Split pot
Also: Chopped pot, Tie, Quartered, Geteilter Pot
A pot divided between two or more players, either because their hands are exactly equal at showdown or because the game awards the pot in halves to the best high and best qualifying low hand.
A split pot happens for two quite different reasons, and the word covers both.
The first is a tie. Two players table hands of identical rank — the same straight, or the same pair with the same five-card holding — and the pot is divided equally. Suits never break a tie in Hold'em or Omaha, so there is no further tiebreaker; where an odd chip cannot be divided, house rules award it to the player in the earliest position, or in some rooms to the player closest to the left of the button.
The second is structural. In high-low games such as Omaha Hi-Lo and Stud Eight-or-Better, the pot is split by design between the best high hand and the best qualifying low. Taking both halves is a scoop; tying one half with another player produces a quarter of the pot, which is the outcome experienced players work hardest to avoid, since being quartered in a multiway pot often returns less than was put in.
In Hold'em, ties are more common than they look. A board that plays for everyone — a straight on the board, or a pair plus an ace nobody can beat — splits regularly, and a hand whose kicker is on the board rather than in anyone's hand is the usual cause.
Related terms
Full glossaryFrequently asked questions
When is a pot split in poker?
Two situations. Either two or more players hold hands of exactly equal rank at showdown, or the game is a high-low split game that awards half the pot to the best high hand and half to the best qualifying low.
How is a tie decided if the hands look the same?
All five cards are compared in order. If they are identical in rank the pot is divided, because suits never break a tie in Hold'em or Omaha. An odd chip that cannot be split goes to one player by house rule — usually the earliest position, or the seat nearest the button's left.
What does being quartered mean?
In a high-low game, tying one half of the pot with another player while a third takes the other half, so you receive a quarter. In a multiway pot that can be less than you put in, which is why strong Hi-Lo play aims at hands that can scoop rather than split.