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What does Muck, Pair and Split Pot mean in Poker?

Want to increase your knowledge about different poker terms? You might know what they mean, but it helps to know the exact terms like muck in poker, pair and split pot in poker.

What is the first thing you did when you started to learn / play poker for the first time? Try to understand the different actions you can take when it’s your turn on the poker game table and go through the poker hand rankings. Isn’t this what you did? Of course, you are likely to have read about poker, some related poker terms, and mainly the most popular poker variants like Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker.

But, the world of poker is a vast ocean. You have so many poker variants, strategies, rules to follow, formats, etc. that you can keep learning and mastering this online poker game for a lifetime. Even many poker players who have a good amount of experience in online poker might not know several poker terms, if they have never tried related play for the variant they have been playing till date. Some important terms in poker you can deep dive into in this article are:

  • Muck in poker
  • Split pot in poker
  • Pair in poker

Muck in Poker

In poker terminology, the discarded pile of cards is referred to as a ‘muck’. Your muck in poker can be inclusive of the following:

  • Any of the discarded or folded hands from opponents playing for that hand
  • Any cards that got exposed accidentally during play
  • Any of the burn cards (that denote the cards discarded from the top portion of your cards deck before dealing the community cards at the flop, turn, and river)

And the related action of discarding your cards (or folding them) face-down into the middle of the table is known as ‘mucking’. This act of mucking is generally done by you to point the discarded cards towards the dealer to indicate your exit from any further involvement in that particular hand.

You can go ahead with mucking when it is your turn at the online poker table. It can be done at any of the stages – preflop, post flop, turn, or the river. This is generally done when you believe that your odds of winning that hand are quite less as compared to the other active players left on the table.

Additionally, you can even discard your cards at the final showdown. You might wonder why one would opt for mucking at a showdown in poker. Well, it can be a good idea to avoid showing your cards to the opponents and not let them know the kind of play you had attempted in that hand. When you play poker online, you can keep the ‘auto muck’ setting activated so that your cards are discarded face down in quick time, allowing you to play more hands in an hour.

Pair in Poker

This is a pretty well-known online poker term. It refers to the poker hand where you have two cards of the same value (or rank). A pair of Aces is the highest pair in online poker. However, a pair may not be the highest possible hand at the final showdown in poker. So, it makes sense to use this poker hand to form stronger hands.

In a five-card hand, if two players have the same pair, then, the other three cards are compared. Also, the pair in poker can contribute significantly towards helping you decide what can be the highest possible hand made using it. Some potential hands are three of a kind, four of a kind, full house (combination of three of a kind and a pair), etc. You cannot make a straight or straight flush using a pair as those hands require consecutive cards.

Split Pot in Poker

As the name suggests, this poker term refers to the act of splitting the pot into equal halves for distribution among the winners. For a game of Hold’em, when you have two players having exactly the same hand, the pot can be divided equally between them. 

Final Thoughts

The online poker game keeps evolving as more and more players across the globe have got glued to this game. Once you start learning more about this wonderful skill-based card game, it makes sense to get more information about the various poker terms and enhance your knowledge. This goes a long way in you knowing the game more closely. This article describes some popular poker terms such as split pot in poker, muck in poker, and pair in poker. So start your online poker journey on MPL and have a great time playing!

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