India’s PokerBaazi online poker platform has set a record for the largest overlay in the history of online poker in the recently concluded GOAT tournament.
With an eye-watering guarantee of ₹25 Crore (approx. $3 million) and a buy-in of ₹10,000 (approx. $120), the tournament needed over 28,000 entries to meet its target.
However, sadly for the organiser, it attracted only 15,172 participants, resulting in a massive shortfall
The tournament spanned 15 Day 1 starting flights from October 1 to October 13, allowing for unlimited re-entries.
Out of the ₹10,000 buy-in, ₹8,700 contributed to the prize pool while ₹1,300 was allocated as rake.
Ultimately, the total buy-ins amounted to ₹13.19 Crore, leading to an unprecedented overlay of ₹11.81 Crore (over $1.4 million).
This marks the largest shortfall ever recorded in an online poker tournament!
This overlay even exceeds the huge loss experienced by PokerStars during its Blowout tournament series in December 2020, which had a $5 million guarantee and a $109 buy-in but fell short with only 37,673 entrants, leaving a huge in the platform’s finances to the tune of $1.23 million.
The GOAT tournament is in its third iteration — short for “Greatest of All Tournaments, in this case.
The inaugural event in 2022 featured a ₹7 Crore guarantee with an ₹11,000 buy-in and successfully drew 7,233 entries.
A year later the guarantee was increased to ₹10 Crore while lowering the buy-in to ₹5,500, however, it still fell short with 15,376 entrants and an overlay of ₹2.3 Crore.
Not to be deterred , this month PokerBaazi aimed even higher in celebration of its 10-year anniversary and promised ₹150 Crore ($18 million USD) in prizes.
Despite doubling the buy-in to ₹10,000 and significantly increasing the guarantee, participation was disappointing.
The turnout comprised 10,506 unique players and included 4,666 re-entries.
GOAT Tournament Participation Overview
| Year | Guarantee | Buy-in | Entrants Needed | Entrants Attracted | Final Prize Pool | Overlay |
| 2022 | ₹7 Crore | ₹11,000 – $131 | 7,000 | 7,233 | ₹7,23,30,000 – $860,000 | – |
| 2023 | ₹10 Crore | ₹5,500 – $65 | 20,000 | 15,376 | ₹100,000,000 – $1,200,000 | ₹23,120,000 – $275,000 |
| 2024 | ₹25 Crore | ₹10,000 – $120 | 28,736 | 15,172 | ₹250,000,000 – $3,000,000 | ₹118,003,600 – $1,400,000 |
PokerBaazi’s disappointment will be palpable given the huge investment made in this event.
Despite efforts such as continuous satellite qualifiers and player requests for an extension of Day 1 qualifiers by a week, the operator maintained its original schedule.
PokerBaazi’s parent company was recently acquired by Nazara Technologies for approximately ₹982 Crore ($117 million USD).
Was this the catalyst for such brazen ambition?
This event ranks as the third largest overlay in poker history across both live and online formats.
In late 2023, the WPT World Championship experienced a $2.4 million overlay against its $40 million guarantee.
Similarly, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in 2014 fell short by $2.5 million from its $10 million guarantee.
Largest Poker Tournament Overlays in History
| Year | Operator/Organizer | Live/Online | Overlay | Guarantee | Buy-in |
| 2014 | Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open | Live | $2.5M | $10M | $5,300 |
| 2023 | WPT World Championship | Live | $2.4M | $40M | $10,400 |
| 2024 | PokerBaazi GOAT | Online | $1.4M | $2.975M | $120 |
| 2020 | PokerStars The Big Blowout | Online | $1.23M | $5M | $109 |
| 2018 | PokerStars Sunday Million Anniversary Edition | Online | $1.2M | $10M | $215 |
| 2018 | partypoker Caribbean Poker Party Main Event | Live | $925,000 | $10M | $5,300 |
| 2022 | WPT Global $1-for-$1 Million Tournament | Online | $900,000+ | $1M | $1 |
| 2012 | Partouche Poker Tour | Live | €700,000 | €5M | €8,500 |
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