Poker is a staple betting card game both in casinos and online. It has a massive global player base of over 100 million online poker players and a thriving competitive scene. So much of poker’s success stems from its skill requirement. In the case of Texas Holdem, the most popular poker variant, the rules are straightforward, meaning there is a low barrier to entry. Despite this, poker manages to maintain an impressive depth of strategy. While learning takes minutes, it takes a lifetime to truly master.
That strategic depth comes from several factors that lead to countless different scenarios. Some are more obvious, like the community cards and your opponents’ playstyles. Others are not as well-known to beginner players, like your position at the table or the number of players involved in a hand. This poker guide will cover the latter, going in-depth about multiway pots. It will teach you everything from what a multiway pot is to winning in them.
What is a multiway pot?
A multiway pot is a pot where more than two players are involved. Each player adds a layer of complexity and volatility, making multiway pots challenging to navigate. Most beginner players have no idea how to handle multiway pots, but if you can play them well, you can potentially make a lot of profit since the pots are larger.
Multiway pots vs. Heads-up
Multiway pots have a lot of differences from heads-up pots (pots with only two players going against each other). Here is a list of those differences and how they impact your strategy:
Multiway hand selection
The nature of multiway pots influences your starting hand selection. The best types of hands are still either pocket pairs or suited connectors. Pocket pairs are strong because they will likely get you a two-pair or a set. Suited connectors are great because of their chance to develop into straights or flushes, which are nearly required to win multiway pots. Multiway pots favor hands higher than two pairs and have increased odds, so suited hands with any connection like two and three suited do better than offsuit hands with high cards.
Multiway pot tips
With all those differences, you will have to make major changes to your strategy to win multiway pots. Here are a few tips:
Where to play poker
We hope this article taught you how to play poker in multiway pots. To get better at dealing with them, you should play on sites like GGPoker, the world’s largest poker room. Online poker has several advantages for learning and practicing poker. It is more convenient to access, as you can play virtually anywhere. It is faster-paced, meaning you will play more hands and multiway pots. Finally, it allows you to use poker tracking software to analyze the playstyles of you and your opponents.