The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Jackpot PKOs and Ocean KO

The jackpot PKO (JPKO) is the hottest new tournament format in online poker. It takes the progressive knockout, adds the random multipliers of a Spin & Go, and turns every knockout into a potential jackpot. With GGPoker’s launch of Ocean KO in October 2026, jackpot PKOs are now available to players around the world.

The format was born on Winamax as Space KO in December 2024 and quickly took over the French operator’s schedule. In September 2026, a single knockout in a €100 Space KO paid a record €838,000. Now GGPoker’s Ocean KO has taken the JPKO global, with bounty multipliers of up to 400x.

Whatever the name, whether Ocean KO, Space KO or Smash KO, the formula is the same: bounties live from the first hand, prizes randomized every time a bounty is won, and the chance of a life-changing payday that has nothing to do with winning the tournament.

In this guide, we explain exactly how jackpot PKOs work, break down the pay tables and levels, look at where the JPKO came from, and cover what to expect when you sit down to play.

What is a Jackpot PKO (JPKO)?

A jackpot PKO, or JPKO, is a progressive knockout tournament where every bounty is randomized at the moment it’s won. You might also know it as Ocean KO (GGPoker’s variant), SKO (Winamax), a Lottery PKO, or a progressive random bounty.

Like a regular PKO, every player starts with a bounty on their head, worth half the buy-in. Knock someone out and you win their bounty. Half is paid out to you, and the other half goes onto your own head.

The difference is the multiplier. When you win a bounty, it’s multiplied by a random amount, as low as 0.4x or as high as 400x in GGPoker’s Ocean KO. Most knockouts pay a little less than face value. A few pay hundreds of times more.

The result is a tournament where huge prizes can be won at any point, by any player. Because the multipliers are randomized, a jackpot PKO can pay out far more than the total buy-ins collected.

The easiest place to play a jackpot PKO today is GGPoker, where Ocean KO launched as part of the Bounty Hunter Series in October 2026. It proved an immediate success, drawing more than 30,000 entries on its first Sunday in three tournaments with $1 million guaranteed.

How Jackpot PKOs Work

Bounties From the First Hand

Every jackpot PKO splits the buy-in three ways. In a $10 GGPoker Ocean KO:

• $5 goes on your head as your starting bounty
• $4.20 goes to the regular prize pool, paid to the top finishers
• $0.80 is the tournament fee

Unlike mystery bounty tournaments, where bounties only switch on later in the event, JPKO bounties are live from the very first hand.

The Random Multiplier

When you knock someone out, the game picks a random multiplier from a fixed pay table and applies it to their bounty. On a $5 bounty, a 0.4x multiplier makes it worth $2, while a 400x multiplier makes it worth $2,000.

The 50/50 Split

Whatever the bounty is worth, half is paid to you immediately as cash, and the other half is added to your own bounty. That’s the “progressive” part. A big hit doesn’t just pay you; it also makes your own head far more valuable, and that bounty will be multiplied again when someone eventually knocks you out.

This is how jackpot PKOs produce such enormous prizes. A bounty that has already grown can itself land a huge multiplier.

Here’s an example of a $10 Ocean KO, where all players start with a $5 bounty. A single knockout will result in a prize according to this pay table.

What a knockout can do: A $5 bounty Ocean KO example

How the Jackpot PKO Pay Table Works

Every jackpot PKO runs on a pay table: a fixed list of multipliers, each with a set probability. On GGPoker’s Ocean KO, the same pay table applies to every bounty at Levels 1 to 10, whatever the buy-in.

GGPoker Ocean KO Pay Table ($5 Bounty, Levels 1–10)

The key number is the total equity of exactly 1.0000. On average, a $5 bounty pays out exactly $5, so the randomization doesn’t take anything away from players; it just spreads the value around differently. The operator doesn’t take an extra cut from the multipliers. Its revenue comes from the tournament fee, as in any other tournament.

What the pay table does change is variance. On Ocean KO, more than 72% of knockouts pay less than face value. That shortfall is made up by rare big hits. A 10x or better lands about once every 40 knockouts, a 100x once every 1,250, and the 400x just once every 50,000.

Rare, But Not That Rare

Odds of one in 50,000 sound remote, and for any single knockout, they are. But a big jackpot PKO produces a huge number of knockouts. Every player who busts is knocked out by someone, so a field of 20,000 players produces close to 20,000 multiplier draws.

