rules
All in, and the pot that splits in two.
You can only lose what is in front of you, and you can only win from each opponent as much as you had yourself. Those two sentences are the same rule, and everything on this page follows from it. When one player runs out of chips before the others do, the money stops being one pot and becomes a stack of layers.
three players, three different stacks
Anna has 40 in front of her, Bram has 100 and Chris has 250. All three get their money in. Anna can only pay 40, so that is all anyone can win from her. Bram can pay 100, so that is all Chris can win from him. What is left over on the biggest stack was never at risk at all.
| Layer | Sum | Amount | Who can win it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main pot Everyone matched the shortest stack, so all three can win this one. | 3 x 40 | 120 | Anna, Bram and Chris |
| Side pot The amount above 40 that only the two deeper stacks could pay. | 2 x 60 | 120 | Bram and Chris |
| Returned Nobody could match this, so it never was at risk and goes straight back. | 250 - 100 | 150 | Chris |
the showdown
Board
Anna, 40
Bram, 100
Chris, 250
Anna has the best hand at the table and wins the main pot of 120. She cannot win the side pot, because she never paid into it. That one goes to the best hand among the players who did, which is Bram with his kings, and it is another 120. Chris takes his 150 back and is out 100 on the hand. Anna turned 40 into 120 and Bram turned 100 into 120, and nothing has gone missing: 240 went in and 240 came out.
That is the whole argument people have at kitchen tables. The best hand did not win all the money, and it is not supposed to. The side pot belongs to the players who risked something for it. It also means a hand that was second best at showdown can be paid, which never happens when everyone has the same stack, and is why the table stakes rule sits among the four that hold in every variant.
more than one all in
Nothing changes when a third or fourth player runs out. You build the layers from the smallest stack upwards, and each layer is the step in size multiplied by the number of players who could still pay it. With stacks of 25, 60, 100 and 200 all in, it comes out like this.
| Layer | Sum | Amount | Who can win it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main pot | 4 x 25 | 100 | All four |
| First side pot | 3 x 35 | 105 | Bram, Chris and Dana |
| Second side pot | 2 x 40 | 80 | Chris and Dana |
| Returned | 200 - 100 | 100 | Dana |
285 is in play and 100 goes straight back to Dana. Read the pots from the top down at showdown: the last side pot first, then the one below it, and the main pot last. That order matters, because the winner of a higher pot may also be eligible for a lower one, and never the other way round.
the small rules that cause the arguments
An uncalled bet comes back. Bet 200 with one player left, and if he calls 90 because that is his whole stack, your other 110 is returned before any cards are turned over. It was never matched, so it was never at risk.
A player who folded still leaves his chips behind. What he put in during earlier rounds stays in the pot and is counted into the main pot, even though he can no longer win anything. That is why a main pot is often bigger than the number of players still in the hand would suggest.
An all in that is smaller than a full raise usually does not reopen the betting for players who have already acted. They may pay the difference or fold, but they are not allowed to raise again. The minimum raise, and why it exists at all, is on the page about betting rounds.
And when two players tie, the pot is split. If it does not divide evenly, most rooms give the odd chip to the first player clockwise from the button. Ties are decided card by card, so it is worth knowing exactly how two hands of the same rank are compared before you decide a pot is split at all.
next
This rule sits underneath every variant.
Side pots work the same way in Hold'em, in Omaha, in short deck and in stud, because they follow from table stakes rather than from the cards. The rules hub has the other three things that are true in every game, and what changes once you sit at a different table.
all in questions
What is a side pot in poker?
A separate pot for the money that a player who is all in could not match. He plays for the main pot only, filled to the amount he was able to pay. Everything the deeper players put in above that goes into a side pot, and only they can win it.
Can I lose more than the chips in front of me?
No. Poker is played at table stakes: in any one hand you play only with what was in front of you when the hand began. Your wallet, your phone and your watch are never in play, and nobody can make you add chips in the middle of a hand.
Who wins the side pot if the all in player has the best hand?
He wins the main pot, and the side pot goes to the best hand among the players who paid for it. A side pot therefore often goes to a hand that was not the best at the table, which is the part people argue about.
How do you calculate side pots?
Layer by layer, from the smallest all in upwards. Take the shortest stack, multiply it by the number of players who matched it, and that is the main pot. Then take the difference up to the next stack, multiply by however many players are still left, and that is the first side pot. Repeat until only one player is left, and give him back whatever nobody could match.
What happens to an uncalled bet?
It comes back. If you bet 200 and the only player left calls 90 because that is all he has, the other 110 was never matched and is returned to you before the cards are turned over. The same applies when everyone folds to a bet.
Who gets the odd chip when a pot is split?
When a pot cannot be divided evenly, most rooms give the extra chip to the first player clockwise from the button. Some home games and some tournaments use a different tie breaker, so it is worth agreeing on one before it comes up rather than after.
Running a game at home, where these arguments actually happen? The stack sizes that make them rare are in the chip distribution guide.