> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.jup.ag/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Poker Basics

> Core poker and action-selling concepts you need to understand before using Jupiter Poker.

Jupiter Poker is a marketplace where you can buy a share of a real poker player's tournament entry. Before using the product, it helps to understand a few poker fundamentals and the specific vocabulary used across the interface. This page is a reference: read it once if you're new to live poker, or come back to it whenever a term is unclear.

If you already know how live poker tournaments work, you can skip to [Jupiter Poker Concepts](/user-docs/more/jupiter-poker#jupiter-poker-concepts).

***

## What Action Selling Is

In live poker, a tournament has a fixed cost to enter, called the **buy-in**. For high-stakes events, this amount can be very large (\$25,000, \$100,000, or more). Many professional players don't want to put up the full buy-in themselves, so they sell **action**: they let other people pay part of their buy-in in exchange for a proportional share of any prize they win.

This practice exists in live poker as a private agreement between a player and their **backers**. It is informal, off-chain, and based on trust. Jupiter Poker brings this practice onchain: every share is represented as a position recorded on Solana, payouts are settled programmatically, and no one needs to trust an intermediary to hold or distribute funds.

The role you play on Jupiter Poker is the **backer** role. You are not the one playing the tournament. You are the one funding a share of a player's entry, and you receive a proportional share of their winnings if they finish in a paying position.

***

## Poker Tournament Concepts

These are general poker terms used across the Jupiter Poker interface and documentation. They are not specific to Jupiter.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Buy-in" icon="ticket">
    The fixed amount of money a player must pay to enter a tournament. For example, a "\$100,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event" has a buy-in of \$100,000 per player. The buy-in is paid once, to the casino or tournament operator, before the tournament starts.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Prize pool" icon="trophy">
    The total amount of money distributed to the top finishers of a tournament. It is built from the buy-ins of all players who entered (minus the casino's fee, where applicable). A bigger field means a bigger prize pool.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Field" icon="users">
    The total number of players entered in a tournament. The size of the field directly affects the prize pool and the number of paying positions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Payout structure" icon="list-ol">
    The breakdown of how the prize pool is distributed among finishing positions. The winner gets the largest share, second place gets less, and so on, down to the lowest paying position. Each tournament publishes its full payout structure before play begins.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="In the money (ITM)">
    <Tooltip tip="In the Money: the player finished in a paying position and receives part of the prize pool.">**In the Money**</Tooltip>. A player is "in the money" when they finish in a position that receives a payout. Players who finish outside the paying positions receive nothing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Minimum ITM (MIN ITM)">
    <Tooltip tip="Minimum In the Money: the lowest-paying position in the tournament. Finishing here receives the smallest payout.">**Minimum In the Money**</Tooltip>. The lowest-paying position in a tournament. For example, in a tournament that pays 11 positions, MIN ITM refers to the 11th-place finisher. This is the smallest payout a player can win while still being in the money.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="To cash" icon="circle-check">
    A verb meaning to finish in the money. "The player cashed" means they finished in a paying position and received a payout. The size of the cash depends on where they finished.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="To bust" icon="circle-xmark">
    A verb meaning to be eliminated from the tournament. A player "busts" when they lose all their chips and are knocked out. If the player busts before reaching the money, they receive no payout, and neither do their backers.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Bubble" icon="circle">
    The position immediately before the money. The "bubble" is the last player eliminated before payouts begin. Busting on the bubble means finishing one place short of cashing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Bounty" icon="crosshairs">
    A prize awarded for eliminating a specific player. In a "bounty" tournament, part of each player's buy-in becomes a bounty on their head. Whoever eliminates them collects it. Bounty payouts are separate from the standard prize pool.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Jupiter Poker Concepts

These terms are specific to how Jupiter Poker is structured. You'll see them in the interface, in this documentation, and in any communication about the product.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Series">
    A poker festival: a set of tournaments organised by the same operator in the same location over a defined period. Triton Super High Roller Series Montenegro 2026 is one series.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Event">
    A single tournament inside a series. Each event has its own buy-in, format (No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, etc.), and prize pool. The "\$100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Main Event" is one event inside the Triton Montenegro 2026 series.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Listing">
    One player's offer to sell action for one specific event. If two players are selling action for the same event, that's two separate listings. A listing displays the player, the event, the target raise, the fill progress, and the time remaining.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Player">
    The poker professional whose entry you can buy a share of. Every player on Jupiter Poker is verified by Triton and Jupiter, with their identity publicly displayed alongside their listing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Backer">
    You, when you buy a share of a player's listing. The backer funds part of the player's tournament entry and receives a proportional share of any payout the player wins.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Staking">
    The act of buying a share of a player's listing on Jupiter Poker. Throughout this documentation, "staking" refers exclusively to this action. It has no relation to Solana staking or to staking JUP for governance.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Target raise">
    The total USDC amount the player wants to raise from backers for a given listing. This is set by the player and is typically a fraction of the tournament buy-in, not the full buy-in.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Fill">
    How much of the target raise has been bought by backers, expressed as a percentage. A listing at 64% fill has raised 64% of its target. A listing at 100% fill is fully raised.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Buy amount">
    The amount of USDC you commit when staking a listing. The buy amount includes Entry Fees: a small portion goes to fees, the remainder funds your position.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Position">
    Your share of a player's action, recorded onchain after you complete a buy. The position is expressed as a percentage of the player's tournament buy-in and determines your share of any payout.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="% of action">
    The percentage of the player's tournament entry that your position represents. If you hold 1% of action on a player who wins \$100,000, you receive \$1,000 before any settlement-side adjustments.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Entry Fees">
    The fee Jupiter charges on each buy. The fee is shown explicitly in the buy modal before you confirm.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Auto-cancel threshold">
    A minimum target raise level a listing must reach by its deadline. If the listing fails to reach this level, the listing is cancelled and every backer is refunded automatically.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Listing status">
    A label shown on each listing card describing where it stands in its lifecycle. Examples include `RAISING` (open for buys) and `RAISED` (target reached).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Settlement">
    The process by which the tournament result is recorded onchain and payouts become claimable by backers. Settlement happens after the event ends in real life.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Claim">
    The action a backer takes to receive their share of a payout after settlement. A claim requires one wallet signature and credits USDC to the backer's account.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Refund">
    USDC returned to the backer when a listing is cancelled (auto-cancel threshold missed, event cancelled, or other refund-eligible conditions). Refunds are visible in the dashboard alongside claims and stakes.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## How a Listing Is Priced

Every listing displays the player's tournament buy-in and the listing's target raise side by side. These are two different numbers.

The **tournament buy-in** is what the player owes to the casino to enter the event. For example, \$100,000 for the No-Limit Hold'em Main Event.

The **target raise** is what the player wants to raise from backers through Jupiter Poker. It is usually a fraction of the buy-in: the player covers the rest themselves.

When you stake a listing, your **buy amount** in USDC translates into a **% of action**: the share of the player's tournament entry that your position represents. The payout you can claim, if the player cashes, is proportional to that percentage.

<Info>
  For the exact math (buy amount → position → % of action → payout), see [How a Listing Is Priced](/user-docs/more/jupiter-poker#how-a-listing-is-priced).
</Info>

***

## Listing Lifecycle in One Line

A listing moves through stages: it opens for buys, fills up (or doesn't), the event is played, and the result is recorded onchain. Backers either claim a payout, hold a losing position, or receive a refund if the listing was cancelled.

The full lifecycle, including each status and the exact rules for refunds and payouts, is described in [Listing Lifecycle in One Line](/user-docs/more/jupiter-poker#listing-lifecycle-in-one-line) above.