Guide
Planning poker vs. scrum poker
Two names, one technique. If you have been reading agile literature and bouncing between "planning poker" and "scrum poker" — they describe the same thing.
TL;DR
Planning poker and scrum poker are synonyms. The technique, the rules, the tools, and the estimation scales are identical. The names differ only in context and era.
Where each term comes from
Planning poker (2002, James Grenning)
The original. James Grenning coined the name when he was running a backlog estimation session in 2002, found the sequential one-by-one approach unworkable, and turned it into a simultaneous-reveal card game. The name stuck because the cards looked like a poker hand. Mike Cohn picked up the term in his 2005 book Agile Estimating and Planning and it became the default vocabulary across the agile community.
Scrum poker (later alias)
As Scrum specifically — rather than agile in general — became the dominant framework, "scrum poker" emerged as a context-specific alias. It is especially common in Scrum-focused training material and in translations into non-English languages (German, Spanish, Portuguese), where "Scrum" is often kept as a recognisable English loan word while the rest of the phrase is translated.
Why both terms persist
Two reasons:
- SEO and tooling momentum. Tools that indexed for one term in 2010 still index for it; teams that learned one term still search for it.
- Context cues. "Scrum poker" signals "we do Scrum here". "Planning poker" signals "we do some form of agile and this is our refinement practice". The labels carry soft identity information beyond just the technique.
For documentation and discoverability, most modern agile sources default to planning poker and treat scrum poker as the alias. Ace-The-Backlog uses planning poker as the primary term and the tool works identically for both crowds.
FAQ
- Is scrum poker different from planning poker?
- No. Same technique, two names. Planning poker is the original term coined by James Grenning in 2002. Scrum poker is a later alias emphasising use inside Scrum sprints. The tools and the rules are identical.
- Which term should I use with my team?
- Whichever your team uses. Most agile coaching material and tooling uses 'planning poker'. 'Scrum poker' is more common in Scrum-specific contexts and in some translations into non-English languages.
- Are there tool differences between planning poker tools and scrum poker tools?
- No. Any tool that supports simultaneous-reveal estimation can be called either. Differences between tools are about features (scales, roles, export, async support), not about the underlying technique.
Run a session — call it whatever you want
Paste your backlog, share the room link, estimate. The tool does not care what you call it.
Start a session