Tournament poker has more variance than any other format. A winning player can go months without a big score, then make it all back in one deep run. That makes careful tracking essential: without a record, it is almost impossible to tell whether you are a winner.
What tournament players should track
- Total cost per event: buy-in plus fee, every re-entry, rebuy and add-on.
- Cash amount, including bounties in PKO tournaments.
- Field size and finishing place.
- Hours played, so you can compare tournaments with cash games.
- Tournament type: freezeout, re-entry, turbo, bounty, satellite, live or online.
The stats that matter
- ROI (return on investment): profit divided by total buy-ins. See what is a good tournament ROI.
- ITM% (in the money): how often you cash, typically 10–20%.
- Average buy-in and biggest cash.
- Results by buy-in level and type, so you can drop the formats that lose.
How many tournaments do you need?
Hundreds, at least. Even 500 tournaments can leave your measured ROI far from your true ROI. Plan a bankroll of 100+ buy-ins and use the variance simulator to see what normal swings look like.
Tracking tournaments in PokerTracking
The free PokerTracking tracker logs tournaments in a few taps, adds re-entries with one button, and shows ROI, ITM% and your biggest cashes on the Insights tab. If you sell action, it also builds a staking résumé you can paste into a marketplace listing. Try the tournament ROI calculator for a quick check.