Table and rules
Pot in poker
Definition
All the chips or money wagered in the current hand, which the winner collects.
The pot starts with the blinds and antes and grows with every bet. Bet sizes are usually described as a fraction of the pot: a half-pot bet or a pot-size bet.
In cash games the room takes a small rake from the pot, so the winner collects slightly less than the full amount.
Example
With a 100 pot, a half-pot bet is 50 and a pot-sized bet is 100.
Related terms
- Side potA separate pot formed when a player is all-in and the other players keep betting among themselves.
- Pot oddsThe ratio between the size of the pot and the cost of a call; it gives the equity you need for a call to break even.
- RakeThe commission a poker room takes from cash-game pots, or the fee added to a tournament buy-in.
- ShowdownThe final stage of a hand when the remaining players reveal their cards to decide who wins the pot.
- Stack-to-pot ratio (SPR)The effective stack divided by the pot on the flop; it shows how committed you are to the pot.