Financial Analyst & Tournament Strategy Consultant
Planning a home game or a local tournament? Our poker payout calculator helps you instantly determine the exact prize distribution for any prize pool, ensuring a fair and professional structure for all winners.
Poker Payout Calculator
poker payout calculator Formula
Payout for rank $i$ is calculated using a geometric decay series:
P_i = T \times \frac{(1 - r)r^{i-1}}{1 - r^n}
Source: Tournament Rules & Standards | Wikipedia Poker Tournaments
Variables:
- T (Total Prize Pool): The total amount of money available to be distributed among winners.
- n (Places Paid): Total number of players who will receive a cash prize.
- r (Decay Ratio): A factor (usually 0.6 to 0.9) that determines how much “steeper” 1st place is compared to others.
- i (Rank): The finishing position of the player.
Related Calculators
What is a Poker Payout Calculator?
A poker payout calculator is a mathematical tool used by tournament directors and home-game organizers to divide a prize pool among players. Instead of guessing percentages, it uses logarithmic or geometric curves to ensure that the gap between 1st and 2nd place is significant, while 10th place still receives a meaningful return on their buy-in.
Proper payout structures prevent “top-heavy” variances that can discourage players and ensure that finishing deeper in the money is always rewarded appropriately relative to the field size.
How to Calculate Poker Payout (Example)
- Determine the Total Prize Pool (e.g., $1,000).
- Decide on Places Paid (Standard is roughly 10-15% of the field).
- Choose a Decay Rate (e.g., 0.75 for a balanced payout).
- Apply the geometric formula to find the percentage share for each rank.
- Normalize the values so the sum of all payouts equals exactly 100% of the pool.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the standard payout percentage for 1st place? Usually, 1st place takes between 25% and 40% of the total prize pool, depending on the number of entrants.
How many players should get paid in a tournament? A common industry standard is to pay the top 10% to 15% of the total field size.
Why use a poker payout calculator instead of a flat split? Geometric payouts reward the highest skill levels (finishing 1st) and maintain the competitive integrity of the tournament format.
Can I use this for “Winner Take All”? Yes, simply set the “Places Paid” variable to 1.