How the Open Poker League works
A free ranked ladder on fizzpoker.com. You play No-Limit Hold’em on open 6-player tables for play chips, sit down and stand up whenever you like, and your results place you in one of seven leagues, from Bronze to Grandmaster. Seasons of 13 weeks give everyone a fresh start.
What is the Open Poker League?
A free ranked ladder on fizzpoker.com. You play No-Limit Hold’em on open 6-player tables for play chips, sit down and stand up whenever you like, and your results place you in one of seven leagues, from Bronze to Grandmaster. Seasons of 13 weeks give everyone a fresh start.
Seasons last 13 weeks. Season 1 ends on January 1, 2027.
How does a table work?
Click "Play" and you are seated within seconds at a table of players near your rating. Blinds are 10/20 and everyone starts every hand with 2,000 chips (100 big blinds); what you win or lose is booked to your league ledger. Play ten hands or three hours; stand up whenever you want. A table needs at least 3 players to deal.
How does the Poker ELO rating work?
Every player has a hidden skill rating that starts at 1500. Your rating is updated after every 50 hands you play, wherever you played them: we look at how many big blinds you won or lost per 100 hands and compare it with what your rating predicted against the opponents you faced. Beating the prediction against stronger players gains the most; falling short against weaker players costs the most. Example: six equal players finish 50 hands at +40, +20, 0, −10, −20 and −30 big blinds per 100 hands and move +48, +24, 0, −12, −24 and −36. Alongside the rating we track how certain we are about it. New players move fast, experienced players move slowly, and after a break the rating becomes a little more flexible again. Your displayed rating is the skill we are confident you have: it rises as you play more, even if your results stay the same.
Worked example
Six players rated 1500 with the same uncertainty complete a 50-hand block against each other.
| Player | Result (bb/100) | Rating change |
|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | +40 | +48 |
| Player 2 | +20 | +24 |
| Player 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 4 | −10 | −12 |
| Player 5 | −20 | −24 |
| Player 6 | −30 | −36 |
What are the leagues?
Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master and Grandmaster. Your league is set by your displayed rating; the thresholds are shown on the league page and adjust slowly so that each league holds a fixed share of players. Master needs 500 hands in the last 30 days; Grandmaster is the top 50 Masters with at least 2,000 hands this season.
Your first 500 rated hands each season are placement hands. During placement you are Unranked and your rating moves quickly to find your level.
League points are a season score shown on your badge. Every 50 hands you earn 10 points plus a bonus for chips won, and the points never go down. A bonus pool grows a little every day you don’t play and doubles your points when you come back, so casual players catch up.
| League | Displayed rating | Also needed |
|---|---|---|
| Unranked | — | Fewer than 500 rated hands this season |
| Bronze | below 1190 | 500 rated hands this season |
| Silver | 1190–1299 | 500 rated hands this season |
| Gold | 1300–1374 | 500 rated hands this season |
| Platinum | 1375–1454 | 500 rated hands this season |
| Diamond | 1455–1599 | 500 rated hands this season |
| Master | 1600 and above | 500 rated hands in the last 30 days |
| Grandmaster | top 50 of Master | 2,000 rated hands this season and 500 in the last 30 days |
How do I rank better?
- Play tight and aggressive: with 100 big blinds, fold marginal hands, raise rather than call, and put chips in when you have the best of it.
- Position matters: raise more hands on the button, fewer under the gun.
- Don’t chase: calling big bets with weak draws is the fastest way to lose big blinds per 100 hands.
- Value-bet your strong hands: the rating measures chips won, so a missed bet is a missed rating point.
- Play regularly: your displayed rating is conservative; more hands narrow the uncertainty and lift the number you see.
- Don’t play tired or tilted: you can stand up at any time, and your open block waits for you.
Sitting out and fair play
For 30 seconds after a disconnect nothing happens. After that your current hand is folded and your seat sits out until you return. After 10 minutes sitting out your seat is released; your rating is not affected.
You can leave whenever you want. "Sit out next hand" skips hands without losing your seat; "Stand up" releases it. Leaving mid-hand folds that hand. Nothing else happens: the hands you played simply count toward your next rating update, whenever you play them. If you sit down again within 10 minutes you post a big blind, like at any poker table.
Seats are assigned for you: there is no table list and no seat choice, two accounts that share a device or connection are never seated together, and chips won from one opponent only count toward your rating up to a daily limit. Use "Report hand" in the hand history to flag anything that looks wrong; every report is reviewed.
Questions people ask
Why did my rating go up even though I lost chips?
Because you were expected to lose more against those opponents. Your result relative to the prediction is what counts, not the raw number. The reverse also happens: winning a little against much weaker players can lower your rating slightly.
What are placement hands?
Your first 500 rated hands each season. During placement you are Unranked and your rating moves quickly to find your level.
What are league points?
A season score shown on your badge. Every 50 hands you earn 10 points plus a bonus for chips won, and the points never go down. A bonus pool grows a little every day you don’t play and doubles your points when you come back, so casual players catch up.
What happens if I disconnect?
For 30 seconds nothing happens. After that your current hand is folded and your seat sits out until you return. After 10 minutes sitting out your seat is released; your rating is not affected.
Can I leave whenever I want?
Yes. "Sit out next hand" skips hands without losing your seat; "Stand up" releases it. Leaving mid-hand folds that hand. Nothing else happens: the hands you played simply count toward your next rating update, whenever you play them. If you sit down again within 10 minutes you post a big blind, like at any poker table.
Why was I moved to another table?
When a table has only one or two real players, we merge it into a fuller table in your rating range so you play with people rather than waiting. You are moved between hands with a short notice, and your rating progress is untouched.
Why does the leaderboard rank a player with a lower rating above me?
The leaderboard uses the displayed (confident) rating. A player with more hands has less uncertainty and a higher displayed rating at the same skill.
Do I play against real people?
You are seated with league members near your rating. To keep tables running, some seats may be filled by computer players.
What happens at the end of a season?
Ratings move partway back toward the middle, everyone replays 500 placement hands, and the highest league you reached becomes a permanent badge on your profile. Rewards for each league are listed on the league page.
How do I report unfair play?
Use "Report hand" in the hand history. Hand histories are kept for 90 days and every report is reviewed.
Terms
League play is play-chip poker under the site’s terms of service: one account per person, no collusion or chip dumping, and no real money anywhere. To keep tables running, some seats may be filled by computer players. What other players and the public can see is listed in the privacy policy.