The California Pool Tournament Index
What it costs to play competitive pool in California — computed from 134 live tournament listings at 70 pool halls and bars. Updated September 2026. Free to cite with a link to this page.
Weekly tournaments by night
Key findings
- The median entry fee for a California pool tournament is $20, level with the U.S. median of $20 (from the 88 California listings that publish a fee).
- Bishop is the cheapest place to play in California (median $20); Milpitas is the most expensive at $60.
- Saturday is California's biggest pool night with 21 weekly tournaments, ahead of Tue (17), Mon (15).
- Sacramento hosts the most tournaments in the state (11).
- 8-Ball is California's game of choice, 56 events to 9-Ball's 46.
- 11 of 134 listings (8%) post a Fargo cap — handicap-protected events for amateur players.
- California venues add $2,910 per week of guaranteed added money across the weekly tournaments that publish it.
Median entry fee by city
Cities with at least 5 fee-listing tournaments, cheapest first.
| City | Median entry | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| Bishop | $20 | 5 |
| Mammoth Lakes | $20 | 6 |
| Orange | $20 | 7 |
| Fremont | $25 | 5 |
| San Francisco | $25 | 5 |
| Milpitas | $60 | 5 |
Most tournaments by city
| City | Tournaments |
|---|---|
| Sacramento | 11 |
| San Francisco | 10 |
| Northridge | 8 |
| Orange | 7 |
| Lakewood | 6 |
| Mammoth Lakes | 6 |
| Bishop | 5 |
| Fremont | 5 |
| Milpitas | 5 |
| Bakersfield | 4 |
Every pool tournament in California → · The national Pool Tournament Index →
Methodology
Action Buddy aggregates public tournament listings and venue submissions across California. Each recurring weekly series counts once. Fee statistics use the 88 events that publish an entry fee. Figures regenerate automatically as the dataset refreshes; media are welcome to cite this page (attribution: Action Buddy, https://actionbuddy.app/pool-tournament-index/ca/).
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