Side Pot

In Texas Hold'em, the highest combination of five cards wins the pot. In Texas Holdem, you can win the total pot amount after each hand / round. You do this by having the best hand at showdown or by having all the other players fold to you. Sometimes, two players may have the same hand and will split the pot - so neither gets all the money (chips). In a cash game, you get this straight away and can cash out anytime.

- An additional pot which is created when one or more players are all in.
Virtually all casino poker games are table stakes games. This means that only cash or chips which are on the table prior to the start of the hand are in play. Some casinos even have specific rules against cash playing on the table and require a conversion to chips. A table stakes game does not allow for chips to be added to a stack while the hand is in play, and it also does not allow for chips to be removed from play (other than a nominal amount for food and sundries), for the entire session.
Since players are limited to the chips they have in front of them when the hand begins, from time to time a player will run out of chips while the hand is in play. When this happens a player is allowed to go “all-in” by placing his remaining chips into the pot. This means that he will still have a live hand, but will be unable to win any money that he cannot cover, which includes all future betting for the remainder of the hand. If a player cannot cover the full amount of the bet that he is facing, or if there is future betting he cannot cover after he is all in, the dealer must create a side pot. A side pot is separate pot which the dealer creates to allow the betting to continue after a player goes all in. The all in player would only be eligible to win the amount he could cover, which is called the main pot, while the players with chips remaining would be eligible to win both the main pot as well as the side pot. The side pot money is sometimes referred to as “money on the outside.”
If multiple players go all in for different amounts during the same hand, it will be necessary for the dealer to create multiple side pots. When this occurs, the dealer must remember which players are in for which pots. This can get confusing, so to help, the side pots are numbered in the order they were created; first side pot, second side pot, and so on. They are also arranged in that order on the table, so that the first side pot is next to the main pot, and the second side pot is next to the first, extending out toward the end of the table, for as many side pots as is necessary. Just as a side pot is sometimes referred to as “money on the outside,” a second side pot is sometimes referred to as “money on the far outside.”
The accurate construction of side pots requires the dealer to do math in his head and come out with the correct answer for the size of each pot. Dealers are human and are prone to error, and as such, if you have a vested interest in the hand, you should watch them construct the side pots carefully and do the math along with them. Depending upon the caliber of the dealer, side pots may be wrong with varying frequency, but mistakes are made often enough for you to be regularly monitoring their construction. In fact, it is a good idea for you to always verify that the amount of money going into the pot is correct at all times, and that the pot is handled properly by the dealer. Dealer error can be costly, and it is often preventable, if you can catch it before the action is complete. Obviously, these are concerns for players who play in a brick and mortar poker room. If you play on the internet, the sites software handles and distributes the chips automatically, virtually eliminating dealer error.
You may hear a common phrase, “All in always wins.” This is a belief that once a player goes all in, something magical happens, and they now have a much higher probability of winning the main pot. This is pure superstition. While going all in can affect whether or not you win the hand, if you play well, in the long run it will hurt you more than it will help you. Indeed, when you go all-in, you will win some pots that you otherwise would not have been able to call on, had you still had chips. But this is more than offset by the bets and the pots you will lose because you are all in and unable to bet you hand. Another way to look at it is to consider chips a resource which good players use to make money. In order to be successful, you need to have access to sufficient resources. That means never going all-in if you can avoid it, so that you can be eligible for every side pot created.
Usage: Third Side Pot, Scooped The Side, Dollars On The Side, Side Pots
Previous Poker Term: Showdown
Next Poker Term: Slow Play

A tie goes to the runner in baseball, but a tie in poker results in a split of the pot. Just what constitutes a tie can be confusing. Before you join a Sit-n-Go or play live poker you should brush up on what constitutes a tie, so let's look at some examples.

Is this a Tie at Texas Hold'em?

Suppose there are two players left in a pot. The five community cards showing on the board are 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, two clubs, two hearts and a diamond. Player 'A' turns over their starting hand and shows a 3 and 4. He had two pair before the river, but now the board is a straight.

Player 'B' turns over their cards and shows a King and a Queen of clubs. They had four clubs and missed the flush on the river. So, who wins?

In Texas Hold'em, the highest combination of five cards wins the pot. So, regardless of the fact that player 'A' had two pair or that player 'B' had higher cards, the best five cards are the straight of 2-3-4-5-6, and since the game includes five community cards available to every player still in the pot, both players will use all five cards on the board to make the same hand, a 6-high straight. Thus, this hand becomes a split pot.

Of course one of the players may bluff at the pot, trying to convince the other that they hold a 7 or even a 7-8 and a higher straight. That's just advanced play and not much you can do about it.

Another Tie Example

Texas Holdem Poker Side Pot Rules For Beginners

Suppose three players call pre-flop, which shows 6-6-8. Player 'A' has pocket aces and bets, called by player 'B' who holds Ace-King suited and a four-flush, and player 'C' who flopped four to a straight. The betting is heavy. On the turn, another 6 hits the board. Now player 'A' has sixes full of aces, player be still has a 4-flush, and player 'C' folds.

The river is another 6, leaving a board of 6-6-8-6-6. Now the best hand is quad 6's with an ace, and both players remaining split the pot. Bummer for player 'A' who's full-house dominated on the turn, but turned into a split on the river!

Texas Holdem Poker Side Pot Rules How To Play

When Kickers Play

In the last example, both players used their Ace-kicker to claim a split of the pot. Other times kickers can be even more confusing. Suppose the final board is all spades: Ace-K-6-5-4

Player 'A' has two spades in their hand, Jack and 6. Player 'B' has a pair of queens, one of which is a spade. In this case, player 'B' wins because their final hand of Ace-K-Q-6-5-4 spades is higher than player 'A's' hand of Ace-K-J-9-8 spades.

If the players had each held just a single spade in their hand, player 'A' the 2 and player 'B' the 3, this would be a split pot, as the final community cards of Ace-K-6-5-4 would be the highest hand. You'll start to understand these concepts quickly as you learn more advanced strategies.

One Last Example

Texas Holdem Poker Side Pot Rules 2019

Now suppose there is an all-in wager preflop and two players call. Player 'A' holds pocket Jacks and player 'B' hold's pocket Tens. The board comes Ace-King-Queen. Player 'A' leads and both have a straight draw. The turn is an Ace and the river is another King, for a final board of:

Texas Holdem Poker Side Pot Rules Online

Ace-King-Queen-Ace-King

Looks like player 'B' caught-up! Now it's a tie because the board plays and those pocket jacks and tens aren't going to be used! It's simply two-pair (Aces and Kings) with a queen kicker!