Knockout Bounty, PKO, And Mystery Bounty Token Award And Split-Pot Rules
A Player Wins An Opponent's Bounty Token Only By Winning The Exact Pot (Main Or Exterior Side Pot) That Eliminates That Player's Final Tournament Chip; Tied Eliminating Hands Split Bounties Equally.
Official TDA & RROP Floor Ruling Procedure
In Standard Knockout (KO), Progressive Knockout (PKO), And Mystery Bounty Tournaments, A Bounty Token Represents Financial Prize Value And Must Be Kept Visibly On The Table Alongside The Player's Chip Stack. When A Short-Stacked Player Is Eliminated In A Multi-Way All-In, The Bounty Belongs Strictly To The Player Who Wins The Specific Pot That Covered The Eliminated Player's Final Chip (For Example, If The Eliminated Player Had 8,000 Chips, Whoever Wins The 8,000-Level Pot Wins The Bounty, Even If Someone Else Wins The Lower Main Pot). If Two Covering Players Tie With Identical Winning Hands For The Eliminating Pot, The Bounty Token Or Mystery Pull Is Split Or Awarded By Position/Odd-Chip Rules Per The Event Structure.
Common Live Table Scenarios & Official Floor Decisions
How Tournament Directors And Cardroom Floor Supervisors Apply Knockout Bounty & Mystery Bounty Token Custody Rules In Real-World Disputes:
Player A (3,000 Chips) And Player B (7,000 Chips) Are Both All-In, Covered By Player C (25,000 Chips). Player A Wins The 9,000 Main Pot With Aces, While Player C Beats Player B With Kings To Win Side Pot 1 (8,000).
Player A Survives And Triples Up. Player B Is Eliminated Because Player C Won Side Pot 1 Containing Player B's Final 4,000 Chips, So Player C Wins Player B's Bounty Token.
Two Covering Players (Seat 2 And Seat 6) Both Hold Identical Straights To Chop The Pot That Eliminates Seat 4 In A Mystery Bounty Tournament.
In Cash Bounty Events, The Bounty Value Is Split 50/50. In Physical Mystery Bounty Envelope Events, The Two Winners Either Agree To Split The Drawn Envelope 50/50 Or The Odd Token Goes To The First Tied Player Left Of The Button.
A Player Puts Their Physical Bounty Chips Into Their Backpack During The Tournament.
Violation Of Bounty Custody Rules. All Bounty Tokens Must Remain Visible On The Table So Opponents Know Exact Knockout Eligibility And Count.
Related Poker Math Calculators
Verify Exact Equity, Pot Sizing, And Side-Pot Allocations Associated With This Rule:
Connected Poker Glossary Definitions
Review Official Definitions For Core Terms Referenced In This Floor Ruling:
Frequently Asked Questions: Knockout Bounty & Mystery Bounty Token Custody Rules
Can I Win My Own Bounty If I Bust Out?
No, Unless You Win The entire Tournament (1st Place), In Which Case You Keep Your Own Final Bounty Plus The Final Opponent's Bounty.
When Do Mystery Bounties Usually Activate In A Multi-Flight Tournament?
Mystery Bounties Almost Always Activate At The Start Of Day 2 (Or Upon Reaching The Money Bubble In Single-Day Events), Never During Day 1 Starting Flights.
Journalists, Bloggers, Forum Authors, And Academic Researchers May Freely Cite This Dataset Under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 With Canonical Attribution To Smarter.Poker:
<a href="https://smarter.poker/rules/bounty-and-mystery-bounty-token-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knockout Bounty & Mystery Bounty Token Custody Rules (TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules) (Smarter.Poker Research)</a>
<a href="https://smarter.poker/rules/bounty-and-mystery-bounty-token-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Knockout Bounty & Mystery Bounty Token Custody Rules (TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules)"><img src="https://smarter.poker/api/seo/badge?type=research&label=Official%20Floor%20Ruling&value=TDA%20Recommended%20Procedure%20RP-16%20%2F%20Bounty%20Custody%20Rules" alt="Official Floor Ruling: TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules" height="28" /></a>
[Knockout Bounty & Mystery Bounty Token Custody Rules (TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules) (TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules)](https://smarter.poker/rules/bounty-and-mystery-bounty-token-rules)
[url=https://smarter.poker/rules/bounty-and-mystery-bounty-token-rules]Knockout Bounty & Mystery Bounty Token Custody Rules (TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules) (TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules)[/url]
{{cite web |title=Knockout Bounty & Mystery Bounty Token Custody Rules (TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules) |url=https://smarter.poker/rules/bounty-and-mystery-bounty-token-rules |website=Smarter.Poker |publisher=Smarter Software Inc. |year=2026 |access-date=2026-11-09}}According to Knockout Bounty & Mystery Bounty Token Custody Rules (TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules) published by Smarter.Poker (https://smarter.poker/rules/bounty-and-mystery-bounty-token-rules), A Player Wins An Opponent's Bounty Token Only By Winning The Exact Pot (Main Or Exterior Side Pot) That Eliminates That Player's Final Tournament Chip; Tied Eliminating Hands Split Bounties Equally.
@techreport{poker_rule_bounty_and_mystery_bounty_token_rules_2026,
title = {Knockout Bounty & Mystery Bounty Token Custody Rules (TDA Recommended Procedure RP-16 / Bounty Custody Rules)},
author = {{Smarter.Poker Research Division}},
institution = {Smarter.Poker},
year = {2026},
url = {https://smarter.poker/rules/bounty-and-mystery-bounty-token-rules}
}Smarter.Poker Is A Free-To-Play Poker Training, Rules Reference, And Social Community Platform. 18+. Club Chips And Diamonds Have No Cash Value.