How to figure out side pots at home games?

Hi all!
I've been wanting to set up a game for me and my friends at my house.
I have recently bought some high quality playing chips and cards especially for these games.
The game is coming up this Friday and everything is arranged. Everyone is really looking forward to it and so am I! There is just one problem; i'm really struggling with calculating side pots. I really want to get it right, as i want the poker night to go as smoothly and as professionally as possible.
I get the simple concept of the side pot(s), but im really freaking out over the more complicated ones.

For example
1) Players A, B, C go all in
Player in goes all in first with $1000, player B calls all in with his remaining $800, and C calls all in with his remaining $600.
Can someone exaplain to me how these two side pots would work out?

Also my last example that i would like to ask about.
Say for instance by the turn card there are only four players still active, player A with $1200, player B with $1000, player C with $1000 and player D with $200. Up to this point all players have bet heavily in pre and post flop, so the pot is quite substantial.
Player A bets 400. All players call, including player D who has to go all in.
So can player D only gain $200 for each person, even though he has put in over $1000 in the main pot during pre and post flop?

I know these are quite dull questions, but i just want to get this spot on :-)
Many thanks!

1 - abc play for 1800 ....600 x3 plus any money previously in the pot
- ab play for 400 sidepot...200X2 .. plus the main pot if they beat player c
- a gets 200 returned to him

2 -d plays for 800(4x200) plus the main pot before all ins
-abc play for 2400 sidepot ...+ the main pot if they beat player d
- player a gets 200 returned to him

example
bb=2000 sb=1000 ante = 100
3 players

player 1 has 10000 in chips and has to post the sb(1000)
player 2 has 3000 in chips is on the button
player 3 has 1500 and has to post the bb (2000)

step 1... players post ante 100 each ...mainpot =300
step 2... players post blinds (player 3 is all in since he only has 1400 left and bb=2000) ....mainpot = (2700) 300 (antes)+1000(sb)+1400(bb)
step 3 ...player 2 is first to act and bets 2900 allin
---if player 1 folds then player 2 gets 1500 returned to him and players 2 and 3 play for ...4100(300 from antes +1400 player 3 allin +1400 player 2 allin +1000 from player 1 sb)
---if player 3 wins the hand he has 4100...player 2 has 1500...player 1 has 8900
---if player 2 wins the hand he has 5600(4100+1500) ...player 3 has 0 ...player 1 has 8900

now if player 1 calls both allins...

the mainpot is 4500 (1400x3 +300 antes) ***all 3 players can win this pot
the sidepot is 3000 (1500x2)*** only players 1 and 2 can win this pot
player 1 has 7000 that he cant lose..(8900 - 400 to call player 3 allin...-1500 to call player 2 allin)

Thank you so much for the help!
I've had a look on some websites that gives examples on different side pots, but your examples are the most clear i've read.
I hopefully won't have any problems on my next home game!

good luck in your home games just remember that anytime someone is all-in , anything above his last bet is a side pot .

I use to deal a home game back in Indianapolis when my uncle ran a cash game and the math is actually really simple. First and foremost are you the dealer all the time and do you play as the dealer? I've found that its easier to deal without playing. Do you rake pots? Max rake? At my home game we had a $5 with $1/$2 blinds, 10% up to 50 cap at $5. We offered food/beer/drinks so it was well worth it. Anyway to the math.

As mentioned above :
ex 1.
Players A,B, C all-in
You take previous pot prior to the all-ins (All 3 can win that entire pot)
+
(work your way down from smallest amount to largest amount)
Player C = 600 x 3(multiply by remaining people who can cover the 600 all-in, in this case 3 which is all players mentioned above)= 1800

So far Player C can win 1800+ previous pot prior to all-ins

Now Player B had 800 total but you subtract the 600 you took to add to Players C pot (all he can win) so it looks like
Player B has 800-600 = 200
Player B = 200 x 2 (multiply by remaining people who can cover the 200 over, which in this case is 2)= 400

Now player B can win 400 (the extra amount over the 600 players all-in ) + all other money that Player C can win since he had his entire bet covered.

Now player A went all in with the most money meaning he can win all money but he has $200 returned to him because there isnt anymore bets that his $200 has to cover.

Player A = 1000-600(initial all-in by Player C) - 200( amount over that Player B had left to call) = 200 (which is the amount that is returned)

Now we break down results:

If player A has the best hand:
He wins all the money in the pot

If player B has the best hand:
He wins all the money in the pot

If player C has the best hand:
He wins the main pot (all bets prior to the all-in) + 1800 (600 all-in x3)
The side pot contains $400 and goes to either player A or B depending on who has he best hand.

It seems complicated but its not. Always start with the person wit the least amount of money. Match that persons bet first and that will give you all they can win. With remaining money work your way up until you have every pot covered. If you have more questions, write on this thread and I'll be sure to try to break it down even more

Hey Slimez,
Thanks for breaking it down so simply. I think i'm really getting to grips with it now. The more examples i read, the quicker i'm getting at working out everything.
Slimez, you seem to be quite experienced with home games, so i was wondering if you could give me a bit of advice.
Can you give me any small tips to make my home game as best as possible? I'm playing with some friends, and of course it should be fun, but i want it to be taken seriously as well.
I was thinking about 1500 starting chip stack with 15-20 minutes blinds?
Also i want the buy in to be $20, with unlimited re-buys for the first hour at $5.
I am going to supply all the beer and food. How does all that sound?
Cheers!

not a fan of rebuys but shouldnt they at least be equal to the buyin?

Yeah you are right. I'm not going to play rebuys tonight.

If you plan to pass the deal (very common) plan to use 2 decks (different colors). While one is being dealt have the current small blind (next dealer) shuffle and prepare the other deck. You'll find that you see a lot more hands per blind level this way and you'll get a lot more play in overall.

Another tip would be to try to keep only about 3 colors of chips in play at any one time. This means planning your blind levels so you can remove the smallest denom when you're ready to introduce a higher denom chip.

Also lots of good stuff on running a home game to be found at http://www.homepokertourney.com .

Have fun!

Will your home games be based around running tourneys? Also how many tables? Single ? Also have to take into consideration prize pool and how you will pay out. If its a game based on tourneys, I would suggest $10-$20 freezeout tourneys. This way you can play more games and more people have a chance to win $$$. If you want to keep your game running, you will have to make the time invested worth the money. If you are providing food/beer/drinks , is this deducted from the tourney pool? Those items can start adding up. Give me a bit more details of how you currently have it running/ set up

Yes, if you are running rebuys , they have to equal BI otherwise you wont be playing poker, it will become slots (keep putting in until you win). Even fish have their days. Like i stated in my above post, I would recommend $10-$20 buyin and maybe one rebuy at the most.

Don't forget a timer for the blinds, a simple egg timer or someones cell phone or you can google free poker timers for a laptop.
Whatever you decide on the length of binds ie 20 or 30 mins
Good Luck have fun