A clearer poker-night closeout
A useful closeout tells you what the game earned, where the money went and what still needs to be settled.
These examples describe the recording rules used in the Proper Poker prototype. They use sample amounts; adapt the categories to the way your game operates.
Start with the night’s income and costs
Keep rake and the agreed house share of staff tips in their own categories. Record expenses and compensation separately. A player’s buy-in adds money or a receivable to the bank; it does not become house profit just because you issued chips.
$6,000 rake + $350 house tip share − $2,700 expenses and compensation − $400 free-play loss = $3,250 current-night profit.
Keep free play separate from credit
Credit records an amount a player owes. Free play does not create that debt. With the free-play rule illustrated in Proper Poker, the house recovers returned chips up to the amount of free play issued.
Issue $1,000 free play. The player returns $600 in chips. Recover the $600, record a $400 free-play loss, and leave no player payout and no player debt.
If the player returns $1,300 instead, recover the $1,000 free play and record a $300 payout. The free play was recovered, so no free-play loss is charged.
Mixed cash, credit and free-play buy-ins need separate funding lines so the final settlement can be traced to the amounts originally issued.
Return the dealer float before counting earnings
A $1,000 dealer float is operating inventory. Record its denominations when it goes out and when it comes back. Keep rake and dealer tips as separate counts. The returned float is neither new rake nor dealer earnings.
Separate compensation from payment
Staff may earn a flat shift fee, hourly compensation, a share of tips, or a house-paid service fee. Record the agreed rule and the resulting amount before recording how much was paid.
A staff member earns $500. You record a $200 crypto payment. The night includes $500 of compensation and the staff member is still owed $300. Paying that $300 next week settles a balance; it does not add a second $300 expense.
Record who paid each expense or staff payment. A partner who covers a cost personally may need reimbursement even though the expense already appears in the night’s result.
Show earlier balances on their own
Paying a balance from a previous game changes available funds. It should remain visible without obscuring what this game earned.
In the sample above, $3,250 current-night profit less $1,000 in earlier balances settled leaves $2,250 after those settlements. Those two numbers answer different questions. Keep both.
Reconcile the chips as a game
Compare chips issued with player returns, collected rake, tips and any other documented returns by denomination. Chips move between players during play, so a player’s buy-ins alone cannot tell you their live stack. A fresh count is needed for that.
Keep discrepancies visible until they are explained. Corrections should retain the original entry, the replacement, the reason and who changed it.
A report people can read
Put the current-night result near the top. Give staff and partners their own statements. Include the game’s date, the relevant entries and the amounts still owed, so readers can follow a total back to its source.
Open the illustrative sample report