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 The
game of Texas Holdem can be played under a variety of betting structures. Before you sit down at a poker table, you should know all your choices.
There are three basic betting categories of Holdem games available: Limit,
Pot Limit and No Limit.
Limit Poker
Prior to poker on television, Limit Texas Hold'em was by far the most popular
ring game structure. In limit, there are predetermined increments of betting
you must follow. Casinos offer limit games ranging from $1-2 to $100-200 or even higher like $4000-8000. Online cardrooms offer games as low as 1cent-2cent.
The limit of the game determines the amount that can be wagered. In a $1-2 game, the bets will be $1 and $2. In a $10-20 game, the bets will be $10
and $20. Before the flop, the bet/raise increment is the small bet. On the flop, the increment is also the small bet. On the turn and the river, the
bet/raise increment is the large bet. For example, if you are playing in a $1-2 game, you can bet or raise $1 at a time before the flop and on the flop.
You can bet or raise in increments of $2 on the turn and the river. (See
Poker Terms for definitions.)
Cardrooms usually have a maximum amount of raises allowed on each betting round. In California, the standard is a bet and three raises. In Nevada, the
standard is a bet and four raises. Therefore in a $1-2 California game, the most you would ever have to call is $4 on the first two rounds of betting
and $8 in the last two betting rounds. Structured betting in Limit Texas Holdem is usually preferable for new players because your money tends to go farther
in the game since individual mistakes only cost you a set amount.
(Spread limit is a rare
structure where you can bet a fixed amount within a range,
like between $1 and $4.)
Pot Limit
Pot Limit Texas Hold'em is the trickiest to learn of all the Hold'em games (at least for most people). In Pot Limit Hold'em, the maximum amount that can
be bet by any player is the amount of money in the pot. One tricky part about it is when you want to raise, you need to calculate the amount of your
call into the pot. If you are playing Pot Limit with blinds of $10-20, then you factor the betting as follows. The small blind puts $5 into the pot
and the big blind puts his $10 into the pot and you are the first person to come into the pot and want to raise it. You can bet $50 because the pot
was originally $15 (the blinds), plus you include your call of the $10 big blind, which makes the pot size that you are raising to be $25.
No Limit
No Limit Texas Hold'em is the game that determines the World Championship of Poker every year. It is the form of poker most commonly seen on televised tournaments.
In No Limit, there are very few betting restrictions that a player must follow. You must bet the minimum of the big blind and when raising, you must at least
double the amount of the bet (or raise) of the previous better. Other than those two restrictions, you can bet any or all your chips at any time.
One innovation first seen online that has now been adopted by some
brick and mortar casinos are No Limit Texas Hold'em games with
restricted buy-ins. Restricted buy-in means that you can only buy-in for a predetermined amount. At the Palms Casino in Las Vegas,
you can buy-in to their restricted buy-in game for $100-500. You can not buy in for less than $100 or more than $500. At the
Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, you can buy into
their $100 (with $2-3 blinds) or their $200 ($3-5 blinds) game. You can only buy in for the exact amount. If you do not want
to play in a restricted buy-in game, you will probably have to play higher stakes. Typically, the restrictions are lifted
in game with buy-ins of $500 or more. Restricted buy-in games have made No Limit ring games much more lively than years ago,
when No Limit Texas Hold'em ring games very rarely were even played because they tended to be so tight and without any action.
Although Limit Texas Holdem is still the most popular Holdem live game, No Limit Texas Hold'em is the most popular in tournaments.
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