Tournament Payout Calculator

The single biggest factor is how many people are playing. A rough rule of thumb is to pay roughly the top 10–15% of the field, rounded to something sensible for a home game.

• Small games (2–10): pay the top 3. Paying more than that leaves too little for the winner to feel worth it.
• Medium games (11–30): pay 4–5 places. This keeps more people invested late without watering down first prize.
• Larger games (30+): pay the full final table (8–9 places), so "making the final table" becomes a goal in itself.

The other choice is shape. A top-heavy structure (like 50/25/15/10) rewards winning and keeps the night competitive. A flatter structure (like 40/25/20/10/5) spreads the money, lets more players cash, and reduces the temptation to cut a deal. There's no single right answer — pick the shape that fits your group's vibe.

Occasionally two players bust on the same hand. There are two fair ways to rank them:

• Split the combined prize money for the two places involved, and divide it evenly. Simple and drama-free.
• Rank by starting chip count — whoever began the hand with more chips finishes higher.

For home games we recommend splitting the pot. It's the easiest to explain and avoids arguments about who had what. Whatever you choose, state the rule before the game starts.

A "chop" is when remaining players agree to split the prize pool instead of playing it out — often when the blinds are huge and the outcome feels like a coin flip. Chops are common and perfectly fine; they're the players' money to divide.

As the host, stay out of it. Let the players negotiate among themselves and only resume play once everyone agrees. Flatter structures lead to fewer chops (less is riding on first place); top-heavy structures make late-game deals more likely.

"Rake" at a home game usually means a small host fee to cover food, cards, or the venue — not profit. Common, reasonable amounts are $5–$10 per player or 5–10% of the pool. Use the rake toggle above to model any of these.

The key is transparency: announce the fee up front and take it off the top before computing payouts, so everyone knows exactly what they're playing for. Many hosts skip the rake entirely and just ask everyone to chip in for pizza — that's the "No rake" default here.

For reference, here's how the structures here compare to well-known events:

• Standard top 3 (50/30/20): the classic home-game split — clean and easy to remember.
• Balanced 5 (40/25/20/10/5): similar in spirit to mid-size online structures that pay ~15% of the field.
• Final table 9: WSOP-influenced, paying the full final table with a steep climb toward first — best for large fields and leagues.

When in doubt, start from the preset this calculator recommends for your player count, then adjust the shape to taste with the Custom option.