What is Buy-In?

A buy-in is the amount of cash a player exchanges for chips to join a table game or poker session, and it also refers to the minimum sum required to sit down and play at a given stake. In cash games and casino tables the buy-in becomes your working stack, while in poker tournaments it is a fixed fee that secures your seat and starting chips. At a live casino table the buy-in usually sits between a table minimum and maximum. A blackjack table might list a $25 minimum bet but let you buy in for anything from $100 to $2,000, giving you room to ride out variance. In cash poker, buy-in ranges are pegged to the blinds, commonly 20 to 100 big blinds. Tournament buy-ins are quoted as two numbers, such as $100 + $10, where the first goes to the prize pool and the second is the operator's fee, or rake. Worked example: you join a $1/$2 no-limit hold'em cash game with a maximum buy-in of $200, or 100 big blinds. You hand over $200 and receive 200 chips. If your stack drops below the table minimum you can rebuy, or top up to the maximum where the room allows. In a $50 + $5 tournament, $50 from every entrant builds the prize pool and $5 is the house fee; with 100 entrants the pool is $5,000. For affiliates, buy-in level is a strong proxy for player value, so tournament and high-stakes cash traffic is often worth more per referral. Match buy-in size to your bankroll, and never buy in for more than you can afford to lose.