Game Structure
There are many different betting structures under which hold‘em is played. Betting structures can be categorized as limit, pot-limit or no-limit. In the United States, most hold‘em games are played with (fixed) limits, such as $5/$lO or $10/$20. In Europe, most hold‘em games (and other poker games) are played pot-limit. At the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the main event (a tournament with a $10,000 buy-in) is no-limit hold‘em, in which, as the name implies, you may bet all your chip whenever it is your turn.
There are also several hybrid structures, such as the CAVERN rules, where hold‘em betting is limited before the flop, played pot-limit after the flop, and no-limit after the last two rounds.
A Prescribed Amount
Limit or fixed-limit hold‘em means that the permissible amount of each bet on any given betting round is pre-established. In American casinos, most often limit hold‘em stakes are described by two numbers, such as $5/$ 10 or $1 0/$20. The first number prescribes the fixed amount of all bets (and raises) during the first two rounds of betting; the second number prescribes the amount of all bets (and raises) in the last two rounds of betting. Thus, unless a player has less money on the table than required (and hence must go “all in”), the amount of each bet or raise is fixed at a prescribed amount.
For example, in a typical ten-handed casino $1 0/$20 hold‘em game, if the first two players (to the dealer’s left) have each posted blinds (usually $5, a half bet, on dealer’s left, and $10, a unit bet, two seats from dealer’s left) the first person to act voluntarily is the third player to the dealer’s left. That player may call the $10 unit bet, raise $10 (for a $20 total) or fold. All bets and raises made during the first two rounds of betting are at increments of $10. All bets and raises made during the last two rounds of betting; that is, after the 4th and 5th board cards are at increments of $20.
The Larger the Pot, The More You Should Play
Much of the information contained within the subsequent chapters pertains primarily to (fixed) limit hold‘em. However, most concepts and principles can be extended to both pot-limit and no-limit hold‘em, assuming that the size of the potential bets in relation to the pot size and the blind size is taken into consideration. As in all forms of poker, the larger the established pot in relation to your proposed investment, the more liberally you should play.
In pot-limit hold‘em, the blinds are similar to those in limit hold‘em, as described above; for example, blinds might be $5 and $10 in the same first two positions. In pot-limit hold‘em, bets are not limited to any fixed amount. Any player, in turn, may bet any amount equal to or less than the present size of the pot, provided that any raise is as least as large as the previous bet. If the pot is $80 and an opponent then bets $40, you are looking at a $120 pot. You have several options: (1) Of course, you may fold; (2) You may simply call the $40; (3) You may raise by calling the $40 (pot becomes $160 before your raise) and raise any amount from $40 (size of previous bet) to $160 (size of pot, including the amount of your call).
In a no-limit game, which usually has a blind structure similar to those described above, any size bet or raise is pennissible, with the usual proviso that any raise must be at least the amount of the previous bet on that round. Thus the only upper limit is the amount a player has available on the table (“table stakes”).
