Poker Glossary

Buy-In

The cost of a seat. In cash games it is the amount you bring to the table — rooms set minimums and maximums, with 100 big blinds the common full buy-in; in tournaments it is the fixed entry, part prize pool and part house fee. It is also the standard unit for measuring bankrolls and results.

At the table

At $1/$2 the standard full buy-in is $200 — 100 big blinds. “Up three buy-ins” means plus $600, whatever the ride looked like in between.

House note

The buy-in is the ante on the whole evening. Everything after is negotiation.

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