Bounty Tournament Payout Calculator
For the host. Split the buy-ins into a bounty pool and a prize pool, see exactly what each knockout is worth, settle the “do I pay him for three bounties or four?” argument, and build a set of mystery envelopes that actually adds up.
Where the money goes
- Collected from 9 players
- $900.00
- Bounty pool
- $90.00
- Main prize pool
- $810.00
- Per player
- $10.00 bounty + $90.00 prize pool
Knockout bounties
Every player carries one $10.00 bounty. Eliminate someone and you take their bounty chip; hand it in at the end and you are paid $10.00 for each one.
The fourth chip is their own. Nobody eliminated the winner, so their bounty is never collected — with the rule set above they keep it, so they are paid $40.00: $30.00 for the three knockouts plus their own $10.00.
- Eliminations in a finished tournament
- 8
- Paid out for knockouts
- $80.00
- Winner's own bounty
- $10.00
- Added to the prize pool
- $0.00
- Total
- $90.00
How bounty tournaments pay out
In a bounty tournament part of each buy-in is attached to the player rather than to the prize pool: knock them out and you collect it. The rest is paid as normal prizes. All three common formats split the money that way; they differ in what happens to a bounty once it is won.
Knockout (fixed bounty)
Every player has the same bounty on their head for the whole tournament. Eliminate them, take their chip, hand it in for cash at the end. Simple to run, and the one thing to settle in advance is the last bounty: nobody eliminates the winner, so their own bounty is never collected. The usual rule is that the winner keeps it — they paid it, after all — but adding it to the prize pool instead is equally fair as long as everyone knows before the cards are in the air. The calculator shows both.
Progressive knockout (PKO)
Half of any bounty you collect is paid to you in cash; the other half goes onto your own head. Bounties grow as the field shrinks, so late in a PKO the big stacks are worth far more than the starting bounty and covering them matters more than usual. As a host you do not have to track much: the cash half is paid out as it is won, and the growing half lives with the player. Announce the split (half and half is standard) and whether the winner keeps the bounty on their own head at the end.
Mystery bounty
Bounties are not known in advance: each knockout draws a sealed envelope from a pot of prizes that add up to the bounty pool, usually with one large prize and many small ones. Two things go wrong in home games. First, the envelope amounts do not add up to the money collected — the calculator above builds a set that does, to the exact dollar. Second, there are more knockouts than envelopes, so the draws have to start at a stated point rather than from hand one; the calculator says when, based on your field and envelope count.
Decide these before the first hand
- Does the winner keep their own bounty? The most common argument in a bounty home game, and it has no correct answer — only a stated one.
- What if two players are eliminated on the same hand? Standard is that the player with the bigger stack at the start of the hand collects the bounty of the player they covered; if one player knocks out both, they take both bounties.
- What about a chop? If the remaining players make a deal, the uncollected bounties are part of the money being split. Work them out before agreeing the numbers — the chop calculator handles the prize pool side.
- Are bounties paid in cash as they happen, or at the end? Paying as it happens avoids reconstructing the night from memory; chips or slips make it easy to audit.
- Do rebuys carry a new bounty? If you allow rebuys, a returning player normally brings a fresh bounty, which grows the bounty pool — add the extra buy-ins here to see the new split.
Running the night
Get the structure and the clock sorted alongside the money: the blind structure calculator builds a schedule that ends when you want it to, the tournament clock runs it on a TV, the payout calculator splits the main prize pool, and the chip calculator works out what everyone starts with. There is a full checklist in how to host a poker night.
Playing one rather than hosting? The PKO calculator and the mystery bounty calculator turn a bounty into chips and tell you how much wider you can call for it, and what is a bounty in poker? covers the basics.
Frequently asked questions
Does the winner get their own bounty in a knockout tournament?›
Usually yes: nobody eliminates the winner, so their bounty is never collected, and the common rule is that they keep the one they paid for. The alternative is to add it to the prize pool. Neither is more correct — announce which one you are using before the first hand, because this is the argument that comes up at the end of every bounty home game.
A player knocked out three opponents but holds four bounty chips. How many do I pay?›
Three are collected bounties; the fourth is their own, because nobody eliminated them. If your rule is that the winner keeps their own bounty, you pay all four. If uncollected bounties go back into the prize pool, you pay three and add the fourth to the prizes.
How do progressive bounties work?›
Half of each bounty you win is paid to you in cash and half is added to the bounty on your own head. With a $10 starting bounty, your first knockout pays $5 and leaves you carrying $15. Bounties grow through the tournament, so covering a big stack late in a PKO is worth much more than the starting figure.
How do I set up mystery bounty envelopes?›
Decide the bounty pool (players times the bounty portion of the buy-in), then write a set of envelope prizes that adds up to exactly that amount — typically one large prize and many small ones. If there are fewer envelopes than possible knockouts, the draws start when the field is down to the envelope count plus one, and earlier knockouts pay nothing. This calculator builds a set that adds up and tells you when to start.
What happens to bounties if the players agree to a chop?›
Uncollected bounties are part of the money still on the table, so they belong in the deal. Add the remaining bounty money to the prize pool being split, or agree that each remaining player keeps their own bounty, before you settle the numbers.
Should bounties be paid straight away or at the end?›
Paying as each knockout happens is easier to audit and avoids reconstructing the night from memory. If you pay at the end, hand out a physical chip or slip per bounty so the count is not in dispute.
Related tools
Prize-pool splits for any field size — presets or custom percentages.
What a bounty is worth in chips and how much wider you can call.
Seat odds from stacks and the equity needed to call — sometimes you fold aces.
Interesting spots. Solver-grade analysis.
Occasional strategy emails: one interesting hand, broken down with equity, range vs range, and the GTO answer. Free, unsubscribe any time.
Unlimited AI hand reviews and every cheatsheet — PRO from $9/mo