Can someone explain to me how side pot/main pots work? In a play money game today online I won a side pot with a pair of nines when the guy sitting next to me had a pair of Kings. There were 3 people in play and I went all in because I was short stacked and 2 others called with stacks of 3500 and 7500. I Doubled up. How did that happen?
If you were the short stack and doubled up than you had the best hand (actually you would have tripled up + antes and blinds if they were not in the hand). Maybe you had a straight or flush you did not see.
If the guy with KK was the short stack than you won the side pot between you and the other player. You would not have doubled up, but maybe close to it if the short stack did not have much.
You would have been knocked out if you were the short stack and did not have the best hand.
Yup, just echoing what jmda said - if you were truly the short stack, then you missed what your actual hand was, or else the KK hand would have knocked you out.
So, either you weren't the short stack and you won the side pot, or you were the shortstack, and had a better hand than you thought you did.
To put it another way - the short stack can't win a side pot. The whole reason the side pot exists is because the short stack is all in - the main pot is what the short stack is eligible to win. The side pot can be won by remaining players in the hand.
Hands happen so fast when you are playing online so maybe he did have the smaller stack and I just didnt realize it. I know I won the side pot as it states that in the chat area so I must have had more chips than someone during that hand. I need to pay more attention I guess.
Linear Mode
