Split the prize pool fairly — enter the field and buy-in, choose the places paid, and get a top-heavy payout for every spot. No account needed.
Tournament payouts are top-heavy — the winner takes a big share and each place below drops off steeply, which is what makes a final table worth playing for. Most events pay about the top 10–15% of the field. For a friendly home game, paying fewer places (a bigger first prize) rewards winning; paying more places (a flatter curve) keeps more players in the money and happy. Adjust the places above to match your table.
The prize pool is simple maths — but only if you agree it up front. Set a fair, top-heavy split and there's nothing left to argue about.
Nothing sours a home game faster than a payout argument after the last hand. Agree the structure before cards are in the air and there's nothing to dispute: the prize pool is the buy-ins, the places paid are set, and each spot's share is fixed. This calculator turns your entrants and buy-in into an exact, top-heavy payout for every paid place — round numbers, totalling the pool to the dollar.
Payouts are deliberately top-heavy — winning should be worth far more than min-cashing, or there's little reason to play for first. Most tournaments pay roughly the top 10–15% of the field. For a casual game you can flatten it out and pay more places so more people leave happy; for a competitive one, pay fewer places and load the top. Slide the places paid until the curve feels right for your table, then lock it in with the blind timer and chip distribution for a fully-run event.
Enter the field and buy-in, set the places, read the split.
Put in how many players are entering and the buy-in each pays. Add a house fee percentage only if you're taking one — home games usually don't.
Start from the suggested number (about the top 15%) and adjust up for a flatter, friendlier split or down for a bigger first prize.
You get the total prize pool and the exact amount for each paid place, rounded to whole units and totalling the pool precisely.
Eighteen players, $20 each — a $360 prize pool. Paying the top three (about 15% of the field) gives a clean, top-heavy split: 50% / 30% / 20%, so $180 to the winner, $108 for second and $72 for third. It rewards the win without stinging third place, and the three payouts add back up to exactly $360. Want more players in the money? Bump it to four places and the winner's share drops to 40% while a fourth spot picks up 10% — flatter, friendlier, still top-heavy.
Verdict — $180 / $108 / $72, top-heavy and totalling the $360 pool exactlyFix Agree the structure before the first hand. Settling it up front removes every argument — the numbers are just maths, not a negotiation.
Fix A flat structure where everyone limps into a min-cash kills the incentive to win. Keep it top-heavy so first place is clearly worth playing for.
Fix Rounded percentages can leave you a dollar over or short. This tool fixes first place with the remainder so the payouts total the pool exactly.
Fix The pool is entrants × buy-in (minus any agreed fee). Confirm whether re-buys or add-ons are in play before you calculate — they change the total.
Total the prize pool (entrants × buy-in, minus any fee), decide how many places pay, then apply a top-heavy percentage to each spot. This tool does it automatically and rounds the amounts so they add back up to the pool exactly.
A common guideline is about the top 10–15% of the field. For a small home game that's often two or three spots. Pay fewer places for a bigger first prize, or more places for a flatter, friendlier split.
Top-heavy. For three places a typical split is 50/30/20; for larger fields the winner still takes the biggest share and each place below drops off steeply. The exact percentages flatten a little as more places are paid.
Home games usually don't — the whole pool goes to the players. If you do take a fee to cover food or the venue, enter it as a percentage and the tool removes it from the pool before splitting.
They increase the prize pool. Add their total value to your entrants × buy-in figure (or fold them into the entrant count) so the pool reflects every chip bought into play.