PKO

Basic Definition

PKO stands for "progressive knockout," a tournament format where part of every buy-in goes to a bounty on each player. When you knock someone out, you win part of their bounty in cash, and the rest is added to your own bounty. The more players you eliminate, the bigger the price on your head.

Specific Situation

• In a typical $100 PKO, $50 goes to the prize pool and $50 becomes your starting bounty. If you eliminate a player whose bounty is $50, you usually get $25 in cash, and your own bounty grows from $50 to $75.


• Late in the tournament, big stacks often carry large bounties, so even a short stack can earn a lot by knocking one out.

Important Information

• The split differs by site and event (half to you, half to your bounty is the most common). Always check the rules.


• Bounties change strategy. You can call wider when you cover a player and their bounty is large, because winning the pot also wins cash.


• You win a bounty only by knocking a player out, so bounties matter most in pots against players you cover (your stack is at least as large as theirs).

Examples of Term Usage

"It's a PKO, so I'm calling wider against the short stack with the big bounty."