How to Play Planning Poker

Planning poker is easy to learn and takes only a few minutes per task. This guide walks you through everything you need to run a session with your team, whether you are in the same room or working remotely.

What you need before you start

→A list of tasks to estimate. Your user stories or backlog items for the upcoming sprint.
→The right people. The team who will do the work, plus someone who can answer questions about it (usually the product owner).
→A deck of cards. Physical cards work, but a free online tool like SprintVotes is easier, especially for remote teams.
→About 30 to 60 minutes, depending on how many items you have to get through.

How a round works, step by step

Read the task. The product owner explains the next item and answers any questions.
Pick a card. Everyone privately chooses the card that matches how much effort they think it will take.
Reveal together. All cards are shown at the same time, so no one is influenced by anyone else.
Look at the spread. If everyone is close, you are done. Write down the estimate and move on.
Talk about big differences. If the lowest and highest votes are far apart, those people explain their thinking.
Vote again. Repeat until the team agrees on one number, then pick the next task.

Tips for a smooth session

→Keep discussions short. The goal is a shared estimate, not a perfect one.
→Estimate effort, not time. Compare tasks to each other instead of guessing hours.
→Let the people doing the work give the estimate. Managers should listen, not vote.
→Take a break if focus drops. Tired teams give worse estimates.

Common mistakes to avoid

→Letting the most senior person vote first. Everyone else tends to copy them, which defeats the point.
→Turning every small difference into a long debate.
→Estimating in hours instead of relative size.
→Trying to estimate a task nobody understands yet. Research it or split it first.

Playing planning poker online

If your team is remote or hybrid, an online tool makes this simple. With SprintVotes you create a room, share the link, and everyone votes from their own device. Cards stay hidden until you reveal them, results appear instantly, and nothing is saved after the session ends. It is free and needs no signup.

New to the idea? Start with our guide on what planning poker is.

Ready to run your first session?

Create a free game, share the link, and start estimating with your team in seconds.