Take the $10 Sunday Ocean KO that debuted GGPoker’s format in October 2026. With 23,443 entries, here is roughly how many big hits you would expect in a single tournament:

Expected Big Multipliers: $10 Ocean KO (23,443 Entries)

In other words, a tournament that size has more than a one-in-three chance of producing a 400x, and you can expect around 19 100x-or-better hits and hundreds of 10x-or-better hits. Across a whole series, with hundreds of thousands of entries, 400x hits become a regular occurrence. If GGPoker’s $5 Ocean KO Opener drew 200,000 entries, for example, you would expect around four.

Compounders Happen Too

The biggest prizes come from compounders: a bounty that has already been multiplied gets hit by a big multiplier again. These are rarer still, but they happen.

Every 100x hit in a $10 Ocean KO creates a $255 Whale bounty, which someone will eventually win. About one in 40 of those knockouts will pay 10x or more. In a field the size of the $10 Sunday Ocean KO, that works out to a 100x-then-10x compounder roughly every other week. Smaller compounders, such as a 10x bounty hit by another 10x, happen around a dozen times per tournament.

This is exactly how Winamax’s record €838,000 bounty came out of a €100 tournament. Big multipliers on already-grown bounties are what turn a standard PKO into a jackpot PKO.

These are estimates, assuming almost every entry ends in a knockout on the standard Levels 1–10 pay table, which is true for the vast majority of knockouts.

Comparing JPKO Pay Tables

All three jackpot PKOs keep the same average of exactly 1x, but each spreads the value differently. Winamax and Betclic share near-identical structures, while GGPoker has gone its own way, adding new 0.5x and 0.7x multipliers, dropping the 3x, and introducing a 400x top prize.

JPKO: Comparing Winamax, Betclic and GGPoker’s Multipliers

In short, Betclic has the gentlest jackpot PKO and GGPoker the wildest. Nearly a third of an Ocean KO bounty’s value comes from 10x-or-better hits, roughly double Space KO and more than triple Smash KO.

Winamax, Betclic and GGPoker: JPKO Key Differences

How Jackpot PKO Levels Work

Because bounties can grow so quickly, every jackpot PKO uses a level system so everyone can see at a glance who’s carrying a big one. Winamax uses colored tokens. GGPoker’s Ocean KO uses sea creatures, with players “evolving” as their bounty grows.

GGPoker Ocean KO: Character Levels

These thresholds closely match Winamax’s Space KO tokens. The only difference is Level 3, which Winamax sets at 0.75x the buy-in.

Legendary Levels

The levels aren’t just cosmetic. Once a bounty reaches Legendary status, the pay table changes. Each Legendary level has its own pay table, and each is flatter than the last. This stops an already huge bounty from being hit with a 400x multiplier.

On GGPoker’s Ocean KO, a bounty becomes Legendary once it reaches $10,000 and is more than 50x the buy-in. In $10 and $100 tournaments, that means $10,000. In a $1,000 tournament, the 50x rule means a bounty only turns Legendary once it passes $50,000.

GGPoker Ocean KO: Legendary Tiers

Maximum values are based on the starting bounty for each tier. As with every jackpot PKO knockout, half of the bounty value is paid as cash and half goes on the winner’s head.

JPKO Legendary Thresholds Compared

The Cliff Below Legendary

The Legendary system creates a quirk: in theory, the biggest single knockout isn’t on a Legendary bounty at all. It’s on a bounty just below the Legendary threshold, which still uses the standard 400x pay table.

In a $10 or $100 Ocean KO, a bounty of just under $10,000 can still hit 400x, making it worth almost $4 million. One dollar more, and it becomes a Legendary Octopus, where the most it can pay is $500,000.

The same quirk shows up in the $100 tournament. A 400x on the $50 starting bounty adds $10,000, taking your bounty to $10,050. That is just over the threshold, so your next knockout is capped at 50x. Paradoxically, a 100x followed by a 400x would pay more: it creates a $2,550 Whale bounty that, if hit by a 400x, is worth more than $1 million.

Ocean KO Bounties by Buy-in

Where to Play Jackpot PKOs

As of October 2026, three operators offer a jackpot PKO, and only one of them, GGPoker, is available outside France and Spain.

GGPoker: Ocean KO

For most players around the world, GGPoker is the place to play jackpot PKOs. Ocean KO launched as part of GGPoker’s Bounty Hunter Series in October 2026. Its first three Sunday events, at $10, $100 and $1,000, drew more than 30,000 entries combined and comfortably beat their $1 million in total guarantees.

