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FAQ

Quick answers to the questions we hear most. Each one links to the deeper page if you want more.

Custody and trust​

Does Stacked hold my money? No. Real-money funds sit in a smart contract — a program that runs on the blockchain and only moves money according to its own rules — on Base, an Ethereum-based network with very low fees. Stacked itself never custodies player money. See How custody works.

What if Stacked goes down? Your money is still in the contract. If settlements stall for 24 hours, you can withdraw your stack directly from the contract — no Stacked involvement needed. See 24-hour emergency exit.

Are the contracts audited? Not yet by an external firm. The contracts have extensive unit-test coverage and are source-verified on Basescan. An external audit is on the roadmap. See How custody works.

How fair is the deal? Card shuffling happens on Stacked's servers using cryptographic randomness. On-chain shuffle verification — letting anyone check a shuffle wasn't manipulated — is coming.

Playing​

Do I need a wallet to play Free Play? Yes — sign-in is wallet-based. But Free Play doesn't require USDC, a digital dollar that holds a stable value. The embedded wallet path lets you sign in with email or a social account if you don't have a wallet yet.

Do I have to wait for the Host to approve me? Usually not. Tables seat you instantly by default. A Host can turn off Auto-Accept to approve each player by hand, and at those tables you wait for the Host. See Joining a table.

What if I disconnect mid-hand? The action timer keeps running. If you don't act before it expires, the system folds you. If you reconnect in time, you can keep playing the hand.

Can I sit at multiple tables at once? Yes — each table is independent. Your stack at table A doesn't affect table B.

Some tournaments show a prize in a token that isn't USDC. What is that? A bonus prize — a fixed amount of another token that the Host funded themselves, paid to the top finishers on top of the USDC. It's funded before registration opens, so an advertised one is always real. See Bonus prizes.

Hosting​

Who can host a table? Anyone with a connected wallet. Creating a table is free — Stacked covers the gas, the small network fee paid to process anything on Base. See Hosting a table.

How much can a Host earn? Hosts earn 25% of the platform fee on every real-money hand at their tables — credited live, withdrawable any time, no minimum. See Hosting earnings.

Do Hosts earn anything on Free Play tables? No. Free Play has no platform fee and no earnings.

Can I put up my own token as a tournament prize? Tokens usable as bonus prizes come from a short curated list, so you can't add one yourself — but if you're a project or community that wants yours on it, ask on Discord. See Bonus prizes.

Money​

What's the fee? The platform fee applies on real-money tables, taken from the pot and capped per hand. Hosts earn 25% of the fee on their tables. The platform fee also covers the gas (the network fee for an on-chain action) that Stacked sponsors on your behalf — the gas to settle every hand and to create a table — which is why settling hands and creating tables are free for everyone at the table. Full details on How fees work.

Do I pay gas? Gas is the network fee for an on-chain action. If you signed in with Google, X, Discord or email, no: Stacked covers it. If you connected your own wallet, you pay gas only on deposits and withdrawals you sign yourself, so keep a small amount of ETH on Base. Either way, the platform fee covers the gas Stacked sponsors on settlement (every hand) and on table creation (when a Host creates a table).

Where do I get USDC on Base? Once you're signed in, click Add funds in the header. You can buy USDC with a card, or send it from an exchange like Coinbase (choose Base as the network). See Get USDC on Base.

Access​

Is Stacked available in my country? We're finalizing the geographic availability list. See Where Stacked is available for current status.

Tournaments? Yes — Stacked runs buy-in tournaments alongside cash games, with prize pools settled on-chain. See Tournaments.

Mobile? Stacked works in any modern browser, including mobile.

What's next​