May 26, 2015 So there is no split pot - A wins all of the chips in the pot (50 from B and 120 from C, plus his own bet is returned). The dealer will have already taken the house 'rake' from the pot before paying it to A. Players B and C are both busted. Apr 22, 2018 Hello, I want to know how a Pot is Split or Chopped in case of a Texas Hold'Em No Limit or Pot Limit Game in below scenario: This Game is a 5 Card Rule Split Pot/Chop Pot concept - Poker News - News, Views and Gossip. If a split occurs. 2 or more players have the same value hand, then the relevant pot is split between those players that contest that particular pot. If the chip amount is uneven they extra chips usually go to the player with worse positon (i.e. Closest to the left of the button), although that can be changed.
In our lesson on the three main betting variations of poker, we used an example where a player in a no-limit game could bet far more than anyone else at the table, provided the player had such an amount. Poker is always played at table stakes, and this means you can only wager the amount of money you have in front of you when the hand begins. It is quite common for a player to run out of money during a hand. If you have more money than another player, it doesn’t mean you can bet them out of the pot because they can’t afford to call your bet. Otherwise the poker player with the most money would always win if he bet all his chips, and it wouldn’t be a very enjoyable game.
All-in Bets
When a player puts all his chips into the pot he is said to be “all-in”. The important thing to know is that a player can never be bet out of a pot because he always has the option to call for all of his chips. For example, a player with $50 goes all-in, and everyone folds apart from a player who only has $30 left:
Figure 1
This player cannot match the $50 bet, but he can also go all-in for his last $30. When nobody else is involved, the first player would get back the unmatched $20 bet (i.e. his bet is $30 rather than $50). This is shown in figure 2, below:
Figure 2
In this example the shorter-stack wins the pot, but the surplus $20 is returned to player 5.
The whole point of this is that players can take back any extra money when another player is all-in for less, when nobody else has called. The same applies to an extreme no limit example, where a player might bet $10,000 in a $1/$2 game. Here’s an example where it’s folded around to the big blind, who has $10 remaining in his stack.
Figure 3
He has $12 in total and clearly can’t match the $10,000 – but he can go all-in. If he does then the player with $10,000, would take back $9,988. No more betting would take place, as there isn’t anything left to wager. After the flop, turn and river, the player with the best hand would win the $25 pot ($12 from each plus the small blinds $1).
Side Pots
It can be a little more complicated when there’s more than two players involved in a hand. This is when a side pot is created for the other players, and any further bets cannot be won by the all-in player. The all-in player is eligible for the main pot only.
Take a look at figure 4, below, which shows three players remaining in a hand. Two players have $50 each, and another has just $10 remaining. In this example the pot already contains $40 from the previous betting rounds. Player 5 makes a bet of $20:
Figure 4
Player 6 only has $10 but he can call for his last $10 (and would therefore be “all in”) or fold. If player 6 decides to go all-in for his last $10, then the last active player (player 7), who has $50, can call, but must call for $20, which is the original bet, or he can raise. If he calls then a side pot is created, as is shown in figure 5:
Figure 5
The main pot now contains $70, which is made up of the existing $40 in the pot, plus $10 x 3. Player 6 is “all in” and can only win this main pot. A side pot containing the extra $20 is created, and can only be won by the players who contributed to this side pot (players 5 and 7). The next card will be dealt and further betting will take place. Any further bets are added to this side pot, and not the main pot. Players 5 and 7, who contributed to the side pot, can win the side pot and the main pot, if their hand beats the “all in” player. If player 6 has the winning hand after the final betting round, then he will win the $70 pot, but the side pot will be won by either player 5 or player 7.
Conclusion
There has been quite a bit of information in this lesson, which to the uninitiated could be confusing. As soon as you start playing poker you’ll quickly become familiar with these betting basics because they occur very frequently. Sometimes there can be lots of different side pots during a hand involving lots of different players – whether it’s limit, pot limit, or no limit poker. This is because not everyone has the same amount of chips – and players who have fewer chips than an opponent cannot win more from a player than they contributed themselves. The important thing to remember is that a player can never be bet out of hand because he doesn’t have enough to call.
Related Lessons
By Tim Ryerson
Tim is from London, England and has been playing poker since the late 1990’s. He is the ‘Editor-in-Chief’ at Pokerology.com and is responsible for all the content on the website.
Related Lessons
How to Play
Dealer
In Texas Hold'em the button, also called the 'dealer button', indicates who the dealer is. The dealer button moves clockwise around the players.
Blinds
Texas Hold'em is played with two blinds, the 'small blind' and the 'big blind'. Before any cards are dealt the blinds must be posted. The player to the left of the dealer posts the small blind and the next player in turn posts the big blind.
