Pot
Pot is the name given to the entire pile of money that the players wager, and contest for during a round of poker. Depending on the rules of betting, each player puts in a certain amount of money, as a bet, into the pot. When the round of poker ends the winner of the round is handed over the entire money that has accumulated in the pot.
The manner of winning, i.e. folding or showdown, is of no consequence as the overall winner remains the same irrespective of the manner of winning. The player holding the winning cards is given the entire pot as a reward.
In some cases, the pot may be shared between two or more players and this normally happens when two or more players share the same level of winning cards. Such a case is also true in high-low games of poker where it is mandatory that two players share the pot. In some variations in high-low poker, there are cases when again, the same player may have both the high and the lowest cards. In such a case, the player wins the entire pot.
There are certain circumstances under which side pots are created. These side pots are just like normal pots but are created in multi-way pots where a player has gone all-in. Once a player has gone all-in, the other players might want to continue betting in the round and in such a scenario, a side pot is created where the players continue their betting.
This is done for the simple reason that if the all-in player wins the bet, then s/he is not entitled to amounts bet, made by other players, over and above their betting amount. Therefore, if s/he wins, then s/he will only win the main pot while the side pot is divided equally amongst those who were contending for the round besides the all-in player.
However, if one of the other players wins the round, then the side pot is added to the main pot and the entire amount is given to the player, or split in case of more than one winners.
Forrige begrep: Pot odds, Neste begrep: Pre-flop
