A tournament payout calculator turns a prize pool and a list of percentages into an amount for each finishing position. Use it when you run a home game and need to say, before the first hand, exactly what first, second and third place will receive. It divides prizes by finishing position only. It does not deal with chip counts, and it is not an ICM deal calculator.
Tournament payout calculator
Split a prize pool by finishing position
The prize pool is the total money to share out. Amounts are rounded to two decimal places. The currency is a label only, with no conversion.
| Finishing position | Percentage of pool | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 50% | £500.00 |
| 2nd | 30% | £300.00 |
| 3rd | 20% | £200.00 |
| Total allocated | 100% | £1,000.00 |
Supports 1 to 10 paid places. Suggested splits are examples, not official or universally fair. Choose "Custom percentages" to edit them.
How to use the calculator
Enter the total prize pool, choose how many places are paid, and leave the split on "Suggested" or switch to "Custom percentages" and type your own. The table recalculates as you type. Each custom percentage can have up to two decimal places, they must add up to exactly 100, and no place can be paid more than the place above it. If something does not add up, the table shows dashes and a message explains why, rather than leaving an old answer on screen. When the table looks right, copy it to paste into a message, or print it for the table.
What the prize pool means
The prize pool is the amount of money, or the value of the prizes, that you have agreed to share between the winners. In a home game that is usually the buy-ins collected, less anything you have agreed to take off first, such as a charity donation or a fee for the venue. Work that figure out before you use the calculator. The calculator does not collect buy-ins, track who has paid, or run the tournament. It also keeps the prize pool separate from the chips: the chips only decide who finishes where.
Paid places and payout percentages
A paid place is a finishing position that receives part of the pool. With three paid places, first, second and third are paid and everyone else receives nothing. Each paid place gets a percentage of the pool, and the percentages must add up to 100. A place set to 0% is unpaid, and the calculator labels it so. Small games usually pay few places and larger games pay more, but how many to pay is a decision for your group, not a rule.
Worked example: a 1,000 pool
Take a prize pool of 1,000 with three paid places split 50%, 30% and 20%.
| Finishing position | Percentage | Working | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 50% | 1,000 × 0.50 | 500 |
| 2nd | 30% | 1,000 × 0.30 | 300 |
| 3rd | 20% | 1,000 × 0.20 | 200 |
| Total allocated | 1,000 | ||
Suggested versus custom payout structures
The suggested splits below are hand-picked examples. They are chosen so that every place pays no more than the place above it and the percentages total 100. They are not official, optimal or universally fair, and there is no single correct way to split a prize pool. Your group may prefer to pay first place more heavily, or to spread the money wider.
| Paid places | Percentages from 1st place down |
|---|---|
| 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 65 / 35 |
| 3 | 50 / 30 / 20 |
| 4 | 45 / 27 / 18 / 10 |
| 5 | 40 / 25 / 17 / 11 / 7 |
| 6 | 38 / 24 / 16 / 11 / 7 / 4 |
| 7 | 36 / 23 / 15 / 11 / 8 / 5 / 2 |
| 8 | 35 / 22 / 14 / 10 / 8 / 6 / 3 / 2 |
| 9 | 33 / 21 / 14 / 10 / 8 / 6 / 4 / 2 / 2 |
| 10 | 32 / 20 / 13 / 10 / 8 / 6 / 5 / 3 / 2 / 1 |
These come from a fixed list, not a formula. When you choose "Custom percentages" the calculator copies the current suggested split into editable boxes, so you can adjust it. Switching back to "Suggested split" discards your edits. If you change the number of paid places while on a custom split, existing percentages are kept and new places start at 0, so the total will need correcting before payouts appear.
Rounding and exact totals
Money cannot be split into fractions of a penny, so the calculator works in whole pennies (or cents) and uses the largest remainder method. It first gives each place the whole pennies its percentage earns, rounded down. Any pennies left over are then handed out one at a time to the places with the largest fractional remainders. If two places have the same remainder, the higher finishing position is served first. The result always adds up to the pool exactly.
For example, a pool of 100.01 split 50 / 30 / 20 gives 50.00, 30.00 and 20.00 from the whole pennies, with one penny left over. All three remainders are different, and first place has the largest, so the payouts are 50.01, 30.00 and 20.00.
Rounding can also make payouts equal. A pool of 0.03 split 50 / 30 / 20 pays one penny to each place. A pool too small to give every paid place at least one penny is rejected, because someone would be paid nothing for a place with a positive percentage.
Why this is not an ICM chop
This calculator pays fixed percentages by finishing position, so you must wait until the tournament finishes, or agree the finishing order, to know who gets what. An ICM chop is different. It is a way for players still in the game to agree a deal, usually near the end, by weighing their chip stacks against the remaining payouts. That needs the chip counts, which this tool deliberately does not use. If your group wants to agree a deal, treat it as a separate conversation and make sure everyone understands the numbers before accepting.
Agree the structure before play begins
Settle the prize pool, the number of paid places and the percentages before the first hand is dealt, and write them down where everyone can see them. Arguments about payouts usually come from a structure that was agreed halfway through, or never agreed at all. Copy the table from the calculator into your group chat, or print it. This page only divides a pool you have already agreed. It does not advise on stakes, and rules about gambling and prizes differ between countries, so check what applies where you live. For the physical chips, see the chip distribution guide.
Practise the play, not the payout
The calculator helps you organise a game. If you want to practise how to play the hands, the training table deals six-handed hands with a coach that shows the equity and price to call before you decide, using play chips only.