Return on investment (ROI) is the headline number for tournament players. It tells you how much you profit for every dollar you spend on buy-ins. But what counts as "good" depends heavily on the format you play.
How to calculate tournament ROI
ROI = (Total winnings − Total buy-ins) ÷ Total buy-ins × 100
Include fees, re-entries and add-ons in your buy-ins, and bounties in your winnings. Our tournament ROI calculator does the maths and adds ITM % and average profit per tournament.
ROI benchmarks by format
| Format | Good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|
| Large-field online MTTs | 15%–30% | 50%+ |
| Small-field live MTTs | 20%–40% | 60%+ |
| 9-max Sit & Gos | 5%–10% | 15%+ |
| Hyper-turbos | 2%–4% | 6%+ |
Faster formats and smaller fields have lower ROIs but much lower variance, so results are steadier.
Why your ROI might be misleading
Tournament profits come mostly from rare deep runs. One big win can make a losing player look like a crusher over 100 tournaments; a missing final table can make a strong player look like a loser. For large-field MTTs you need thousands of tournaments before your ROI is reliable. Use the variance calculator to get a feel for how wide the range is.
ROI and ITM together
ITM (in the money) shows how often you cash — typically 12%–20% for winning MTT players. High ITM with low ROI often means you play too tight near the bubble and min-cash too often. Low ITM with high ROI usually means a few big scores are carrying your results.
Protect your ROI with the right bankroll
Because of tournament variance, most players need 100 or more buy-ins. See the bankroll calculator and track every event with tournament tracking so your ROI is based on complete data.