Center Pot
word type: noun
- 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.
- 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."