GGPoker Ocean KO: First Weekend Tournament Turnouts

With the most top-heavy pay table of any JPKO and the world’s biggest tournament player pool, Ocean KO offers the best shot at a monster bounty. Read more in our analysis of the GGPoker launch.

Winamax: Space KO

The original jackpot PKO and still the biggest. Space KO now makes up the vast majority of Winamax’s regular tournament schedule, and the format is available in several variations, including three-handed Trident Space KO and a PLO version. It also dominates the Winamax Series, where many of the largest prize pools are now Space KO events. It is available to players in France and Spain.

Betclic: Smash KO

French operator Betclic became the first to copy the format in March 2026. Smash KO is the lowest-variance JPKO, with a 50x top multiplier and the 0.4x landing on just under half of knockouts. It is available to players in France.

Coming Soon

More operators are working on similar ideas. iPoker is developing a Progressive Mystery Bounty format, while WPN (ACR Poker) has PKO Mystery Bounties in development. Unibet is also understood to be working on its own mystery bounty-inspired format. None of these is a direct copy of the jackpot PKO, but all of them combine progressive knockouts with randomized prizes.

Jackpot PKO and Ocean KO Strategy

Jackpot PKOs are new, and strategy is still evolving. But one thing is already clear: in a JPKO, paying attention pays off. The players who watch the table closely, and adjust when big bounties appear, will be the ones who profit.

PKO Strategy on Steroids

Everything you’ve learned from playing PKOs still applies in a jackpot PKO. A bounty adds value to every pot it’s in, so it changes which hands are worth calling or shoving with, and it rewards players who cover their opponents.

What’s different is the scale. In a regular PKO, bounties grow gradually, so the adjustments are usually small. In a JPKO, a single knockout can change everything. One 100x hit in a $10 Ocean KO creates a $255 bounty, more than 50 times the starting bounty, and it can happen in the very first orbit. When a bounty like that appears, the standard ranges go out the window. Pots involving that player are worth far more than the chips in the middle, and the right play can be a big deviation from what you would normally do.

Remember that the multiplier doesn’t change the average. A bounty is worth its face value in the long run, so value it at face value when you’re deciding whether to get involved. The multiplier just adds variance.

Know the Table Hierarchy

You can only win a bounty by knocking that player out, so stack sizes matter as much as bounty sizes. Knowing which players you cover, and which players cover you, is critical.

A short stack carrying a big bounty is the most valuable target at the table. If you cover them, it’s often worth getting involved in pots with them far more often than usual, and calling wider when they shove. If you’re the one holding the big bounty, the opposite applies. You’ve just become everyone’s target, so expect lighter calls and more aggression, and adjust by tightening up your bluffs and value-betting more.

Seating matters too. Where the big bounties and big stacks sit relative to you affects which pots you can get into and with what position. The level icons show you who’s carrying what at a glance, but you have to keep checking them.

Fewer Tables, More Attention

All of this rewards players who focus. If you’re multi-tabling a dozen tournaments, it’s easy to miss that the player two seats to your left has just become a Whale. Playing fewer tables and tracking how the bounties are moving is likely to be worth more in a JPKO than in any other tournament format.

Soft Fields

The lottery-style appeal of jackpot PKOs is a big draw for recreational players. The chance of turning a $10 buy-in into a life-changing bounty pulls in casual players who might never play a standard MTT, which should make for soft games. And as with PKOs, mystery bounties and Spins before them, the players who study the new format early will have an edge over those who don’t.

Respect the Variance

Finally, be ready for swings. On Ocean KO, more than 72% of knockouts pay less than face value, and the value is concentrated in rare big hits. You will go through long stretches of small knockouts, and the biggest prize in a tournament will often go to whoever lands the big multiplier, not the tournament winner. Make sure your bankroll can handle swings bigger than in a regular PKO.

The History of Jackpot PKOs

Randomized prizes have been part of online poker since 2013, when Winamax launched Expresso, the original jackpot sit and go. PokerStars followed with Spin & Go, and the format became a fixture of online poker worldwide.

Operators experimented with bringing randomized prizes to knockout games too. PokerStars’ Grand Tour, later renamed Kick-Off, launched in 2020 with a randomized bounty element, and GGPoker added Bounty Jackpots to its knockout tournaments before removing them in 2024. Neither came close to the success of the jackpot PKO.

On December 19, 2024, Winamax quietly added a €5 tournament to its lobby. It drew just 97 players, plus 14 re-entries. Despite collecting only €500 in buy-ins, it paid out €633.31, and the player who won the biggest prize finished 27th, far outside the money. This was the first-ever Space KO, and the first jackpot PKO.

