Cracking the Side Pot: A Dealer’s Guide to Fast, Accurate Side Pot Calculations

Every new poker dealer eventually discovers the truth:

Side pots aren’t hard… until you’re doing them live, under pressure, with multiple all-ins and three players firing chips across the felt.

Side-pot mistakes are one of the most common dealer errors, and they can cause confusion, mispays, floor calls, and frustrated players. The good news? Side pots follow predictable rules — and once you learn how to break them down correctly, they become second nature.

This is why I built a full Side Pot Trainer inside the Poker Dealer Training App, complete with mistakes, odd scenarios, uneven stacks, and live-style drills. Dealers can practice until the math becomes automatic and instinctual.

Let’s walk through the logic behind side pots so it finally clicks.

Poker chips ready for a game of strategy

What Creates a Side Pot?

A side pot forms when one or more players go all-in for less than the full bet, and other players continue betting behind them.

The golden rule:

A player can only win the amount they contributed to.

If they didn’t put chips into a particular pot, they can’t win it.

How to Build Side Pots Step-by-Step

1. Identify the Shortest Stack Involved in the Hand

This player defines the main pot.

Every active player can match this amount, but no one can win more from this player than they contributed.

Example:

Alice – $50

Bob – $50

Charlie – $37 (all-in)

David – $50

Emma – $50

Charlie is all-in for $37, so the deepest amount anyone can fight him for is $37 each.

With 5 players:

Main Pot = 5 × $37 = $185

That’s fixed. It never changes.

2. Build the Side Pot

Now subtract the all-in amount from each remaining player’s wager.

Using the same example:

• Everyone else put in $50

• Charlie put in $37

• Difference = $13 from each of the four remaining players

Side pot = 4 × $13 = $52

Now you have:

Main Pot: $185

Side Pot: $52

Simple, clean, correct.

3. Handle Additional All-Ins (If Any)

If there are multiple short stacks, you build multiple side pots, always from smallest stack upward.

You do this by:

• Sorting stacks from smallest to largest

• Locking each pot as soon as a player is all-in

• Removing them from future betting rounds

This avoids confusion and ensures accurate payouts.

Why Side Pots Confuse New Dealers

When the game is live, many things happen at once:

• Three players all-in for different amounts

• Players tossing chips across the line

• Someone says “I’m all-in for less,” someone else says “call,” another tops up

• A fourth player makes a side bet

• Dealers lose track of how many players matched which bet

This is exactly why dealers struggle — even when they understand the theory.

You need practice across dozens of scenarios until your brain naturally snaps each pot into place.

How the App Helps You Master Side Pots Quickly

The Poker Dealer Training App includes a full Side Pot Calculation Trainer that gives you realistic all-in scenarios like:

• Uneven stacks

• Multiway all-ins

• Overcalls

• Undercalls

• Forced side pots

• Multi-round betting

• Odd bet sizes

• Pot confusion drills

You get instant feedback after entering your Main Pot and Side Pot numbers, reinforcing the correct patterns.

It turns the most intimidating part of poker dealing into something you can do calmly, confidently, and quickly — even in auditions or high-pressure cash games.

Why Dealers Need Side Pot Mastery

With solid side-pot skills:

• Players trust your accuracy

• You avoid mispays (and the stress that follows)

• You reduce floor calls

• Your table runs efficiently

• You instantly stand out in dealer auditions

• Your professionalism — and tips — go up

Side pots aren’t just math.

They’re credibility.

Ready to Master Side Pots the Easy Way?

If you want to finally feel confident with multiway all-ins and complex pot-building, the Side Pot Trainer in the app is built for you.

👉 

Download the Poker Dealer Trainer App

Practice side pots, PLO pots, hand reading, and everything else you need to deal like a pro.