Poker Buy-In Tracker
Track every buy-in and rebuy in a home poker game: add each player, tap Buy-in whenever money goes in, and keep the running pot where everyone can see it. At the end, the chips on the table must add up to the total bought in. Then settle up who owes who. Free, no signup, runs in your browser.
FREE · NO SIGNUP · RUNS IN YOUR BROWSER
Total pot: $0.00
0 / 12 players · Saved in this browser only.
Add your first player, then record their buy-in.
How to track buy-ins in a home poker game
- Agree the rules before the first hand: the buy-in amount, whether rebuys are allowed, any rebuy limit and when rebuys stop.
- Make one person the bank. They hand out chips and record each buy-in the moment the money changes hands. Not after the hand, and not at the end of the night.
- Record rebuys and top-ups the same way. A rebuy is another buy-in for the same player, so it adds to what that player has put in.
- Keep the pot visible. The total of all buy-ins is the cash value of every chip in play. Anyone can check it.
- Count before anyone pays. At the end, count each player's chips and check that the chip total equals the buy-in total.
- Settle. Each player's result is final chips minus total bought in. Press Settle up to send the buy-ins to the poker settlement calculator, enter final chips, and get who pays whom.
Worked example: 6 players, $20 buy-in
| Player | Buy-ins | Total in | Final chips | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex | 1 | $20 | $55 | +$35 |
| Ben | 2 (1 rebuy) | $40 | $0 | −$40 |
| Cara | 1 | $20 | $32 | +$12 |
| Dev | 1 | $20 | $8 | −$12 |
| Eli | 3 (2 rebuys) | $60 | $71 | +$11 |
| Fran | 1 | $20 | $14 | −$6 |
| Total | 9 | $180 | $180 | $0 |
Nine buy-ins went in, so $180 of chips has to come out. If the count says $175, stop and find the missing $5 before anyone pays. It's usually a rebuy nobody wrote down or one stack counted wrong. The results always add up to $0: every dollar won is a dollar someone else lost.
When the chips don't match the money
- Chips are short of the buy-ins: a stack was miscounted, chips are still in someone's pocket or on the floor, or a player cashed out early and their chips weren't recorded.
- Chips are over the buy-ins: almost always a rebuy that never got written down. Less often, chips came out of the case without money going in.
- How to fix it fast: recount the biggest stacks first, ask every player to confirm how many times they bought in, and check anyone who left early. Fix the record, not the math. Don't spread a gap across the table.
Rebuy, top-up, re-entry and add-on: what to record
| Term | Where | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Buy-in | Cash game or tournament | The first money a player puts in |
| Rebuy / top-up | Cash game | Every extra amount, added to that player's total |
| Rebuy | Tournament | Each extra entry fee. It grows the prize pool, not a cash balance |
| Re-entry | Tournament | A new entry fee for a busted player |
| Add-on | Tournament | The optional chips bought at the end of the rebuy period |
Cash games settle by the cash value of chips. Tournaments pay by finishing place, so use the payout calculator for those.
Paper, a spreadsheet, or an app?
A notebook works for one night if one person owns it and nobody else touches it. A spreadsheet works until the person typing is also playing and misses a rebuy during a big hand. An app keeps the record live while you play. HG Poker logs each buy-in and rebuy on the host's phone, checks the final chip count against the money in play, and shows who owes whom; players can follow along on their own phones. It doesn't move money: your group pays each other outside the app. Compare the options in best apps to track home poker games.
Prefer paper? Print the buy-in sheet. Agree your rebuy rules before the first hand.
Next steps
Track it on everyone’s phone with HG Poker
If you run a regular home cash game, the calculation is only one part of the job. HG Poker keeps buy-ins and rebuys together while you play, guides the final chip count, and saves the result for next time. Start free and see your current allowance in the app.
Frequently asked questions
How do you keep track of money in a home poker game?+
Pick one person to be the bank and record every buy-in and rebuy at the moment the money goes in. At the end, the cash value of all chips on the table must equal the total bought in before anyone pays anyone.
What does buy-in mean in poker?+
A buy-in is the money a player pays to get chips. In a cash game the chips are worth that money, so a $20 buy-in gets $20 in chips. In a tournament the buy-in is an entry fee for a fixed stack of tournament chips.
Do rebuys count toward what a player owes?+
Yes. A player's result is the cash value of their final chips minus everything they put in, which is the first buy-in plus every rebuy and top-up.
What is the difference between a rebuy and a re-entry?+
A rebuy adds chips for a player who is still in the game, usually after they run low or bust in a cash game or during a tournament's rebuy period. A re-entry is a tournament term for a busted player paying a new entry and taking a new seat with a fresh stack.
Does this tracker save my game?+
It keeps the game in this browser on this device so a refresh doesn't lose it. Nothing is sent to a server, and clearing your browser data erases it.
Do I need an account?+
No. The tracker is free and runs in your browser. HG Poker, the app, is only needed if you want the game saved with your group's history and shared to players' phones.
Our home game data shows 79% of home cash games have a rebuy, so record each one as it happens.
When the last hand is done, send the buy-ins to the settlement calculator, or read how to settle up a home poker game first. Setting the buy-in amount? See how to set poker buy-ins and the chip calculator.