E-WSOP

Folding Side Pot

Hi,

I am in trouble. A dispute is going on between me and my friend about side pots in our No Limit Texas Holdem tournaments. I hope you could help us out.

We already tried to seek out for some possible answer, researched, etc. but till this time we haven’t achieved yet the clarity we are looking for.

For you to understand the situation better, consider these infos:

Player 1 (has 1000 chips) – calls the 100 in the big blind
Player 2 (has 500 chips) – calls the 100.
Player 3 (has 300 chips) – goes all-in for 300 chips
Player 4 folds.
Player 1 calls the additional 200 chips from Player 3 all-in bet.
Player 2 also calls the additional 200 chips.

Eventually, the flop comes with three way action: player 1, player 2, and player 3. Every player has 300 chips invested for the hand. Then, right after the flop, player 1 is the first to act, so as a result, he moves all-in with 700 chips.

Consider that player 3 has a chance to win 900 chips if his hand is the best hand and that there would be a side pot in which the best hand between player 1 and player 2 would win. Take note that player 1 would take back the additional 500 chips he placed in the pot.

Well, my question now is – what happens if player 2 folds to the all-in bet of player 1? And if in the event that player 2 folds after Player 1 moves all-in with more chips, can player 2 win the original pot against other players?

I have an idea but I’m not certain if it makes sense. Any help with this will be much appreciated.

Thank you.
Carl Jhanne

Carl,

The side pot is just a continuation of the original hand. When player two folds to the bet of player one, he forfeits his rights to the main pot. Only player one and player three can compete for it.