Poker re-entry: more chances to cash, more money spent

Buying another tournament entry can improve your chance of a payout and still increase your average loss. The extra entry has a cost too.

In our example, allowing one re-entry raises the chance of a payout from 20% to 32%. But the average loss rises from $10 to $16.

What we found

• More entries give more chances to cash. Cashing means receiving a prize.
• A prize is not the same as a profit. Subtract every entry fee from the payout.
• You may not get another attempt. If registration has closed when you lose your chips, you cannot re-enter.

These figures come from a made-up example. They are not predicted results for your next tournament.

A simple $110 example

Assume each entry costs $110. Each attempt has:

• A 20% chance of winning a $500 prize.
• A 60% chance of losing all chips while re-entry is still open.
• A 20% chance of losing all chips after re-entry closes.

The player buys another entry after an early loss, up to the chosen limit. The player stops after a prize or a late loss.

Entries allowed in total	Chance of a prize	Average loss
1	20%	$10.00
2	32%	$16.00
3	39.2%	$19.60

These losses are averages across many repeats of the example. A single tournament result will be different.

Why a better cash chance can still cost more

With one entry, a 20% chance of a $500 prize gives an average payout of $100. The entry costs $110. That leaves an average loss of $10.

Allowing two entries raises the average payout to $160. But the average entry cost rises to $176. The average loss is now $16.

The extra chance to win did not make the entry better value. It meant buying another attempt with the same disadvantage.

Set your total budget before you enter

Two $110 entries can cost $220. Three can cost $330. Budget for the full amount you permit yourself to spend, not the average cost in a calculation.

After losing your chips, judge the next entry on its own cost and likely value. The first fee is already spent. Another entry does not recover it automatically.

Use the tournament ROI calculator to record prizes against all entry fees, including tournaments where you receive no prize.

How we checked the result

With two entries allowed, there are two ways to receive a prize:

• Cash on the first entry: 20%.
• Lose early, then cash on the second: 60% × 20% = 12%.

Together, that is 32%. Some players lose too late to try again, so two entries are not two guaranteed attempts.

We kept the same chances and $500 prize for every attempt. Real tournaments have different prize sizes, opponents, and stack sizes. This example explains the tradeoff; it does not measure your skill or recommend a re-entry.

Source: PokerStars re-entry rules. Each event sets its own limits.