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A previous question on this board asked: In Texas hold'em poker, if a player doesn't have enough chips to pay the big blind, what happens if the next players want to call? Must they pay the entire big blind or not?

For example, a tournament starts and after some time, the SB/BB is 50/100 but the player who must pay the BB has only 60. Other players want to call only.

  • Player A (SB): mandatory bet 50 and is waiting.
  • Player B (BB): mandatory bet 60 chips and all-in.
  • Player C has more than 110 and wants to call, must they pay 100 or only 60?

The answer was YES they do have to pay the bb. But how is that fair for player C? For instance, if Player C folds, then player A only has to match Player B’s all-in at 60. So Player C is the only person who was forced to match the bb.

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    Are you asking about what the actual rules are (which may not be "fair" but are still the rules) or what you think the rules should be (which is opinion-based and therefore off-topic on Stack Exchange)?
    – Philip Kendall
    Jul 19, 2021 at 20:01
  • Just making sure what the rules are because generally the rules are fair. My opinion is that I know the rules but could be wrong. Are you answering my question with more questions or do you know the rule?
    – Imchief1
    Jul 19, 2021 at 20:52

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If C wants to call the BB, they have to put in 100. However, the 40 that's over B's blind of 60 is put in a side pot, and B is not eligible to win this extra money. If A folds, then there's no one left to contest the side pot, and so it is returned to C. So A and C are in the same position: if A wants to call and C doesn't, then A only has to put in a total of 60. If C wants to call and A doesn't, then C has to risk only 60 (although they have to initially put in 100 in case A wants to call). If both want to call, both will have to put in a total of 100.

Their positions are not completely equal in that A gets to see what C does before deciding whether to call, but this is at the cost of having to put up the SB, so overall C is better off in this position.

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