Buy-in
The price of entering a tournament, or the chips you sit down with in a cash game.
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- What it means
- A tournament buy-in is the entry price: part goes to the prize pool and part to the organizer as a fee. In a cash game it is the amount you bring to the table.
- How it is calculated
- Bankrolls and swings are counted in buy-ins rather than money, so the same rule works at any stake.
- Worked example
- A $22 tournament is one buy-in. A bankroll of $2,200 is 100 buy-ins at that level, and a run of 30 entries without a cash is a 30 buy-in downswing.
- Why it matters
- Measuring in buy-ins lets you compare results and risk across stakes, and tells you when a game is too big for your bankroll.
Try it: Variance and bankroll calculator