Chapter 03 · Formats
Tournament ludo: rounds, brackets and the prize table.
Tournament is the multi-round lobby most Indian apps run at the weekend peak. You pay once per round, the bracket narrows each round, and the prize table is set before the lobby opens.
Updated 12 August 2026 · Editorial desk, Ludotoday
01 · Lede
How tournament lobbies are built
02 · Reading the chapter
Why tournament is the steepest format
The bracket does the work
A four-round tournament with eight players per round has, on paper, dozens of matches. The bracket narrows the field each round; the cumulative rake is the number that hurts most. Read the prize table before you enter.
If the top-of-table share is below 50 percent of the pool after rake, the math is unfriendly. The prize pool card is a budget, not a forecast.
The round-one advantage
Most Indian apps keep the round-one cut generous to build the lobby. By round three the cut is usually much tighter. A player who survives round one typically has more chips than the late-entry pool.
Late entry is banned after round one on most platforms. Plan your entry accordingly; the table you join is the table you finish in.
03 · Sourcing
Where this comes from
Round counts, prize tables and cumulative rake figures were drawn from three Indian apps' tournament lobbies during August 2026, plus the published prize tables on the platform news desk for the same period. The 50/30/20 split is the most common arrangement; a few apps run 60/25/15 instead. Read the table before you stake.
04 · Next read
Compare formats
If you or someone close to you needs support, the helpline on the responsible-play desk is free in India and operates 24x7.
Sourcing
Figures and rules on this page come from arithmetic on a fair six-faced die, public platform rule cards, and MeitY / PROG Act 2025 notifications. Where house rules differ, the platform's published rule card supersedes this page.