Poker Tournament Payout Calculator
Enter the players, the buy-in, any rebuys and add-ons, and how many places you pay, and the calculator splits the prize pool to the dollar, with rounding that always adds back up to the full pool. A common home split is 50/30/20: a $200 pool pays $100, $60 and $40. Free, no signup.
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Prize pool: $160.00
Scroll table horizontally →
| Place | Split | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50% | $80.00 |
| 2 | 30% | $48.00 |
| 3 | 20% | $32.00 |
Total split: $160.00. Any remainder below $1 is included in first prize.
How to use the results calculator
Enter the number of players who paid an initial buy-in and the amount each contributed to prizes. Enter the total number of rebuys across the whole field, not just the number of players who rebought. If your game allows add-ons, record those separately because their price may differ from a rebuy. Check the total against the amount actually collected before announcing who gets what.
Choose one to five paid places, then use a preset or enter a custom percentage split. A winner-take-all event uses one place. A three-place preset gives 50%, 30%, and 20% to first, second, and third. Select dollar rounding for exact amounts, or five-dollar rounding when the group prefers round numbers. The allocation keeps the full prize pool intact.
Worked example: eight players and two rebuys
Eight players paying $20 create $160. Two $20 rebuys add $40, making a $200 pool. With the three-place 50/30/20 preset, prizes are $100, $60, and $40. Adding four $10 add-ons makes the pool $240: the unrounded shares become $120, $72, and $48. Five-dollar rounding then allocates the available units while preserving the total.
Agree the rules before dealing
Publish the paid places and percentages at the start, including whether late entries, rebuys, and add-ons increase the pool. Do not change the split after players see their finishing position unless everyone affected agrees. This tool plans prize amounts; it does not collect entry fees, process payments, or settle a dispute about who finished where.
Use the home tournament setup guide for the complete checklist, the blind structure builder for levels, or the cash-game settlement calculator when chips represent money rather than tournament survival.
How do poker tournament payouts work?
The prize pool includes each buy-in, rebuy and add-on that your rules direct to prizes. Agree before the first hand how many places get paid—about one in four or five entrants is a useful home-game starting point—and what percentage each place receives. More paid places spread the money further; fewer make first place larger. Decide whether rebuys and add-ons increase the pool and tell everyone the split before play begins. The chart below shows common home-game percentages, while the calculator above applies your chosen split to the actual pool. It rounds individual prizes and keeps their total equal to the money collected.
Poker tournament payout chart
Common home-game splits by field size. They're starting points; your group can agree on any split before play.
Scroll table horizontally →
| Entrants | Places paid | Split | Example: $20 buy-in, $1 rounding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2–4 | 1 | 100% | 4 players: $80 |
| 5–7 | 2 | 65 / 35 | 6 players: $78 / $42 |
| 8–10 | 3 | 50 / 30 / 20 | 10 players: $100 / $60 / $40 |
| 11–20 | 4 | 45 / 27 / 18 / 10 | 16 players: $144 / $86 / $58 / $32 |
| 21–30 | 5 | 40 / 25 / 16 / 11 / 8 | 24 players: $192 / $120 / $77 / $53 / $38 |
2–4
- Places paid
- 1
- Split
- 100%
- Example: $20 buy-in, $1 rounding
- 4 players: $80
5–7
- Places paid
- 2
- Split
- 65 / 35
- Example: $20 buy-in, $1 rounding
- 6 players: $78 / $42
8–10
- Places paid
- 3
- Split
- 50 / 30 / 20
- Example: $20 buy-in, $1 rounding
- 10 players: $100 / $60 / $40
11–20
- Places paid
- 4
- Split
- 45 / 27 / 18 / 10
- Example: $20 buy-in, $1 rounding
- 16 players: $144 / $86 / $58 / $32
21–30
- Places paid
- 5
- Split
- 40 / 25 / 16 / 11 / 8
- Example: $20 buy-in, $1 rounding
- 24 players: $192 / $120 / $77 / $53 / $38
Rebuys and add-ons go into the pool before you split it. If 10 players also make four $20 rebuys, the pool is $280 and 50/30/20 pays $140, $84 and $56.
How many places should you pay?
Paying about one player in four or five keeps the prize for winning meaningful while giving more of the table something to play for. Fewer places paid means a bigger first prize; more places paid means more players finish with something. Decide it, along with whether rebuys grow the pool, before the cards come out.
Payouts vs cash game settlement
A tournament pays by finishing place; chips have no cash value. A cash game pays by chip value: each player cashes out what their chips are worth. For a cash game, use the poker settlement calculator.
Related: how to calculate poker payouts step by step, set the levels with the poker blinds calculator, or follow the home poker tournament setup checklist.
Next steps
Track it while you play. Settle it when you finish.
If you run a regular home cash game, the calculation is only one part of the job. HG Poker keeps buy-ins and rebuys together while you play, guides the final chip count, and saves the result for next time. Start free and see your current allowance in the app.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate a poker tournament prize pool?+
Multiply entries by the prize-pool portion of the buy-in, then add all rebuy and add-on contributions. Do not include a separately agreed hosting fee. This calculator assumes every dollar entered goes into prizes; it does not deduct fees or move money.
How many places should a home tournament pay?+
For a small single-table game, two or three paid places are common starting points. A larger field may prefer four or five. Agree the number of places and percentages before play; the presets are examples, not official tournament rules.
What happens when prizes do not round evenly?+
The calculator allocates whole $1 or $5 units using the largest fractional remainders. Any remaining amount smaller than that unit goes to first place, so the amounts always equal the entire pool. First prize may therefore not be a multiple of the rounding unit.
Can I enter a custom split?+
Yes. Select Custom and enter one percentage per paid place, separated by commas. The count must match the selected places, and the percentages must total 100. Use nonnegative values and check that your group agrees to the resulting prize amounts.
Is this a cash-game settlement calculator?+
No. Tournament prizes reward finishing positions. Cash-game settlement compares each player’s buy-ins with their final chip value. Use our settlement calculator for who owes whom after a cash game; tournament chips do not have a cash-out value during play.
What is the typical payout structure for a home poker tournament?+
Pay about the top 20% to 30% of the field. A common single-table split is 50/30/20 for three places; with 11 to 20 players, 45/27/18/10 for four places is typical. Agree the split before the first hand.
How do you split a $200 prize pool three ways?+
With a 50/30/20 split, first gets $100, second $60 and third $40. That's 10 players at $20, or 8 players at $20 plus two $20 rebuys.
Can the last players agree to chop the prize pool?+
Yes, if everyone left agrees. An even chop splits the remaining prizes equally; a chip-count chop splits them in proportion to stacks. This calculator splits by finishing place and doesn't calculate ICM deals.