Betting Basics of Poker – All-in Bets and Side Pots
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, meaning 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 bank 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:
This player cannot match the $50 bet but can go all-in for his last $30. When nobody else is involved, the first player will get back the unmatched $20 bet (i.e., his chance is $30 rather than $50). This is shown in Figure 2 below:
In this example, the shorter stack wins the pot, but the surplus of $20 is returned to player 5.
The whole point 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: 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.
He has $12 in total and clearly can’t match the $10,000 – but he can go all-in. If he does, the player with $10,000 will 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 for $1).
Side Pots
It can be a little more complicated when e more than two players s involved in a hand. This is when a side pot is created for the other players, and the all-in player cannot win any further bets. The all-in player is eligible for the main pool only.
Look at Figure 4 below, which shows three players remaining in 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:
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:
The main pot now contains $70, comprised of the existing $40 in the pool, plus $10 x 3. Player 6 is “all in” and can only win this main pot. A side pot containing the extra $20 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 other bets are added to this side pot, not the main pool. Players 5 and 7 contributed to the side pot and 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, he will win the $70 pot, but the side pot will be won by either player five 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 frequently. Sometimes there can be many different side pots during a hand involving many other players – whether limit, pot limit, or no limit poker. This is because not everyone has the same amount of chips – and players with fewer chips than an opponent cannot win more from a player than they contributed. The important thing to remember is that a player can never be bet out of hand because he doesn’t have enough to call.
