Center Pot

word type: noun

  1. The main pot in a poker hand. The center pot is the opposite of a side pot, which may occur if a player involved is all-in during a hand. Betting can continue on the side, away from the center pot, between players remaining.
  2. The opposite of a side pot, or pot formed after one player is all in during a hand, but other players can continue betting.

Center Pot Example

Alvin and Simon both have $100 in their chip stacks. Theodore only has $10. Pre-flop, Theodore goes all-in and both Alvin and Simon call. After the flop, Alvin bets $20 and Simon calls. Going into the turn, the center pot is $30, consisting of the $10 Theodore went all-in with and the $20 combined that Alvin and Simon used to call. Because Theodore had nothing left after the pre-flop betting, that $30 is all he can play for. Any bets beyond this make up the side pot, which currently stands at $40 (the $20 bet and call on the flop).

You Should Also Know...

There is really no need to refer to the pot as a "center" pot if a side pot is not created by somebody being all-in and larger stacks still remaining in the hand. After all, if there is no side pot, then there is only one pot, which can just be called the "pot."

Related Terms

Side Pot