Poker is a popular card game that involves betting and strategic gameplay. In poker games, players often place bets or raise the stakes, creating a pot of money that is up for grabs.
However, in certain situations, there may be multiple players with different amounts of chips or money left to bet. This can lead to the creation of side pots, which can become confusing for new players. In this tutorial, we will explore what side pots are and how to calculate them.
What Are Side Pots?
Side pots are created in poker games when one or more players run out of chips or money while others still have chips left to bet. When this happens, the remaining players continue to bet on their hands as normal, but the player(s) who ran out of chips cannot contribute any more money to the pot.
For example, let’s say there are three players in a hand: Player A, Player B, and Player C. Each player starts with 100 chips. During the course of the hand, Player A goes all-in (meaning they bet all their remaining chips). However, Player B and C still have chips left to bet.
At this point in the game, there are two separate pots: a main pot and a side pot. The main pot contains all bets made by all players up until the point where Player A went all-in. The side pot contains any additional bets made by Player B and C after Player A went all-in.
How Do You Calculate Side Pots?
Calculating side pots may seem confusing at first, but it’s actually quite simple once you understand how it works.
To calculate a side pot:
1. Determine which player(s) are all-in. 2. Calculate the total amount of chips/money each player has left.
3. Determine which bets were made after the all-in player(s) ran out of chips/money. 4. Add up the bets made after the all-in player(s) ran out of chips/money to determine the side pot.
Let’s use an example to illustrate this process:
Player A: 100 chips
Player B: 200 chips
Player C: 300 chips
During the course of a hand, Player A goes all-in with their remaining 100 chips. Player B and C continue to bet, with Player B betting an additional 50 chips and Player C betting an additional 100 chips.
To calculate the side pot in this scenario, we follow the four steps outlined above:
1. Determine which player(s) are all-in: In this case, only Player A is all-in. Calculate the total amount of chips/money each player has left:
– Player A has 0 chips left. – Player B has 150 chips left (200 – 50). – Player C has 200 chips left (300 – 100). Determine which bets were made after the all-in player(s) ran out of chips/money:
– Player B bet an additional 50 chips after Player A went all-in. – Player C bet an additional 100 chips after Player A went all-in. Add up the bets made after the all-in player(s) ran out of chips/money to determine the side pot:
– The total amount of bets made after Player A went all-in is 150 (50 from Player B + 100 from Player C). – Therefore, there is a side pot of 150 chips in addition to the main pot.
Conclusion
Side pots can be confusing for new players, but they are an important part of poker games where players may have different amounts of money/chips left to bet. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can easily calculate side pots and keep track of your bets in any poker game.
