Family Pot

A popular poker term, family pot, is used to describe situations where several players get involved in the pot before the flop, so the hand goes to the flop multi-way. The ultimate family pot is the one where all players get to see the flop.

For example, at a six-handed table, you make a standard open to 3x from UTG. The player next to you calls, which prompts all other players to do the same. So, when the flop is dealt, all six players are still in the hand.

Family pots aren’t that common at higher stakes, but they do happen fairly frequently in lower-stakes cash games where players aren’t as aggressive and love seeing flops. It is common to see a family pot with many players just limping preflop in some live games.

From the strategic point of view, family pots can be very difficult to navigate, as hand ranges are wide and betting dynamics can get complicated, especially when several players have deep stacks. Thus, if you find yourself in a family pot, you should play cautiously and be prepared to lay down all but the strongest of hands.

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