Overlay

1. Occurs when a poker room has to add money into the prize pool for a tournament because not enough players entered to meet the guarantee.

Explained

There are times when a poker room will make a guarantee for a tournament and there aren't enough players registered to make enough money to meet the guarantee. The poker room then adds money itself, referred to as an overlay, in order to meet the obligation of the guarantee.

Example

A poker room announces a $20+$2 entry fee for a $20,000 guaranteed poker tournament. This would mean that 1,000 players would have to enter for the guarantee to be met. However, only 500 players enter and the poker room is obligated to put in $10,000 of its own money and is considered the overlay.