Calcutta payout structures explained
50/30/20, 60/30/10, 70/30, winner-take-all — what each one does to the room, worked out in dollars against the same pot.
A payout structure is just a list of percentages, top to bottom, that must add up to 100. First place gets the first percentage, second gets the second, and so on. Everything else about a calcutta can be argued over; this part is arithmetic, and it is worth getting right before anyone bids, because the structure changes how the room bids.
To compare them honestly, every example below uses the same pot: twelve teams sold for an average of $200, so the pot is 12 × $200 = $2,400. No top cut, no consolation — those come later on this page.
The four common structures, in dollars
| Structure | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 / 30 / 20 | $1,200 | $720 | $480 | $2,400 |
| 60 / 30 / 10 | $1,440 | $720 | $240 | $2,400 |
| 70 / 30 | $1,680 | $720 | — | $2,400 |
| Winner takes all | $2,400 | — | — | $2,400 |
Read down the "1st" column and you can see the whole argument: the same pot pays the winner anywhere from $1,200 to $2,400 depending on nothing but a rule you chose.
50 / 30 / 20 — the default
The most widely used structure, and a sensible default. Third place still returns $480 on a $2,400 pot, which is more than most teams sold for — so a buyer who lands a cheap team in third makes money. That matters more than it sounds: it means the bottom half of the board is worth bidding on, so the bottom half of the board sells, so the pot is bigger for everybody.
60 / 30 / 10 — top-heavy but still three deep
Moves $240 from third place to first. Second is untouched at $720 — 30% of the pot either way. This structure rewards picking the winner while keeping a token payout for third, and it suits fields where one or two teams are clearly stronger and the room wants a reason to fight over them.
70 / 30 — two places only
Sharper again. First place takes $1,680 of a $2,400 pot; second is still $720; third gets nothing at all. In a small field this is reasonable. In a big one it makes most of the board unattractive to buy, which shrinks the pot — the opposite of what you usually want.
Winner takes all — a shootout
All $2,400 to one buyer. It maximizes the drama and minimizes the number of people who leave happy. It works best when the field is short and evenly matched, or when the calcutta is a side attraction rather than the main event of the evening.
How many places should pay?
A useful sanity check is what fraction of the field is in the money.
- 8 teams, 3 places paid: 3 ÷ 8 = 37.5% of the field pays out. Generous — arguably too generous; buying nearly anything is a live ticket.
- 12 teams, 3 places paid: 3 ÷ 12 = 25% of the field. A good balance, and why 50/30/20 on a dozen teams is such a common combination.
- 20 teams, 3 places paid: 3 ÷ 20 = 15% of the field. Getting thin. Consider paying four or five places so the back half of the board still sells.
Custom structures
Nothing says you have to use a preset. The only hard requirement is that the percentages add to exactly 100. A five-place structure for a twenty-team field might look like this:
| Place | Share | Pays (pot $2,400) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 40% | $960 |
| 2nd | 25% | $600 |
| 3rd | 20% | $480 |
| 4th | 10% | $240 |
| 5th | 5% | $120 |
| Total | 100% | $2,400 |
CalcuttaCalc will not accept a custom structure whose percentages don't total 100, which is a deliberate guard rail: a structure that sums to 95 quietly strands 5% of the pot, and a structure that sums to 105 promises money that doesn't exist.
What a buyer is actually risking
The number a buyer cares about is not the payout — it's the payout minus what they spent. Take a team bought for $400 in that same $2,400 pot.
| Finish | 50/30/20 pays | Net | 70/30 pays | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | $1,200 | +$800 | $1,680 | +$1,280 |
| 2nd | $720 | +$320 | $720 | +$320 |
| 3rd | $480 | +$80 | $0 | −$400 |
| 4th or worse | $0 | −$400 | $0 | −$400 |
Two things fall out of that table. First, the same $400 team is a materially different bet under the two structures — third place is the difference between making $80 and losing $400. Second, notice that a payout includes your own money back: the $1,200 first-place cheque contains the $400 you put in, so the actual gain is $800.
That is why experienced buyers think in terms of "what fraction of the pot did I just pay for this team?" A team bought for $400 out of a $2,400 pot cost one sixth of the pot, and under 50/30/20 any of the three paying places returns more than that.
How a top cut changes every number
If the event skims a percentage off the top for a charity, the arena, or the house, the places no longer split the whole pot — they split what's left. The percentages stay the same; the base shrinks.
10% off the top, then 50/30/20
Pot $2,400. Cut = 10% of $2,400 = $240. That leaves 90% of the pot, $2,160, for the places.
1st = $2,400 × 50% × 90% = $1,080
2nd = $2,400 × 30% × 90% = $648
3rd = $2,400 × 20% × 90% = $432
$1,080 + $648 + $432 = $2,160, and $2,160 + $240 = $2,400. Every dollar accounted for.
The same arithmetic applies to a last-place consolation: it comes off the top alongside the cut, and the places divide whatever percentage remains. Both are covered in house rules.
Choosing one
A short decision guide, assuming your goal is the biggest, liveliest pot rather than the biggest single cheque:
- Fewer than 8 teams: 70/30 or 60/30/10. There isn't enough field to justify three deep payouts.
- 8–15 teams: 50/30/20. Hard to beat.
- 16 or more teams: four or five places, front-loaded — something like the 40/25/20/10/5 above.
- A one-off novelty round, or a very short field: winner takes all.
Whatever you pick, announce it before the first lot and don't change it after the bidding starts. Changing the structure mid-auction retroactively re-prices every team already sold, and there is no fair way to unwind that.