Jackpot PKO Timeline

Within weeks, Winamax knew it had a hit. Space KO spread across its schedule in January 2025, joined the Winamax Series by April, and became the operator’s most important tournament format. Winamax says the idea had been in development for some eight years.

Rivals were slow to follow. It took 15 months for the first copy, Betclic’s Smash KO, to arrive. In October 2026, GGPoker finally took the JPKO global with Ocean KO.

The September 2026 record shows what the format can do. A €100 tournament with an €80,000 guarantee paid out more than €1 million, with around 90% going to one player. That player also won the tournament, but the first-place prize of just over €5,000 was tiny next to the bounties.

Biggest Jackpot PKO Bounties

Jackpot PKO FAQs

What is a jackpot PKO?

A jackpot PKO is a progressive knockout tournament where each bounty is multiplied by a random amount when it is won. Half the result is paid out as cash, and half is added to the winner’s own bounty.

What does JPKO stand for?

JPKO stands for jackpot PKO, or jackpot progressive knockout. It’s the general name for formats like GGPoker’s Ocean KO, Winamax’s Space KO and Betclic’s Smash KO.

What is GGPoker Ocean KO?

Ocean KO is GGPoker’s jackpot PKO, launched in October 2026. Bounty multipliers range from 0.4x to 400x, and players progress through 14 sea creature levels as their bounty grows.

Is Ocean KO the same as Space KO?

Both are jackpot PKOs, and the mechanics are almost identical, including the 14 levels and Legendary pay tables. The pay table is different, though. Ocean KO has a higher top prize (400x vs 100x), more frequent 10x hits, extra sub-1x multipliers, and no 3x multiplier.

What’s the difference between JPKO and SKO?

There’s no difference in format. SKO originally meant Space KO, Winamax’s version, and Betclic’s Smash KO conveniently shares the abbreviation. JPKO is the general term for the format, whichever operator runs it.

Is a JPKO bounty worth less than a regular PKO bounty?

No. At Levels 1 to 10, the multipliers average out to exactly 1x, so a bounty is worth its face value in the long run. Only the variance is different.

How is a jackpot PKO different from a mystery bounty?

In a mystery bounty tournament, the prizes are fixed at the start and only their distribution is random, and bounties usually only switch on in the late stages. In a jackpot PKO, bounties are live from the first hand, and the multiplier is randomized every time a bounty is won. That means a JPKO can pay out far more, or less, than was collected in buy-ins.

What is the highest multiplier on Ocean KO?

The top multiplier is 400x, available on bounties at Levels 1 to 10. It lands once in every 50,000 knockouts. That sounds rare, but a field of 20,000+ players produces nearly that many knockouts, so big Ocean KO tournaments have a real chance of producing one.

What are Legendary levels?

Legendary levels (11 to 14 on Ocean KO) are reached once a bounty is $10,000 or more and more than 50x the buy-in. Each has its own, flatter pay table, from 0.5x–50x at Legendary Octopus down to 0.8x–1.5x at Legendary Shark.

What is the biggest possible knockout in Ocean KO?

In theory, it’s a 400x hit on a bounty just below the Legendary threshold. In a $10 or $100 tournament, that’s worth almost $4 million. In a $1,000 tournament, where Legendary starts above $50,000, it’s worth almost $20 million. In practice, reaching that point requires several big hits in a row.

What is the biggest jackpot PKO bounty ever won?

The record is €838,000, won from a single knockout by “oldepaso68” in a €100 Space KO during the September 2026 Winamax Series.

What is the fee for GGPoker Ocean KO tournaments?

The $10 and $100 Ocean KOs carry an 8% fee, and the $1,000 event carries a 5% fee. During tournament series, GGPoker also deducts its 1% Loyalty & Promotions Fee from the prize pool.

Where can I play jackpot PKOs?

GGPoker offers Ocean KO in the international dot-com market. Winamax’s Space KO is available in France and Spain, and Betclic’s Smash KO in France.

Can I play jackpot PKOs in the US or Ontario?

As of October 2026, no regulated US poker site offers a JPKO. Ocean KO launched in GGPoker’s international dot-com client, so players on ring-fenced sites such as GGPoker Ontario should check their local lobby.

Are jackpot PKOs good for recreational players?

The format is designed to appeal to recreational players. Big prizes can be won early, at any point, without needing a deep run. The trade-off is higher variance, so most knockouts will pay less than face value.