GGPoker Ocean KO - Complete Guide to GGPoker's Jackpot PKOs

In October 2026, GGPoker launched Ocean KO tournaments, which are the site's version of the popular Jackpot PKO format. Within days, it gained huge traction and the $5 Ocean KO Opener even broke the record for the largest ever online poker tournament.

But what exactly is an Ocean KO, how do they work, and how can you play jackpot progressive knockouts on GGPoker?

In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about jackpot PKOs and explain how to get started playing Ocean KO on GG.

What are Ocean KO Poker Tournaments?

Ocean KO tournaments are only found on GGPoker, but the format they follow is not unique to just that site. Ocean KOs are a form of jackpot progressive knockout bounty tournaments.

In this format, a multiplier is applied to every bounty that's won. The multiplier is most commonly below 1.0x, but can be as high as 400x depending on the site you're playing on. Some poker sites also implement a tier-level system, where the multiplier range narrows for the player the more their own bounty increases in the tournament.

Apart from the multiplier, jackpot PKOs work similarly to regular progressive knockouts. Read on to learn exactly how Ocean KOs work on GGPoker.

How do Ocean KO Tournaments Work?

To explain how Ocean KOs work on GG, we must go through each aspect of them individually. Multipliers, tiers and the actual bounty amounts all work in unison to create this unique poker tournament dynamic. Here's a deeper explanation.

Ocean KO Multipliers

Multiplier Frequencies and Payouts ($10 Bounty)

One major differentiator between different sites' jackpot PKOs is the multiplier range. On GGPoker, nine different multiplier values can be applied to bounties in Ocean KO tournaments, ranging from 0.4x up to the jackpot multiplier of 400x. Understandably, the highest multiplier is very rare, and on average will be hit once every 50,000 knockouts. On the other hand, the lower multipliers such as 0.4x, 0.5x and 0.7x are far more common, and account for a total of 72.318% of all bounty multipliers applied to knockouts.

Ocean KO Bounty Tiers

The multiplier is the main concept to understand with Ocean KOs, but another element of jackpot PKOs on GG is the bounty tier system. At the beginning of the tournament, every player begins at tier 1 (egg). As you add to your own bounty by knocking out opponents, you move through the tiers. The first 10 are the standard tiers and all have the same multiplier range (0.4x - 400x).

Once you move past tier 10, you get to the legendary tiers. This is where the multiplier range starts to narrow, with the minimum multiplier increasing but the maximum multiplier decreasing at the same time. The purpose of the tiers is to not only make it clearer to players which opponents have the largest bounties, but they also regulate the bounty multiplier payouts and make sure they're more evenly balanced.

Ocean KO Payouts

In typical PKO bounty tournaments, half of a bounty won is applied to the winning player's own bounty, while the other half is awarded as a prize. So that poses a question, what happens when a bounty is won in an Ocean KO?

In these tournaments, once an opponent is knocked out the bounty prize isn't automatically awarded. Instead, the multiplier is applied first. After the multiplier, the bounty is then split in half (as usual), with 50% going to the winning player and the other 50% being added to their bounty.

But how does this look in practice?

Example
Winning Player's Bounty: $50
Losing Player's Bounty: $10

Let's imagine one player with a bounty of $50 knocks out another player with a bounty of $10. A random multiplier of 0.5x is then applied.

Pre-Multiplier Bounty: $10
Post-Multiplier Bounty: $5

In this case, the bounty prize would have been $10 in a standard PKO tournament, but the 0.5x multiplier has halved it to $5. From this point, 50% of the $5 is won by the victorious player, while the other half is added to their bounty.

Bounty Prize Won: $2.50
Amount Added to Winning Player's Bounty: $2.50

Before the knockout, the winning player had a bounty on them of $50. After the $2.50 is added to their total, their bounty increases to $52.50 and play continues.

How to Play Ocean KOs on GGPoker

Playing Ocean KOs is simple and all starts by downloading and signing up for a GGPoker account. From there, you must input your details and verify your identity. Once your account is fully set up, you can select from a range of different deposit methods to fund your account. After that, all that's left to do is find a real money Ocean KO tournament. At the time of writing, GGPoker hasn't revealed whether or not Ocean KOs will be a permanent fixture in the weekly poker calendar. However, given their early success, it's expected that these tournaments will be available in some form moving forward.

1. Click the widget below to sign up for a GGPoker account.
2. Provide your personal details.
3. Submit identification to verify your account.
4. Make a deposit (taking advantage of any GGPoker welcome bonus available) to fund your account.
5. Go to the tournament lobby and search for 'Ocean KO.'
6. Find and register for a tournament and start competing for those jackpot bounties!

Ocean KO FAQs