Side Pot Calculator
Work out the main pot and every side pot when players are all in for different amounts, including uncalled bets returned and folded players’ chips.
The pots
The rules, and where hands go wrong
- You can only win money from a player who could have lost it to you. Being all in for less caps what you can take from everyone else at that same amount.
- A folded player’s chips stay in the pot. They cannot win it, but the money is still there — taking it out is the commonest mistake and it shortchanges the winner.
- An uncalled bet is returned rather than won. If you bet 300 and the only caller has 100, the extra 200 comes back before any pot is awarded.
- Side pots are decided first, from the top down, and the main pot last. The reason is practical: a player in a side pot may beat the all-in player and take that pot without affecting the main one.
- The all-in player never has to beat anyone for the side pot — they simply are not in it.
How to use
- Enter what each player put in across the whole hand.
- Tick anyone who folded — their chips stay in, but they cannot win.
- Read the pots from the bottom up: side pots are settled before the main pot.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to a folded player’s chips?
They stay in the pot. The player cannot win any of it, but the money they put in is still there for whoever does. Taking it back out is the commonest mistake at a home game, and it shortchanges the winner every time.
Why is part of my bet given back?
Because nobody covered it. If you bet 300 and the only caller has 100, the extra 200 was never at risk — no opponent could have taken it from you — so it comes straight back before any pot is awarded rather than becoming a pot you would win from yourself.
Why is there sometimes no side pot even though someone is all in for less?
Because a side pot only exists when the set of players who can win changes. If the short stack had already folded, the layer boundary makes no difference to who is contesting the money, so it is one pot rather than two.
Which pot is decided first?
The side pots, from the top down, and the main pot last. It is practical rather than ceremonial: a player in a side pot may beat the all-in player and take that pot without it affecting who wins the main one.
Does the all-in player have to beat anyone for the side pot?
No — they are simply not in it. Being all in for less caps what they can take from each opponent at that amount, and everything above it is contested only by the players who put it there.
What if everyone who put money in has folded?
Then it is uncontested and goes to whoever is left in the hand, exactly as it would at a real table when everyone folds to one player. Every chip always ends up winnable by somebody.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged, or stored.