Scrum Planning Poker Explained
Scrum Planning Poker is a popular technique used by Scrum teams to estimate the effort and complexity of product backlog items. It combines story points, the Fibonacci sequence and collaborative discussion to help teams reach realistic estimates they can trust.
How Planning Poker fits into Scrum
In Scrum, teams use story points to estimate the relative size of user stories. Planning Poker is one of the most effective ways to assign those story points because it:
- Involves the whole Development Team, not just one person.
- Encourages discussion about scope, risks and unknowns.
- Prevents anchoring, where one estimate influences others.
- Supports continuous improvement of estimation accuracy.
Scrum Planning Poker is usually used during backlog refinement or sprint planning, when the team needs to estimate stories before committing to a sprint.
The role of story points and Fibonacci numbers
Most Scrum teams using Planning Poker rely on a Fibonacci-like sequence of numbers such as 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21…. These numbers are not hours; they represent relative size and complexity. A story estimated as 5 should feel roughly twice as big as a story estimated as 2 or 3.
As the numbers grow, the gaps between them increase. This reflects the fact that very large backlog items are more uncertain and harder to estimate precisely. When stories become too large (for example 21 or more), many teams choose to split them before bringing them into a sprint.
Typical Scrum Planning Poker flow
- The Product Owner introduces a backlog item and its goal.
- The team asks questions to clarify requirements and constraints.
- Each team member silently chooses a Planning Poker card representing their story point estimate.
- All cards are revealed at the same time.
- The team discusses differences, especially between the highest and lowest values.
- A new round is held if needed, until the team reaches a shared estimate.
Benefits for Scrum teams
Scrum teams that use Planning Poker consistently often report:
- Better shared understanding of user stories.
- More predictable sprint planning and velocity.
- More engagement from developers, testers and designers.
- Fewer surprises during implementation.
Although it uses the word “poker”, Scrum Planning Poker is not related to gambling. The cards are simply a visual way to represent estimates. There is no betting and no real money involved – it is purely an Agile estimation technique.
Running Scrum Planning Poker online
Many Scrum teams are now remote or hybrid, which makes an online Planning Poker tool essential. With Poker-Planning.org, you can run a Scrum Planning Poker session entirely in the browser:
- Create a session in seconds.
- Share the session link with your Scrum team.
- Ask everyone to join from their laptop or phone.
- Estimate together using a virtual Fibonacci deck.
If you want to learn more about the technique itself, you can also read the basics on the What is Planning Poker? page or explore tips on the Agile estimation guide.
Ready to try Scrum Planning Poker with your team? Start a free online session now →