Why points?
Money tells you who won tonight. Points tell you who is playing best over a season. A good system rewards deep finishes, makes winning count, and doesn't punish someone for missing a game or two. It also has to be simple enough that players can check their own score.
A points table
The simplest system: a fixed number of points for each place. Final Table's default is:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Places past 9th score nothing (plus any points for playing). A table is easy to explain and easy to tally by hand. Its weakness: a win is worth the same 12 points whether 6 or 16 people played. If your attendance is steady, that doesn't matter. If it swings, use a formula.
Formulas that scale with the field
A formula works out each place's points from the number of players (n) and the finish (p), so bigger games are worth more. The common ones:
Players outlasted: n − p + 1
One point for every player you finish ahead of, plus one. Winning a 10-player game is 10 points; 4th is 7. Easy to explain, and the gap between places never changes, so a deep finish counts nearly as much as a win.
Square root: m × √(n ÷ p)
Rewards the top spots, with a long tail so deep finishes still count. With a multiplier (m) of 10, winning a 6-player game is worth 24.49 and winning a 14-player game 37.42.
Logarithmic: m × ln((n + 1) ÷ p)
A steeper curve. Winning matters most and the bottom half of the field scores very little. Good for leagues that want the leaderboard to reward wins over consistency.
Points pool: m × n × share of p
Every player adds points to a pool (say 5 each), which the top places split by fixed shares, like a prize pool. A bigger field means a bigger pool, and places outside the shares score nothing.
The Dr. Neau formula
The best-known home league formula, written as points = √(n × b² ÷ s) ÷ (p + 1), where b is the buy-in and s is what the player spent in total (buy-in plus rebuys and add-ons).
- A bigger field or a bigger buy-in is worth more.
- Rebuys cost points. In a 10-player $20 game, a win on one buy-in scores 7.07; a win after one $20 rebuy scores 5.
- Dividing by (p + 1) makes the curve steep: 1st scores twice what 3rd does.
It suits rebuy leagues that don't want the season decided by who rebuys most. In a game with no buy-in, it becomes √n ÷ (p + 1).
Side by side: a 10-player, $20 game
Points for each finish under each formula, with its usual multiplier:
| Finish | Players outlasted | Square root | Logarithmic | Dr. Neau |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 10 | 31.62 | 23.98 | 7.07 |
| 2nd | 9 | 22.36 | 17.05 | 4.71 |
| 3rd | 8 | 18.26 | 12.99 | 3.54 |
| 4th | 7 | 15.81 | 10.12 | 2.83 |
| 5th | 6 | 14.14 | 7.88 | 2.36 |
| 8th | 3 | 11.18 | 3.18 | 1.57 |
| 10th | 1 | 10 | 0.95 | 1.29 |
Write your own formula
When no preset fits, write the formula yourself from the numbers a game has: the number of players, the finish place, the buy-in, what each player spent, their rebuys, add-ons and knockouts, and the prize pool. Most leagues start from a preset and add one rule they care about.
A common one rewards knockouts on top of square-root points: points = 10 × √(players ÷ place) + 2 × knockouts. In a 10-player game:
- The winner, who knocked out 4 players, scores 39.62.
- 3rd place with no knockouts scores 18.26; 3rd place with 3 knockouts scores 24.26.
Other rules leagues write for themselves:
- A bonus for the top three: players outlasted, plus 5 for a top-3 finish, written players − place + 1 + if(place ≤ 3, 5, 0).
- Rebuys cost points: a log curve minus 2 for every rebuy, never below 0.
- Points that follow the money: the prize pool ÷ 10 ÷ place, so a bigger pot means a bigger season.
Test a new formula on a few made-up nights before the season starts. A formula that divides by rebuys, for example, breaks for everyone who didn't rebuy. For more ideas, each scored on the same sample night, see custom poker league points formulas.
Points for playing
Many leagues add a small amount to every finish just for turning up. It rewards regulars and keeps a bad night from scoring zero. Keep it small: 1 point alongside a 12-point win is about right. Make it too big and the player who never misses a game wins the season however they play.
Best games, minimums and ties
A season total doesn't have to count every game:
- Best N games: count each player's best 8 of 12, say. A missed game or a bad night doesn't sink anyone.
- Drop the worst N: the same idea counted the other way. Count a missed game as 0 and drop it first, or the player who plays most has the most bad nights to throw away.
- Minimum games to qualify: half the season is common, so nobody wins on three lucky nights.
- Ties: decide the tiebreaker up front: most wins, then best single finish, then head-to-head.
Which to choose
- Same 8 players most nights? A points table. Simple wins.
- Field size swings a lot? Square root, or players outlasted if you want it easy to explain.
- Rebuys allowed? Dr. Neau, so buying back in costs something.
- Want wins to matter most? Logarithmic, or a steep points table.
- Want knockouts or the pot to count? Write your own formula.
Whatever you choose, announce it before the season and don't change it halfway. For the other half of the season's rules, see how to start a home poker league.