Guarantee (GTD) (GTD)

Also known as: Guaranteed, GTD

A minimum prize pool the operator promises regardless of how many players enter. Short entries force the room to top it up — creating an overlay.

What a guarantee means

A guarantee ("GTD") is a minimum prize pool the operator commits to before a tournament starts. If total buy-ins fall short of that number, the room must add the difference out of its own pocket — that shortfall is an overlay, which is straight +EV dead money handed to the field.

Guarantees are a marketing lever: the bigger the headline number, the more registrations it pulls. Operators rely on late registration and re-entry to keep stuffing the prize pool until the guarantee is comfortably covered.

• Covered — buy-ins exceed the GTD, no overlay; normal field.
• Overlay — buy-ins fall short; the room tops up and every entry gains EV.

Hunting soft, overlay-prone guarantees (small fields, big numbers) is one of the cleanest edges in tournament poker.