Poker Tournament Payout Calculator
A tournament's payouts are its prize pool (all buy-ins, rebuys and add-ons) split by finishing place. Home games usually pay the top 15–20% of the field, often 65/35 for two places and 50/30/20 for three. Enter your tournament below for the prize pool and every payout, rounded so they add up exactly.
Updated By the PokerLog team at MoneySense Labs
Standard pays 20% of the field by default (up to 50 places). Bounties come out of each buy-in and are paid per knockout.
Prize pool
$200
Places paid
2
| Place | Share | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 65% | $130 |
| 2nd | 35% | $70 |
1. Payout structures by field size
The calculator's standard structure pays 20% of the field (rounded). For one to three places it uses the common splits (100%, 65/35, 50/30/20). For four or more, each place gets a share in proportion to 1 ÷ its finishing position: 1st gets twice what 2nd gets and three times what 3rd gets.
| Entrants | Places paid | Payouts (% of prize pool) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | 1st 100% |
| 10 | 2 | 1st 65% · 2nd 35% |
| 15 | 3 | 1st 50% · 2nd 30% · 3rd 20% |
| 20 | 4 | 1st 48% · 2nd 24% · 3rd 16% · 4th 12% |
| 30 | 6 | 1st 40.8% · 2nd 20.4% · 3rd 13.6% · 4th 10.2% · 5th 8.2% · 6th 6.8% |
| 40 | 8 | 1st 36.8% · 2nd 18.4% · 3rd 12.3% · 4th 9.2% · 5th 7.4% · 6th 6.1% · 7th 5.3% · 8th 4.6% |
| 50 | 10 | 1st 34.1% · 2nd 17.1% · 3rd 11.4% · 4th 8.5% · 5th 6.8% · 6th 5.7% · 7th 4.9% · 8th 4.3% · 9th 3.8% · 10th 3.4% |
Example: 20 players at $50 make a $1,000 prize pool. Four places paid gives 1st $480, 2nd $240, 3rd $160, 4th $120.
2. How many places to pay
There's no fixed rule, only a trade-off: paying more places keeps more players happy, paying fewer makes the top prizes worth playing for. Home games and leagues tend to land around 15–20% of the field. Three checks help:
- The last paid place should get at least the buy-in back. The calculator warns you when it doesn't.
- Each place should pay more than the one below it.
- Announce the payouts before the first hand, along with how many places are paid. Changing them mid-game causes arguments.
Default places paid by field size: 5 entrants → 1, 8 entrants → 2, 13 entrants → 3, 18 entrants → 4, 23 entrants → 5, 28 entrants → 6.
3. Rebuys, add-ons, bounties and tips
- Rebuys and add-ons go into the prize pool in full. Enter how many were bought and their price.
- Bounties come out of each buy-in and are paid to whoever knocks that player out, so they're not part of the prize pool.
- A dealer tip, if your game has a dealer, is taken off the top as a percentage of the prize pool before the payouts.
A host shouldn't keep a cut of the buy-ins: in many places a home game that takes a rake is no longer treated as a social game. See the note on the law in the hosting guide.
4. Deals and ICM in one paragraph
When a few players are left and want to stop, they can agree to split the remaining prize money. Splitting by chip count alone overpays the chip leader, because first place is capped at the top prize. The Independent Chip Model (ICM) instead estimates each player's chance of finishing in every paid place from the stack sizes and converts that into a fair share of the money left. Any deal needs every remaining player to agree.
5. FAQ
How do you calculate poker tournament payouts?
Add up the prize pool (entries plus rebuys and add-ons, minus any bounty part and dealer tip), decide how many places to pay, and give each place a percentage of the pool. For example, 20 players at $50 make a $1,000 pool; paying 4 places with this calculator's standard structure gives $480, $240, $160 and $120.
How many places should a poker tournament pay?
Home games and leagues usually pay somewhere around 15–20% of the field, rounded: 1 place for up to 7 players, 2 for 8 to 12, 3 for 13 to 17 and so on. This calculator defaults to 20% of the field. Paying more places spreads the money thinner, so check that the last paid place at least gets the buy-in back.
What is a standard payout for 3 places?
50/30/20 is the most common split for three places: half the prize pool to first, 30% to second and 20% to third. For two places, 65/35 is common; some games use 70/30.
What is ICM in poker?
ICM (the Independent Chip Model) converts chip stacks into a share of the remaining prize money, based on each player's chance of finishing in each paid place. It's what players use to work out a fair deal when they agree to split the prize pool before the tournament ends.
How do bounties work in a home tournament?
Part of each buy-in is set aside as a bounty on that player. Whoever knocks a player out collects their bounty on the spot, and the rest of the buy-in goes into the prize pool. With a $30 buy-in and a $10 bounty, $20 per player goes into the pool.
Sources
Home game tools
How to Host a Poker Night →
Checklist, buy-ins, house rules and the order of the night.
Chip Calculator →
Chip values and how many of each color per player.
Blind Timer →
Free tournament clock with Standard, Turbo and Deep Stack presets.
Settle-Up Calculator →
Who owes who after a cash game, in the fewest payments.