The blinds are considered as 'live' bets. If you have posted a blind you are only required to make up the difference, if any, between the blind and the current bet. The players in the blinds have the option to fold, call, check or raise in turn.
Ante
Ante is similar to blinds, but instead of two players posting, every player who wants to play the current poker hand posts a small amount that goes into the pot, this is called Ante. Ante is only used in tournaments.
Royal Hold'em
Royal Hold'em is a version of Texas Hold'em, played without deuces through nines, leaving only the tens, jacks, queens, kings, and aces.
Royal Hold'em can only be played with a maximum of six players because there are only 20 cards in the deck.
With 5 community cards, 3 burn cards, and 2 pocket cards per player, a six player table will use all 20 cards in the deck.
Texas Hold'em
The player who has not folded his cards can win the pot, the winner is determined by the best poker hand.
In Texas Hold'em, the players share the community cards. The players use their hole cards together with the community cards to make their poker hand. A player can only make a poker hand that has five cards in it. You may use both hole cards, one hole card or no hole card at all, in order to see which poker hand you have. If you aren't using any cards at all, you are playing with the community cards only.
Omaha
Omaha poker rules are based on Texas Hold'em with these main differences:
Players are dealt four pocket cards.
- Player MUST use two pocket cards and three community cards to make the best possible poker hand.
- There can be a maximum of 10 players.
- Each player is dealt four cards face down (the pocket cards). Then the first betting round begins.
Rounds are the same as in Texas Hold'em:
Poker Split Pot Rules
- Pre Flop - Four cards are dealt to every player face down, starting with the small blind.
- The Flop - the dealer lays out the first three community cards in the center of the table.
- The Turn - A fourth card is dealt face up in the middle of the table.
- The River - A fifth and final card is dealt face up in the middle of the table.
The player with the best 5-card hand wins.
Note: you cannot Play the Board as two cards have to come from your hand. For example, the Board is 10 J Q K A. And your hand is 4 4 A 5, this means your final hand is: A A K Q 5
Omaha Hi/Lo
Omaha Hi/Lo is identical to Omaha poker except for the showdown. It's a split-pot game, so at showdown the pot is usually divided in half. One half is awarded to the best high hand, and the other half is awarded to the best low hand.
The best high hand is identical to the best hand in regular Omaha.
The best low hand, however, must qualify to be eligible to win the low hand half of the pot. If there is no eligible low hand, the entire pot is awarded to the player with the best high hand.
The qualifications for the low hand are:
- The hand must be comprised of two pocket cards and three community cards.
- All cards used must be unpaired cards eight or lower.
- Low hands are counted from the highest card to the lowest card.
- Aces are considered low for the low hand.
- Flushes and straights are ignored for the low hand.
- Suits do not matter for low hand, so if multiple users have the best low hand they will split that half of the pot.
- The best low hand is 5-4-3-2-A, and the worst low hand is 8-7-6-5-4.
There are also a couple of important rules regarding the showdown:
- If the pot cannot be split equally, the extra odd chip is always awarded to the high hand half of the pot.
- The same player can win one or both halves of the pot, using the same or different cards for each hand.
Game Types
No Limit
No limit poker means that you can bet as much as you're sitting with at the table.
Fixed Limit
Fixed limit poker means that you can bet a fixed amount each betting round. In a 2/4 game, you can bet, raise or re-raise 2 before the flop, 2 on the flop, at the turn and river card you can bet, raise or re-raise 4 each round.
Pot Limit
Pot limit poker is a game where you can bet the size of the pot plus any previous player bets or raises.
Split Pot Poker
Mixed Limit
Mixed Limit is a poker is a game where you can bet the size of the pot plus any previous player bets or raises on the pre-flop and as much as you're sitting with at the table afterwards. It's also referred to as Pot Limit Pre-Flop, No Limit Post-Flop.
Game Play
Hole Cards
Each player is dealt two cards face down. They are called hole cards
Community Cards
The cards dealt to the table are split into three rounds of betting, together they are called community cards.
The Flop
The flop consists of three cards, these cards are dealt to the table after the first betting round is completed.
The Turn
This card is dealt when the flop betting round is completed.
The River
This card is dealt when the turn betting round is completed
All-In
When a player is all-in it means that all the money they have at the table is in the pot. A player that is all-in can only win as many chips from the other players as they have put into the pot.
If other players put in more chips, a side pot is created. More than one side pot can be created if several players are all-in. When you are all-in you will stay in the current poker hand until showdown. No player can ever make a single bet larger than the amount they have at the table.
Showdown
Showdown means that the players in the pot show their hole cards. Showdown can only take place when all betting rounds are complete or when a player is all in.
Regular Tables
Up to ten players are allowed to play in the same game on a regular table.
Short Handed Tables
A short handed table is a table with six seats or less.