Poker Dictionary (106) > ABC Player

Buy In - Online Poker Tournaments

The 'buy in' to an online poker tournament is the entry fee to join a tournament. It is also used to describe the minimum amount of money that is needed to seat at a cash game, although is more commonly associated with tournaments.

The buy in is usually partnered by the fees that are paid to the house. The image right shows the buy in for a tournament on PokerStars. As you can see, the event costs $215 to enter. $210.80 goes to the prize pool and the house takes $4.20. The collective buy ins (less house fees) from all players entering the game would be put towards the prize pool. The more players that enter an event, the more money is usually on offer. The exception is where the event has a guaranteed prize pool. Once the guaranteed amount has been collected, the prize pool would increase with any new players who join.

The way the buy in amounts are usually represented is the main entry fee first, followed by the house fee, so this would be represented like this: $240+$40, where $40 is the house fee, which is usually around 10 - 20% of the main entry fee. This is basically the fee for hosting the event.

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