Cash game night or tournament night?
The two ways to run a poker night, side by side — and how to pick the right one for your group.
On this page
Both formats use the same rules and the same hands. The difference is what the chips mean and how the night ends.
Side by side
| What changes | Cash game | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| Chips | Each buy-in is a fixed number of chips; results are counted in chips at the end | Tournament chips only decide who survives; everyone starts equal |
| Blinds | Stay the same all night | Go up on a clock |
| Joining and leaving | Come and go any time | Everyone starts together; you leave when you run out of chips |
| Rebuys | Whenever you’re short | Only in an early rebuy period, if at all |
| How it ends | At an agreed time | When one player has every chip |
| Result | Everyone’s net: chips at the end minus buy-ins | A finishing order: 1st, 2nd, 3rd… |
| Pace | Relaxed, social | Builds to a final-table climax |
Choose a cash game if…
People arrive and leave at different times.
You want a relaxed, chatty evening.
Some players are beginners — nobody sits out after busting early; they just rebuy or leave when they like.
You want Poker Night to track everything: buy-ins, rebuys, chips at the end and who pays whom.
Choose a tournament if…
Everyone can start at the same time.
Your group likes a clear winner and a bit of drama.
You want the night to have a natural end.
You have a timer and a blind structure ready — see the structure templates.
Tournament basics
Freezeout: one entry each, no rebuys. Simplest to run.
Rebuy / re-entry: busted players can buy back in with a fresh stack until the end of an agreed level, usually the first break.
Add-on: at the first break, everyone may take one extra stack, often smaller than the starting stack.
Places: agree up front how the buy-ins are divided by finishing place. A common split for 6–9 players is 65 / 35 for the top two; for 10 or more, 50 / 30 / 20 for the top three.
Read next
How Poker Night settles up
From buy-ins to “who pays whom”: chip value, how the net is calculated, what the balance check means, Direct vs Banker mode, charges, paying each other, and how to read the summary you share.
Home game settlementBlind structures for 2, 3 and 4-hour tournaments
Three worked-out templates with starting stacks, level times, breaks and colour-ups, plus how to adjust them on the night.
Blind structure & tournament clockChip denominations and starting stacks
How many chips you need, what each colour could be worth, and ready-made stacks for cash games and tournaments.
Chip distributionPoker etiquette at a home game
String bets, acting out of turn, slow-rolling and the other habits that make a game fun — or ruin it.