament Director before switching over: it is the safest way to check nothing is missing.
The detailed comparison goes through what each one does better, criterion by criterion.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a web-based alternative to Tournament Director that works offline?
Yes: MyPokerCaptain opens in the browser and keeps working without internet. The clock, eliminations and cash desk run without a network, and the app reopens offline once it has been opened online on the device. Everything syncs when the connection returns.
Is there a Tournament Director alternative for Mac?
Yes. MyPokerCaptain runs in the browser on a Mac, with nothing to install, just as it does on a PC, a tablet or a phone. According to its publisher, The Tournament Director only runs on Windows.
Is there a free alternative to Tournament Director?
MyPokerCaptain has a free plan, with no time limit, for a 9-player, one-table tournament. Bigger tournaments need a paid plan, from €7.99 to €47.99 a month, with a 14-day trial and no credit card.
Can I bring over my Tournament Director structures and league?
Not automatically for now: importing Tournament Director files is planned, with no date announced. A structure can be recreated level by level in MyPokerCaptain; a league starts again from the next season, with the points system of your choice.