You're a Bunch of Factors

I'm curious to know peoples thoughts on this topic.

For those who may not be aware, a dry side pot is when there's 3 (or more?) players involved in the betting, one of which has less chips than the other bettors and has gone all-in and been called by the other 2 (or more?) bettors. This leaves a locked main pot in front of the player who went all-in and the remaining bettors still have chips so are able to keep betting if they wish.

Some schools of thought suggest it is good etiquette for the remaining 2 (or more?) bettors to just keep checking until the river.

Other schools of thought suggest this to be ridiculous.


At this point in time I'm firmly in the 'get stuffed, I'll bet if I want to' category



So, let's hear it !

Bet if you have the nuts
Check it down if you dont

Des wrote:Bet if you have the nuts
Check it down if you dont

What he said.

What she said.

reasons why?

depending on how much the allin was and stuff like that, you may still be able to push the other bettor off the hand if you feel that can be done. Or, you may just feel you have a better hand than the other bettor even if it's not the nuts.

If we relate it to playing in the NPL, it won't really matter either way.

I'm mostly curious as to where this idea comes from and why some ppl insist upon practically always checking down a dry side pot.

My only objective is to build my chip stack. If I knock people out in the process, that's a bonus.

If I think I can suck more chips out of the live bettor in the hand, why shouldn't I bet?

Yes, sometimes it's good to check it down, but as IF you should get abused for not doing it.

There are lots of times when u know that the person that has gone all in has a good hand, probably the best of the three.

assuming i have something good but not the nuts, i like betting hard into the other guy and building a side pot as sort of an insurance against losing half of your chips to the guy that is all in.

probably more common is when someone goes all in pre flop with AQ or something, and then the board comes out crap.
in this situation, if i also have high cards that have missed, i will try to push all in and make it a showdown - one of your cards pairing on the turn or river might be enough to take him out.

what if this person is all in for the big blind, and i flop a flush, and the other guy flops a straight? are we supposed to check it down to win a 3BB sized pot?

That is how I look at it Dave.

Oh, by the way I'm not saying I've copped it for not checking one down. Was just curious about the whole idea of it.


Basically, if I think I can win your chips by betting...then I'm betting. Being nice doesn't get you more chips and you perhaps increase the risk of still losing the hand anyway. It's obviously possible to lose to the alliner, but you might at least still get something out of any side pot.

It's not a spot where you can say,"I always do X" - it's situation dependant. Particulary if the two or more players left in the hand have reasonable to large stacks. In that case, and especially if the main pot is relatively small, I'd play the hand as if the side pot was the main pot.

i agree scott

if the pot is small, i try to not worry about it.

although complete bluffs to take down the side pot in this case are not good for the table image, as you have to show it