10-player home game
10 entries at $20 · $200 prize pool · paid places: 3 (30% of the field)
| Place | Share | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 55.0% | $110 |
| 2nd | 27.0% | $54 |
| 3rd | 18.0% | $36 |
| Total | 100.0% | $200 |
Free tool
Poker tournament payout calculator
Enter the number of entries, the buy-in and the rake: the calculator gives your poker tournament's prize pool, how many places are paid and what each one wins, rounded the way you want. It uses the same calculation as the Payout screen in MyPokerCaptain. It is free and needs no account.
Prize pool split
- Prize pool
- $400
- Paid places
- 7 (35% of the field)
- Winner
- $157
- Bubble
- 8th place
- Collected
- $400
- House rake
- $0
| Place | Share | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 39.3% | $157 |
| 2nd | 19.3% | $77 |
| 3rd | 12.8% | $51 |
| 4th | 9.5% | $38 |
| 5th | 7.5% | $30 |
| 6th | 6.3% | $25 |
| 7th | 5.5% | $22 |
| Total | 100.0% | $400 |
How the calculation works
The calculator follows four steps, the same ones as the Payout screen in MyPokerCaptain.
- The prize pool. Each entry adds its buy-in minus rake; each rebuy and add-on adds its full price; added money — a guarantee or a sponsor’s contribution — comes on top. The amount collected is what went through the cash box, rake included.
- Paid places. The club structure pays a third of the field and the festival structure 15%, rounded to the nearest whole number, and always at least one place. You can also set the number of places yourself.
- Each place’s share. It falls with the inverse of the rank: second place is worth half of first, third a third, tenth a tenth. The shares are scaled to 100% of the prize pool.
- Rounding. Each payout is rounded down to the step you choose, and the remainder goes to the winner. The payouts add up to exactly the prize pool.
Club or festival structure
The club structure pays a third of the field: it suits club nights, where you want one player in three to leave with something. The festival structure pays 15% of the field, with heavier payouts at the top: it is the shape of big tournaments, where finishing thirtieth isn’t a result.
| Players | Paid places, club | Paid places, festival |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 3 | 2 |
| 20 | 7 | 3 |
| 30 | 10 | 5 |
| 50 | 17 | 8 |
| 100 | 33 | 15 |
| 200 | 66 | 30 |
Both structures share the same curve: only the number of paid places changes.
Reading the payouts
The bubble is the first unpaid place: the player who finishes there leaves with nothing. Collected is what the club took in, rake included; House rake is what it keeps. The table’s total always equals the prize pool.
To prepare the rest of the night, the chip calculator makes up each player’s starting stack, and the blind structure calculator gives the levels.
Example payouts
Club tournament with rake and rebuys
40 entries at $30 · $1,300 prize pool · paid places: 13 (33% of the field)
| Place | Share | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 31.8% | $413 |
| 2nd | 15.7% | $204 |
| 3rd | 10.5% | $136 |
| 4th | 7.9% | $102 |
| 5th | 6.2% | $81 |
| 6th | 5.2% | $68 |
| 7th | 4.5% | $58 |
| 8th | 3.9% | $51 |
| 9th | 3.5% | $45 |
| 10th | 3.1% | $40 |
| 11th | 2.9% | $37 |
| 12th | 2.6% | $34 |
| 13th | 2.4% | $31 |
| Total | 100.0% | $1,300 |
150-player festival, festival structure
150 entries at $100 · $13,500 prize pool · paid places: 23 (15% of the field)
| Place | Share | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 27.7% | $3,740 |
| 2nd | 13.3% | $1,800 |
| 3rd | 8.9% | $1,200 |
| 4th | 6.7% | $900 |
| 5th | 5.3% | $720 |
| 6th | 4.4% | $600 |
| 7th | 3.8% | $510 |
| 8th | 3.3% | $450 |
| 9th | 3.0% | $400 |
| 10th | 2.7% | $360 |
| 11th | 2.4% | $320 |
| 12th | 2.2% | $290 |
| 13th | 2.0% | $270 |
| 14th | 1.9% | $250 |
| 15th | 1.8% | $240 |
| 16th | 1.6% | $220 |
| 17th | 1.6% | $210 |
| 18th | 1.4% | $190 |
| 19th | 1.3% | $180 |
| 20th | 1.3% | $170 |
| 21st | 1.3% | $170 |
| 22nd | 1.2% | $160 |
| 23rd | 1.1% | $150 |
| Total | 100.0% | $13,500 |
Frequently asked questions
How do you split the prize pool of a poker tournament?
With two decisions: how many places are paid, then what share each one gets. In the club structure, a third of the field is paid and each place's share falls with the inverse of its rank: second place gets half of first, third place a third, before rounding. For 20 players at $20, the $400 prize pool pays 7 places: $157, $77, $51, $38, $30, $25 and $22.
How many places should a poker tournament pay?
The club structure pays a third of the field, rounded to the nearest whole number: 3 places for 10 players, 7 for 20, 17 for 50. The festival structure pays 15%: 3 places for 20 players, 15 for 100. Fewer paid places means bigger payouts at the top.
What percentage of the prize pool does the winner get?
It depends on how many places are paid. In the club structure, the winner takes 55% of the prize pool when 3 places are paid (10 players), and 39% when 7 places are paid (20 players). The longer the payout list, the smaller the winner's share.
Does the rake come out of the prize pool?
Yes, and only from entries. The buy-in is the price the player pays, rake included: for a $30 tournament with $5 rake, $25 per entry goes to the prize pool. Rebuys and add-ons go in full. That is the rule in this calculator and in MyPokerCaptain.
Why round the payouts?
So you can pay out in round notes. Each payout is rounded down to the step you choose — 1, 5 or 10 — and the remainder goes to the winner. The payouts always add up to exactly the prize pool, to the cent, so the cash box balances at the end of the night.
How do players split the remaining prize money at the final table?
With a deal, if every remaining player agrees. There are two methods: ICM, which estimates what each stack is worth in probability, and chip chop, which gives everyone the last remaining prize and then splits the rest in proportion to chips. This calculator doesn't do deals; MyPokerCaptain offers both methods at the final table.