How to set up a poker league in Poker League
From a blank account to the first night at the table: this guide follows the screens in order — account activation, the new-league wizard, the setup guide, seasons, player invitations, creating a tournament with its e-mail invitations, sign-ups and the clock. Every label below is the one you will see in the app.
Create your league — free for up to 6 players
1. Create your account and activate it
One account runs all your leagues. Sign up with your name, e-mail and a password of at least 8 characters, accept the terms and press Create account. The account is activated through the link in the e-mail we send you; until you click it you cannot sign in or create a league.
- Open poker-league.app/signup and fill in Full name, e-mail and Password.
- Check your inbox for the activation e-mail and click the link. If it is not there within a minute, look in spam.
- The link signs you in and, because you have no league yet, opens the new-league wizard.
2. Create the league
The wizard takes four steps and about a minute. Everything you choose here can be changed later in the league settings, except the address.
- Package — say how many players you expect (up to 6, 7–20, up to 50 or up to 100) and the wizard recommends Free, Pro, Pro Max or Club. Free needs no card.
- League name and address — the address is your league's own web address, yourleague.poker-league.app, in lowercase letters, digits and hyphens. It is suggested from the name and checked while you type.
- Language, currency and time zone — the language of the screens and e-mails (English or Croatian), the currency shown next to every buy-in and prize, and the time zone used for tournament times.
- Visibility — a private league shows its data to members only; a public league can be read by anyone with the link. You confirm the choice once more before moving on.
- First season — the season name (the league name and the year by default), its start and end dates, and the buy-in and rebuy that every tournament will start from.
- Review — check the summary and press Create league. A paid package goes through the card payment first; Free goes straight to the league.
The app creates the league with you as owner and as its first player, the first season with the classic points table and the default payout table, the e-mail designs and the badge system. You land on the league's setup guide.
3. Finish the setup guide
The setup guide inside the league walks through the remaining settings in order. You can press Later on any step and come back from the home page; only the blind structure is required before the clock can run.
- Masters & rules — how many Masters seats are won by points, by percentage and at the Wild Card, the attendance minimum, the rebuy limit and whether the season collects a pot. The defaults match the rulebook. Paid packages only.
- Points — keep the classic points table or switch the season to a formula with the Balanced, Top places, Flat or Field size ignored preset.
- Blinds & ante — pick Turbo, Standard or Deep stack and whether antes start from level 5. Standard suits most leagues; Deep stack is for fields above 20 players. You can edit any level afterwards.
- Prizes — paid places and the split: automatic by field size, fixed percentages or your own table.
- Players — opens the Invite players dialog described below. You need at least two players to start a tournament.
- Done — Your league is ready, with shortcuts to the first tournament, the members page and the league itself.
4. Add or change a season
A season is a date range with its own fees, rules and standings. The first one is created with the league; every later one you add under Admin → Seasons → New season. A new season can copy the fees, add-on rules and registration limits of an existing one, and inherits the Masters rules, rebuy limit and pot switch of the latest season.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Season name | League name + year | Shown in the standings and e-mails |
| Starts / Ends | Today / 31 December | Decides whether the season shows as Upcoming, Active or Finished |
| Buy-in / Rebuy / Add-on | 10 / 10 / 10 | Copied to every new tournament; Specials double them |
| Standings order | Placement coefficient | Sort the table by rating or by points won |
| Add-ons per player | 1 per tournament, 3 per season | How often a player may take the add-on |
| Rebuys per player | 1 | More, unlimited or none; plus an optional cap per night |
| Minimum registered players | 2 | The clock will not start below it |
| Pot per player / collection fee | 0 / 0 | Switch the season pot on and set the amounts (Pro and above) |
| Masters seats | 5 by points, 2 by %, 2 Wild Card | Who qualifies for the final (Pro and above) |
A season's status comes from its dates alone: once the end date passes it shows as Finished, and there is nothing to close or archive. To start a new year, create a season with new dates and mark it with Set as default so new tournaments and the home page use it. A season can only be deleted while it has no tournaments. Points settings are edited under Admin → Settings → Scoring; a change applies to results saved from then on.
5. Invite players and activate their accounts
Players join by invitation. Open Invite players from the home page, the setup guide or the Members page, paste their e-mail addresses one per line, pick the season, add a personal message if you like, and press Send invitations. The dialog shows how many free spots your package still has.
- Each player receives the e-mail You're invited to your league with an Accept invitation button. The link is personal and valid for 7 days.
- On the invitation page the player enters their name, an optional nickname and a password, accepts the terms and is instantly a member with a player profile. Someone who already has a Poker League account just signs in.
- On the Members page you see every open invitation and can resend it, revoke it or copy the link to send through chat if the e-mail did not arrive.
- A player who never uses a phone can still be in the league: add them as a player without an e-mail and record their results yourself.
