Poker Split Pot Calculator

Poker Split Pot Calculator Rating: 4,0/5 40 votes
Calculator
  1. Poker Split Pot Calculator Formula
  2. Poker Split Pot Calculator For Dummies
  3. Poker Split Pot Calculator Spreadsheet
  4. Poker Split Pot Calculator Excel

We’ve also created the perfect tool to end any confusion about side pots and all ins in your poker home games – the Side Pot Calculator. Just enter the numbers into the calculator and it does all the work for you, explaining who wins what amount from the pot. Calculator to help count how many and how big are the side pots are on Poker when players are short stacked. Poker Chip Calculator If you think you might need a few more chips, or you're looking to buy your first set of poker chips it helps to know how many you'll need for a good game. Once you have your chips this calculator should help you work out a good distribution of chips for the initial buy-in.

Input the number of poker players and buy in amount and the calcultor will spit out a points and payout structure for you. It will also let you: Choose the number of tournament payout places or let it calculate it for you. Select a 'base point number' i.e. The number of points the first person out of the tournament gets. Payout is the prize paid out to the winning player/players at the end of the poker tournament. Tournament Payout structure differs from house game to house game and from casino to casino. Online poker websites have different payouts from each other too. Poker Tournament Payout structure depends mostly on the number of entrants.

How to Split Pots

On the surface, splitting pots is easy enough: simply take the pot, split it evenly, and each player takes their winnings.

This is especially easy when two players have the same five-card hand: each takes half. If it's three or four or more players all with the same hand, divide the pot by the number of players, and each player collects their winnings.

But things can get tricky fast.

High-Low

In high-low games, the easiest split pot is when one player wins the high and the other wins the low. Here, you simply divide by two and each player collects their winnings. A player with the best high and the best low hand 'scoops' the whole thing.

But, especially in games like Omaha High-Low, when lots of players might all have the same low or the same high, the pot needs to be split along more complicated lines.

For instance, more than one player might all have the same low hand--this is easy enough if a board contains lots of low cards. On the other hand, multiple players might share the same high--for example, they are all able to make the same straight.

In these cases, the easiest way to manage the pot is to first split it in two: one high pot and one low pot. Then, the players who share the same high divvy up the high pot, and the players with the same low divvy up the low pot. (This is the same way you would divvy up a pot in a game like Chicago: split the pot in two, with one half going to the player with the high spade in the hole, and the other half going to the player with the best five-card hand--and yes, sometimes those halves get scooped by the same player!)

Poker Split Pot Calculator Formula

The most common example of this is quartering: two players have the same low hand, but one has a better high hand. So they split the low, and one player takes the high, so that one player gets 75% of the whole pot and the other gets 25%--a quarter. But it's not uncommon for three or more players to play for the same high or low, so players might get one sixth or one eighth or an even smaller fraction of the pot, while one player ends up take two-thirds of five eights for themselves.

Sidepots

When one player is all in, they can win the main pot: the pot that every active player can theoretically win. But other players can continue betting amongst each other by placing their chips into a side pot: a pot that only some active players can win. And yes, sometimes the side pots can get even bigger than the main one!

On the surface, side pots are relatively simple: the main pot usually gets stacked near the player who is all in, and the other two players can bet into the side pot. But, when multiple players are all in, there might be more than one side pot: for instance, a player is blinded all in, another player goes all in on the flop, and other players continue betting through the river and turn. Imagine what can happen if there are three or four or more players all in at the same time, with side pots stacked all around the table, while two big stacks keep betting into one another--complicated enough at a Texas Hold'Em table, and even more so at a High-Low game, where all those pots could get split up even more!

In these cases, the key is remembering who can win each pot. At casinos, this is simple enough, since the dealer sorts out each pot. But at home games, it's crucial to remember who can win each pot: every player can win the main pot, including the player who went all in first; then the next side pot can be won by everyone who could match the next all-in bet; and so on and so on. If it sounds complicated, don't be afraid to take extra steps to sort it out--if you play a lot of Omaha High-Low, you might consider keeping a pad and paper at the table!

In pot-limit poker, the amount you can bet when it's your turn is limited by the size of the pot.

Because it's a little bit more complicated than a standard Limit of No-Limit betting structure we've put together a specific article on How to Calculate the Pot Bet to help you understand how it's done.

The simple rule for making a pot-size bet is:

  • You can raise the amount that is in the pot after you have called the previous bet.

Here are a few examples to make things clearer.

How to Make a Pot Bet in Poker -- Examples

Pot Bet Example 1

Situation: There's $10 in the pot. You're first to act.

How much can you bet? You can bet $10.

Simple, right? Now we'll make it a little harder.

Pot Bet Example 2

Situation: There's $10 in the pot and a player has bet $3.

How much can you bet? To calculate your maximum bet, first pretend that you call that last bet. The total pot then contains 10 + 3 + 3 = $16.

This is your maximum raise. With the $3 call your total maximum bet would then be $19.

Still with us? Now let's make it a little more complicated.

Pot Bet Example 3

Poker Split Pot Calculator For Dummies

Situation: There's $10 in the pot, one player has bet $3 and another player has raised to $10.

How much can you bet? First, pretend that you call the last bet of $10. The pot then contains 10 + 3 + 10 + 10 = $33.

Your pot raise is $33 and your total bet is $43.

Got it? Even if you're struggling a bit to get your mind around it, don't give up. There are a couple of smart tricks you can use to make it even easier.

If you want to play Pot-Limit poker (like, say, Pot-Limit Omaha) live, you should definitely learn them as you'll need to calculate your pot bets on the fly with a table of other players watching.

If you play your Pot-Limit Omaha online, though, you'll get some help with the betting functions.

How to Make a Pot Bet - Tips & Tricks

If you're playing Pot-Limit poker on online poker sites, the poker client will tell you exactly how much you're allowed to bet. In live poker, the common way to do this is to just say the word 'pot' out loud before you bet.

This establishes that you intend to bet the maximum. Then you can take your time to figure out how much that is.

The Simple 3x Rule for Pot Bets in Poker

Here's another really helpful trick that you can use to calculate the correct size of a pot bet:

  • To get your maximum bet, multiply the last bet by three and add all other bets, including the original pot.

Does that sound insane to you? That's probably a sane reaction. But the truth is, it actually works!

Let's go through the same examples from above again, this time applying the 3x Rule.

Example 1

Situation: There's $10 in the pot. You're first to act.

How much can you bet? So, 3x the last bet is zero (no one has bet yet). Add the rest of the bets including the pot, which amounts to $10.

Poker Split Pot Calculator Spreadsheet

Example 2

Situation: There's $10 in the pot and a player has bet $3.

How much can you bet? 3x the last bet is 9 (3 x 3 = 9). Add $10 from the original pot and you get $19.

Example 3

Situation: There's $10 in the pot, one player has bet $3 and another player has raised to $10.

Poker Split Pot Calculator Excel

How much can you bet? 3x the last bet (3 x 10) is $30. Add $10 + $3 and you get $43.

--------------------

Luckily, this simple rule of thumb for pot bets works just as well in the first betting round when the blinds are on the table.

If the small blind is $1 and the big blind $2, the max bet is (3 x 2) + 1 = 7. With two limpers before you, the pot bet is (3 x 2) + 1 + 2 + 2 = 11.

Read More:

More Poker Games Rules

Poker Tools: