How to Organize Cash Games and Tournaments with Tells Ledger

What is the difference between My sessions and Hosted games?

The Ledger area in Tells has two views. My sessions records your own cash-game or tournament results, including buy-in, cash-out, hours played, and optional notes. It summarizes those entries by period and shows personal net, average result, best result, and a running trend.

Hosted games is for the person running the game. It keeps a player list and a separate financial line for each person. The host can see the combined buy-ins, money still on the table or already paid out, and whether the final amounts balance. Tournament games add a clock, blind schedule, and prize controls.

Settling a hosted game does not replace logging your personal session. If you hosted and played, finish the table-wide record in Hosted games, then add your own result under My sessions. The first answers who should receive what; the second preserves your individual history.

What should a poker host decide before the game starts?

Choose the format first. For a cash game, confirm the stakes and how players will buy in or add on. For a tournament, confirm the entry amount, whether repeat entries are allowed, the blind schedule, break timing, and how the prize pool will be distributed.

Name the game clearly enough to find later. A title such as “Friday 1/2 home game” or “September freezeout” is more useful than “Poker.” Add the players before the first hand when possible, then read the names back to the table. Fixing a missing or duplicated player is easier before chips are moving.

Decide who owns the record. One host should enter every buy-in and result, even if another player handles chips or the timer. A single source of truth avoids two partial lists that must be merged when everyone wants to leave.

How do you set up a cash game in Tells Ledger?

Open Ledger, choose Hosted games, and tap Host a game. Select Cash, enter the game name, and record the stakes. After creating the game, add each player with the amount of the first buy-in. The game screen will show the total money entered and the amount still on the table.

When a player buys more chips, open that player and add the new buy-in instead of replacing the original amount. Tells increases both the buy-in count and the total buy-in for that player. This preserves the path from the first stack to the final total rather than leaving only one combined number with no explanation.

Record a cash-out when a player leaves. Their result is the cash-out minus their total buy-ins, while the game view reduces the amount marked on table. If a player returns before the game closes, the host can place them back in play and continue updating the same record.

How should a host reconcile a cash game?

A finished cash game should satisfy one simple check: total cash-outs equal total buy-ins. Record every player's ending stack, including zero for someone who lost the full buy-in. Then compare the combined cash-outs with the total pot shown by the organizer.

If the two sides differ, do not settle yet. Check the common failure points in order: an unrecorded rebuy, a buy-in entered twice, a cash-out typed incorrectly, chips still in a rack or pocket, or a player whose result was never closed. The balance message identifies the size and direction of the gap so the host knows what must be explained.

Settle only after the entries reflect the final count. If a cash-game player still has no cash-out, Tells warns that the player is still on the table; settling anyway records a zero cash-out for that open player. That option is useful for a true zero stack, but it should not be a shortcut around missing numbers.

What is a complete cash-game ledger example?

Five players begin a 1/2 cash game. Ava buys in for $200, Ben for $200, Cam for $200, Dani for $150, and Eli for $250. Cam later adds $100. The host should show six buy-ins across five players and $1,100 total on the table.

At the end, the cash-outs are $380 for Ava, $0 for Ben, $290 for Cam, $140 for Dani, and $290 for Eli. Those amounts also total $1,100, so the game balances. The individual results are plus $180, minus $200, minus $10, minus $10, and plus $40; together they sum to zero.

If Cam's extra $100 had not been recorded, the organizer would show only $1,000 in but $1,100 out. The apparent $100 surplus points directly toward a missing buy-in or an overstated cash-out. The check does not decide which entry is wrong, but it prevents an unexplained difference from being treated as a finished settlement.

How do you set up a poker tournament in Tells?

From Hosted games, create a new game and select MTT. Add each entrant with the entry amount. If the format permits another entry, add it to that player's record when it occurs. The sum of all player buy-ins becomes the prize pool shown on the tournament screen.

Review the blind structure before starting the clock. Each playing level can have a small blind, big blind, ante, and duration. Breaks sit in the same ordered schedule, and levels can be added, removed, or rearranged. Once play begins, the clock shows the current level, time remaining, blinds, ante, and what comes next.

The host can start or pause the timer and move to the previous or next level when the room needs a correction. Because the schedule and player record live on the same tournament, the host does not have to reconcile an unrelated timer with a separate entrant list.

How do tournament payouts work in the organizer?

Open Prize pool to choose a payout preset or build a manual percentage table. A manual structure must assign every paid place a positive share and total 100 percent. The organizer converts those percentages into amounts using the current prize pool.

The payout table updates when players or buy-ins change. That matters when the final field or number of repeat entries is not known at the start. Check the table again after registration closes, then record the actual payout beside each finishing player.

Players without a payout remain open until settlement. If the host settles with open players, Tells marks them as busted with a zero payout. Before doing that, confirm that every paid finisher has the correct amount and that the combined payouts equal the prize pool.

What is a complete tournament ledger example?

Twelve players enter a $50 tournament, and two players use one additional entry each. The organizer should show fourteen total buy-ins and a $700 prize pool. The host chooses a manual three-place structure of 50, 30, and 20 percent, which produces payouts of $350, $210, and $140.

During play, the host records the two extra entries, runs the configured blind levels, and marks eliminated players with zero payouts as the field shrinks. After the final hand, the top three amounts total $700. The prize pool and paid-out totals match, so the tournament can be settled without an unexplained balance.

The host's tournament record and a player's personal result answer different questions. The hosted record confirms all $700 was collected and distributed. A player who entered once and won $210 can separately log $50 in, $210 out, the time played, and a note under My sessions for a personal net result of plus $160.

Can players follow the tournament clock without editing the game?

Yes. The tournament host can create a share link for a read-only live view. Anyone with the link can see the clock, blind levels, and prize table, while only the host can edit the game. This gives players a common timer without exposing organizer controls.

Player-level results are a separate sharing choice. The host can turn them on when the group should see entries, buy-ins, and cash-outs, or leave them off while still sharing the live clock and prizes. Review that setting before sending the link beyond the table.

What habits keep a hosted poker game organized?

Enter transactions when they happen. A quick buy-in update during the game is easier to verify than six remembered changes at midnight. When someone cashes out or busts, close that player's line before chips or payout money change hands.

Read the running totals at natural pauses. Cash hosts can check money on table against the physical bank. Tournament hosts can confirm the prize pool after registration closes and inspect the payout table before the bubble. These checks turn the final settlement into confirmation rather than investigation.

Use notes in your personal session for context that matters to you, not as a second set of host accounts. Stakes, hours, table or location, and a short observation make a personal entry useful later. The detailed player-by-player accounting belongs in Hosted games.

After settlement, leave the game closed unless a real correction is needed. Tells allows a settled game to be reopened, but a stable final record is easier for everyone to trust. If you reopen it, make the correction, repeat the balance check, and settle again.

Why use Tells Ledger for a poker night?

Tells keeps the operational side of the night in one native iOS workflow. Cash-game hosts can follow buy-ins, repeat entries, cash-outs, live money, and final balance. Tournament hosts add the field, prize pool, payout structure, blind schedule, breaks, and shareable clock.

The benefit is a clearer record, not a promise that mistakes cannot happen. The organizer can surface an imbalance and keep each player's line visible, but the host still has to count the money and verify the entries. Used carefully, Ledger gives that final check a structure everyone can inspect.