The problem
Settlement starts long before the last hand.
Poker chips move between players all night, but the bank only cares about two categories of information: how much money each player put in and how much value they had when play stopped. The difference between those two numbers is the player’s result.
The difficult part is making sure the inputs are complete. A forgotten rebuy makes the recorded bank too small. A mistyped cash-out changes both the table total and one player’s result. If those mistakes survive into the payment list, the math can look tidy while still being wrong.
Mainpot keeps the ledger attached to the game so the host can verify purchases as they happen, players can enter their final stacks, and the table can resolve any mismatch before money moves between people.
Balance the bank
Total money in must equal total final stacks.
Calculate results
Cash-out minus money in gives each player’s net.
Route payments
Debtors pay creditors until every net reaches zero.
Animated walkthrough
Watch one ledger move through all four states.
The same five-player example appears throughout this guide. The animation begins with the recorded purchases, moves to the final stacks, stops at the mismatch, and then shows the corrected settlement.
The Basement Game
Friday · settlement review
- Stakes
- $0.25 / $0.50
- Buy-in
- $40.00
- Players
- 5
Live ledger
Every chip purchase creates an entry.
The opening buy-ins, rebuys, and add-ons stay attached to the players who received the chips. Before cash-out, the approved ledger shows $300.00 in the bank.
- Recorded bank
- $300.00
- Seven approved purchases
Five-player example
A missing add-on puts the game $10.00 out of balance.
The game runs with $0.25/$0.50 blinds and a $40 opening buy-in. Alex and Sam each rebuy once. Jordan adds another $20, and Casey takes an additional $10 in chips. Casey’s add-on never reaches the ledger, so the recorded bank shows $300.00 even though $310.00 in chips are in circulation.
When the last hand ends, stacks such as $18.75 and $132.25 are normal for these stakes. Together, the five cash-outs total $310.00. The cents are not a rounding problem; the unexplained $10.00 gap is evidence that one side of the ledger is incomplete.
The calculator should stop here.
Recorded buy-ins are $300.00. Final stacks are $310.00. The table needs to find the missing $10.00 before calculating payments.
Money in
$300.00
Stacks out
$310.00
Difference
−$10.00
Correction
Add Casey’s missing $10.00 purchase.
Casey’s total money in changes from $40.00 to $50.00. The bank becomes $310.00, which now matches the $310.00 in final stacks. That correction also changes Casey’s loss from $40.00 to $50.00.
| Player | Purchases | Total in | Cash-out | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex | $40 + $40 | $80.00 | $18.75 | −$61.25 |
| Morgan | $40 | $40.00 | $132.25 | +$92.25 |
| Sam | $40 + $40 | $80.00 | $58.50 | −$21.50 |
| Jordan | $40 + $20 | $60.00 | $100.50 | +$40.50 |
| Casey | $40 + $10 | $50.00 | $0.00 | −$50.00 |
| Totals | Balanced | $310.00 | $310.00 | $0.00 |
Calculate each result
Every player gets one net number.
The basic calculation is the same for every player. A positive result means the player should receive money. A negative result means the player owes money. A zero means the player is already square.
Settlement formula
player net = final cash-out − total money in
Morgan
$132.25 − $40.00 = +$92.25
Casey
$0.00 − $50.00 = −$50.00
The positive results are Morgan at $92.25 and Jordan at $40.50, for $132.75 total. The negative results are Alex at $61.25, Sam at $21.50, and Casey at $50.00, also $132.75 total. That equality is the second reconciliation check: all player results must add up to zero.
Notice why the missing add-on had to be fixed first. Without it, Casey would appear to lose only $40.00, the negative results would total $122.75, and the table would be unable to fund the full $132.75 owed to the winners.
Build the payment list
Move $132.75 without replaying every exchange.
A settlement does not reverse individual hands or remember who won chips from whom. It works from the final net positions. The three players with negative results fund the two players with positive results until every balance reaches zero.
For this particular set of balances, four payments are required. Casey must split the $50.00 loss because Morgan still needs $9.50 after receiving Alex’s and Sam’s payments, while Jordan needs $40.50.
- 01$61.25
AlexMorgan
Alex’s full loss
- 02$21.50
SamMorgan
Sam’s full loss
- 03$9.50
CaseyMorgan
Finishes Morgan’s $92.25 win
- 04$40.50
CaseyJordan
Finishes Jordan’s $40.50 win
Before payments
Five open balances
Two players must receive $132.75. Three players owe $132.75.
After payments
Every balance is $0.00
The full $132.75 has moved once, with no extra round trips.
Special cases
The details that usually break spreadsheet settlement.
Most home games are simple until one exception appears. These are the moments where a shared, timestamped ledger is more useful than a final total typed into a group chat.
A rebuy was fronted
Record both the player receiving the chips and the player who supplied the cash. Chip ownership and funding are different facts, and settlement needs both.
One cash-out is missing
Do not treat a blank as zero unless the player actually busted. A missing final stack keeps the table from proving that the bank balances.
The host acts as the bank
A bank-style settlement can route every payment through one person. It is easier to coordinate, but may create more transfers than direct netting.
The totals differ by cents
Use the same currency precision for purchases, cash-outs, and payments. Fix the source entry instead of hiding a rounding difference in the final list.
Questions
Poker settlement, without the shorthand.
What does a poker settlement calculator calculate?
It calculates each player’s net result by subtracting their total money in from their final cash-out. It then matches the players who owe money with the players who should receive money and produces a practical payment list.
Why do total buy-ins have to equal total cash-outs?
The chips on the table represent the money that entered the game. If the two totals differ, an entry is missing, duplicated, or incorrect. Creating payments before the bank balances can move that error onto the players.
Do rebuys and add-ons count as buy-ins?
Yes. Every chip purchase counts as money in, whether it is the opening buy-in, a later rebuy, or a smaller add-on. All of those purchases must be included before calculating a player’s result.
What if one player fronts a rebuy for someone else?
The chips still belong to the player receiving them, but the funding note matters at settlement. Mainpot can preserve who supplied the money so the final payment plan does not make the person who fronted the rebuy pay twice.
Does Mainpot hold or send the money?
No. Mainpot records the game, checks the bank, and shows who should pay whom. Players review the result and make the actual transfers using the payment method their table prefers.
Can a game be settled when the bank is still off?
Mainpot can show a provisional result, but the safer workflow is to find the discrepancy first. A host should only override the warning when the table understands the difference and has agreed how to handle it.
Ready for the next table
Record the game once. Settle from facts.
Create a room, share the code, and let the table keep one ledger from the opening buy-in through the final payment.