← All format guides

What is a PKO in poker?

PKO is short for "progressive knockout", also called a progressive bounty. In a PKO, part of each buy-in (typically half) goes into the regular prize pool, and the rest becomes a bounty on that player's head. Knock a player out and you win part of their bounty as cash right away; the other part is added to your own bounty, so bounties keep growing as the tournament goes on.

Find it live: PKO and bounty tournaments · bounty tournaments in the finder · the deeper PKO format guide. Free to play: open-entry freerolls today · no-deposit poker · all format guides.

How it works

Every player starts with the same bounty: in a typical PKO, half the prize part of your buy-in goes to the prize pool and half sits on your head as your starting bounty. When you eliminate a player, you collect half of their bounty as cash immediately, and the other half is added to your bounty. So a player who has knocked out several opponents carries a much bigger bounty than a fresh one, and whoever eliminates them collects half of that larger amount. Two details matter. First, you can only collect a bounty from a player you actually eliminate, and you can only eliminate a player whose stack you cover, so big stacks can hunt bounties that short stacks cannot reach. Second, late in the tournament the surviving bounties have absorbed many others, so a single late knockout can pay more than several prize-pool pay jumps combined. If a listing just says "bounty" without "progressive", it is usually a standard bounty instead, where every knockout pays the same fixed amount and bounties never grow.

Strategy tips

1. Check the split before you register. The lobby shows how much of the buy-in is bounty and how much is prize pool; it is roughly half and half in most PKOs, but not all.
2. Call wider when you cover a player with a big bounty. The cash half of their bounty is effectively extra money in the pot. As a rough guide (approximate, not exact math), if the bounty you would collect is a large share of your stack, hands you would normally fold can become profitable calls.
3. Do not chase small early bounties. A starting bounty pays only a small cash amount, so risking your whole tournament for it in the first levels is usually a bad trade.
4. Watch your stack size relative to the table. Big stacks can collect bounties from anyone; short stacks cannot knock out a player who covers them, so survival matters more when you are short.
5. Late in the event, compare the bounty with the pay jump. When one knockout pays more than climbing several places in the prize pool, playing for the knockout is usually worth more than folding to ladder up one spot.
6. Budget for bigger swings than a normal tournament. In some PKOs you will cash small but collect several bounties; in others you will collect nothing at all. Pick a buy-in you can afford to lose in full.

Common mistakes

• Calling every all-in just because there is a bounty on it, without checking how big the bounty actually is
• Forgetting that only about half of each buy-in reaches the prize pool, so the regular payouts are smaller than in a normal event at the same buy-in
• Trying to collect a bounty from a player who has more chips than you (you cannot knock them out, so their bounty is out of your reach)
• Ignoring your own bounty: once it grows, everyone at the table has an extra reason to call your all-ins

Find these tournaments

PKO and bounty tournaments → Bounty format filter in the finder → Start free: freerolls with real prizes →

FAQ

Related guides

PKO (progressive knockout) · What is GTD in poker? · Mystery bounty

Play responsibly. Tournaments are entertainment, not income. Set a budget and time limit, and never chase losses. 18+/21+ depending on site and state. Help: 1-800-GAMBLER.