How much should the buy-in be?

The right buy-in is the one nobody loses sleep over. Tell us how many are playing and what each person would happily spend on a night out, like dinner or a movie, and we suggest a buy-in, a rebuy cap and chip values that fit.

How it works

The most a player can put in is the buy-in times one plus the rebuys. We take your comfortable budget, divide by that, and round down to a round number like $10, $20 or $25, so the worst case still fits inside the budget.

Starting stack is set to 100 big blinds, which makes a nice long game, and the smallest chip is worth the small blind. Group size does not change the buy-in, it changes the total on the table.

This is about keeping the evening friendly, not about the money. A home game that is fun for everyone will happen again next month. A game that stung someone will not.

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Common questions

What is a good buy-in for a home poker game?
Most friendly games land between $10 and $50. A good test: could everyone lose their whole buy-in and still be in a good mood driving home?

How many rebuys should we allow?
One or two is plenty, usually until the first break. Zero is also fine for a quick tournament. A cap keeps anyone from spending more than they planned.

What should the blinds be for a $20 buy-in?
For a cash game with 100 big blinds, 10 cents and 20 cents. For a tournament, the blinds follow a schedule, so use the blind structure generator.

More free tools

who owes who after the game · chip calculator · blind timer · blind structure generator · tournament payout calculator · chip colors and values · poker hand rankings · house rules template · outs and odds cheat sheet · rebuy tracker · side pot calculator · how to host a poker night

Running the whole night?

Holy Chip tracks who's coming, every buy-in in one tap, a shared clock on everyone's phone, and who owes who. Free for your crew.