All-in situations with more than two players can get confusing fast - especially when the players involved don't have equal stack sizes. This is where the side pot comes in. Understanding how side pots work is essential for anyone playing short-handed poker, since they determine exactly who can win what once a player is all-in for less than everyone else.

What a side pot is

A side pot is a separate pot created when one player goes all-in for fewer chips than one or more remaining opponents. The all-in player can only win an amount matching what they contributed from each opponent - the "main pot." Any additional betting among the players who still have chips behind goes into a new, separate pot: the side pot, which the all-in player is not eligible to win.

A simple example

Imagine three players in a hand: Player A has 200 chips, Player B has 800 chips, and Player C has 800 chips. Player A goes all-in for 200. Players B and C both call 200 and continue betting further on later streets. Here's how the money splits:

Main pot: 200 from each player (600 total) - all three players, including Player A, can win this pot.
Side pot: Any additional betting between Player B and Player C beyond the 200 they each already matched - only B and C can win this pot, since Player A is already all-in and has no more chips to contribute.

At showdown, the main pot is awarded first based on the best hand among all three players, and the side pot is awarded separately based on the best hand between only Player B and Player C.

Why side pots exist

Side pots protect players with bigger stacks from being capped by a shorter stack's all-in. Without them, a player with 200 chips could effectively limit how much a player with 800 chips could win, even though the bigger stack has plenty of chips left to keep betting against other opponents. Side pots allow the action to continue fairly among players who still have chips, while still letting the all-in player compete for everything they contributed.

Multiple side pots

In hands with several players going all-in for different amounts, there can be more than one side pot. Each time a player is all-in for less than the remaining active players, a new pot boundary is created. The dealer (or the software, in online and app-based poker) keeps track of these automatically, so as a player you generally don't need to calculate them yourself - but understanding the logic helps you make sense of the pot sizes on the table and evaluate your pot odds correctly in multiway all-in situations.

How side pots affect strategy

Short stacks want fewer players in the side pot, since they can only compete for the main pot anyway - extra betting between deeper-stacked opponents doesn't concern them.
Deep stacks should track both pots separately when deciding whether to keep betting, since continuing to bet only affects who wins the side pot, not the main pot.
Side pots are common in multiway pots, especially late in tournaments when stack sizes vary widely between players.

Where side pots show up most

Side pots are especially common near the bubble or final table of tournaments, where stack sizes vary dramatically and short stacks are frequently forced all-in. They're less common in cash games with deep, similar stacks, but understanding the mechanics is valuable anywhere multiple players can end up with different chip totals behind - which is essentially every poker table at some point in a session.

Experience side pots for free

Poker House is a free Texas Hold'em app with a Wild-West saloon theme, using Chips and Gems instead of real money. All-in situations and side pots are calculated automatically at the table, so you can focus on strategy and get comfortable reading multiway pots without any financial risk. Play now.