The Free package covers 6 players; an invitation that would exceed the package is held until you upgrade. Players need no app: the league opens in the browser, and Add to Home Screen gives it an icon on the phone.
6. Create a tournament and send the invitations
There is no separate publish or activate step: a tournament is live for the players the moment you create it, and the invitation e-mails go out at the same time. Press New tournament in the admin and fill in the dialog.
- Name — suggested automatically (Tournament 01/2026, Master(2026), Wildcard(2026)); change it if you like.
- When — pick the day from the week strip or Other date, and the start time (20:00 by default, or your usual time).
- Tournament type — Regular, Masters (the season finale) or Wildcard (no rebuys or add-ons). Optionally flag it as a Summer Special or Autumn Special, which doubles the stakes and themes the night.
- Details — the season, the tournament manager and the venue (pre-filled from the last night). The buy-in, rebuy and add-on come from the season and are shown for reference.
- Participants — optional. Players sign themselves up, but you can pre-register Same as last or Select all.
- Send email invitations — on by default. Press Create and send invitations; the e-mail goes to every active player in the league who receives e-mails, not only the ones you pre-registered.
The invitation carries the date, start time and venue, the line Sign-up is open and a View tournament button. It is sent once, when the tournament is created; afterwards players find the night on their home page and get the push reminder below. The wording of the invitation, the Special editions and the results e-mail can be changed under Admin → Settings → Mail.
7. Sign-ups, waitlist and reminders
From the invitation or the home page each player answers with one tap: I'm in, Maybe or Can't make it. I'm in is the registration itself. You see the groups In, Waitlist, Maybe, Can't make it and No answer yet in the tournament's Overview.
- Seats — set a seat limit in the RSVP panel (empty means no limit). When the night is full, I'm in becomes Join waitlist, and the first person on the waitlist is moved in automatically when a seat frees up, with a push notification.
- Reminder — between 26 and 2 hours before the start, players who have not answered or said Maybe get one push: Game night tonight — are you in?
- Deadline — players can register and unregister until the start time; after that only you can add a late player.
- QR check-in — open it from the clock and let players scan the code to confirm they have arrived, or register at the door if they are not in yet.
8. Run the night
On the tournament card press Manager to open the clock on your phone and show it on the TV from the league's address. Start clock needs at least the season's minimum of registered players. When a player busts, tap them, choose Mark out, enter the position and who knocked them out, and the points and payouts update immediately. When one player is left the tournament finishes by itself: the winner is set, the standings refresh and the results e-mail goes to everyone who played. The results, the night's awards and the new standings are on every player's phone before the chips are packed.
9. Repeat, then close the season
From here the league runs on New tournament, invitations and the clock. Twice a year flag a night as a Special for double stakes. At the end of the season create the Wild Card and the Masters as tournament types of their own; the standings already show who holds a seat. When the dates run out, add a season for the next year, copy the settings and set it as default. Nothing from the old season is lost: results, records and badges stay in the league for as long as it exists.
Where to find what
| Task | Where |
|---|---|
| Create a league | poker-league.app/new |
| League name, logo and language | Admin → Settings → League |
| Seasons, fees, rebuy and add-on rules, pot, Masters | Admin → Seasons |
| Points table or formula | Admin → Settings → Scoring → Season scoring |
| Blind structure | Admin → Settings → Clock → Structure |
| Paid places and the split | Admin → Settings → Scoring → Prizes |
| Invite, resend or revoke players | Members & invitations |
| New tournament and invitations | Admin → New tournament |
| Seats, waitlist and who is in | Tournament → Overview |
| E-mail wording and automatic results mail | Admin → Settings → Mail |
| Run the clock, knockouts, rebuys | Tournament → Manager |
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to activate a tournament before players can sign up?
No. A tournament is open for sign-ups as soon as you create it. The only activation in Poker League is the link in the e-mail that activates your account.
Can I send the tournament invitation again?
The e-mail is sent once, at creation. Players who have not answered get a push reminder the day before, and the night is on every player's home page. If you need another e-mail, create the tournament with the correct details rather than editing and re-sending.
Do players need to install anything?
No. The invitation opens the league in the phone's browser; Add to Home Screen gives it an icon. Push reminders work on phones that have allowed notifications.
What if a player did not get the invitation e-mail?
On the Members page you can resend it or copy the link and send it through chat. Links are valid for 7 days; resending refreshes the old link instead of making a second one.
Can I change the buy-in for one night?
The fees come from the season. Change them in the season settings and new tournaments pick them up; mark a night as a Summer or Autumn Special for double stakes.
How do I start a new season?
Admin → Seasons → New season, copy the settings from the old one, set the dates and press Set as default. The old season shows as Finished once its end date passes.
Is any of this limited in the Free package?
No. Seasons, tournaments, invitations, sign-ups, check-in and the clock are all in Free, for up to 6 players. The Masters, the pot and finances, predictions and the deep statistics need Pro or above.