How to Calculate a Side Pot (With Examples)

When a player goes all in for less than the others bet, they can only win as much as they put in from each opponent. Those matched chips are the main pot. Everything the other players bet beyond that goes into a side pot that only they can win. With several all-ins, build the pots in layers, from the smallest all-in up.

How to calculate side pots, step by step

1. List how much each player put into the pot this hand, including folded players.
2. Take the smallest all-in amount. Every player who put in at least that much contributes it to the main pot. Players who put in less (folded early) contribute what they have.
3. Take the next all-in amount. Each player who put in at least that much contributes the difference to side pot 1.
4. Repeat until every chip is in a pot. The last pot is everyone who still has chips in play beyond the last all-in.
5. Each player is eligible only for the pots they contributed a full layer to, and only if they haven't folded.
6. At showdown, award the last side pot first and work back to the main pot.

Check your work: the pots must add up to everything that went in.

Worked example: three all-ins, four players

Ann is all in for $5. Ben is all in for $12. Cal bets $20 and Dee calls $20. Total in: $5 + $12 + $20 + $20 = $57.

At showdown, Ann has the best hand, Cal the second best, then Ben, then Dee.

• Side pot 2 ($16): only Cal and Dee are in it. Cal wins.
• Side pot 1 ($21): Ben, Cal and Dee. Cal's hand beats Ben's and Dee's. Cal wins.
• Main pot ($20): everyone. Ann has the best hand. Ann wins.

Ann turns $5 into $20, and Cal collects $37. Ben and Dee lose what they put in. Ann couldn't win more than $20 because she only covered $5 from each player.

Everything new players need for their first home game, including what all in means and why side pots exist.

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Worked example: a folded player's chips

Same hand, but Eve called $2 before the flop and then folded. Her $2 is less than the smallest all-in, so it all goes into the main pot, which becomes $22. She can't win it, but it's still in play for Ann, Ben, Cal and Dee. Total in is now $59: $22 + $21 + $16.

Who gets the odd chip in a split pot

When two hands tie, split the pot evenly down to the smallest chip in play. If one chip is left over:

• Hold'em, Omaha and other flop games: the first tied player to the left of the button gets it.
• Stud games: the player with the highest card by suit gets it (for low, the lowest card by suit).
• High-low split games: the high hand gets it.

Example: a $5.25 pot is split two ways in a game whose smallest chip is $0.25. That's 21 white chips. Each player gets 10, and the 21st goes to the first tied player left of the button, so one player gets $2.75 and the other $2.50.

Each side pot is split on its own. A tie in the main pot doesn't change who wins a side pot.

Host's note

Side pots come up at the end of a home game, when short stacks jam and three people are all in with different amounts. In our How to Play Poker video we promised side pots their own explainer, and this is it. At the table, it helps to physically push each side pot into its own pile before anyone shows cards. Then everyone can see which chips each player is playing for.

Frequently asked questions

How does a side pot work in poker?

An all-in player can only win as much from each opponent as they put in themselves. Those matched chips form the main pot. Anything the other players bet beyond that goes into a side pot that only they can win.

How do you calculate a side pot with multiple all-ins?

Sort the all-in amounts from smallest to largest. The main pot is the smallest all-in times the number of players who put in at least that much. Each next pot is the difference to the next all-in amount, times the players who put in at least that much.

Can the all-in player win the side pot?

No. A player is only eligible for the pots they fully contributed to. If the all-in player has the best hand, they win the main pot, and the side pot goes to the best hand among the players who are in it.

Which pot is awarded first?

Show down and award the last side pot first, then work back to the main pot. That way the players who are only in the main pot see the side pots settled before their hand is compared.

Who gets the odd chip when a pot is split?

Break the pot down to the smallest chip in play and split it evenly. In flop games like Hold'em and Omaha, the leftover chip goes to the first tied player to the left of the button. In stud, it goes to the player with the highest card by suit, and in high-low games it goes to the high hand.

What happens to chips from players who folded?

They stay in the pots. Folded money is split into the main pot and side pots by the same layers as everyone else's chips, but a player who folded can't win any of it.

For more rulings that start arguments at home games, see 10 home poker arguments, settled, and for the full rules, the Texas Hold'em guide. HG Poker keeps the money side of the night straight, logging every buy-in and rebuy and showing who owes who at the end. It takes no bets, holds no money and moves no money. App Store · Google Play