Pot Limit Holdem Rules

The Rules of Pot Limit and No Limit: Rules, Set Up, and Play

The most important thing to remember when you play Pot Limit poker is that the bets are limited; they cannot be more than the size of the pot. What this basically means is that if the pot reaches a total of one hundred dollars, then your bet can equal anything between the amount of the big blind and one hundred dollars.

Now, insofar as set up goes, $1.00 and $2.00 Pot Limit Texas Hold 'Em and Pot Limit Omaha are basically the same game.

Using this example, $1.00 is the amount of the small blind and $2.00 is the amount of the big blind. The player who starts off the game has the option of raising the minimum amount, which equals out to $4.00, raising the pot, or raising any amount of money as long as it falls between the minimum raise and the appropriate pot raise.

In this case, a pot raise would equal out to $7.00 – i.e., the $1.00 small blind plus the $2.00 big blind plus the $2.00 call, which comes out to $5.00. At that point, the pot raise then amounts to an extra $5.00. thus, the $2.00 call plus the $5.00 raise equals out to $7.00 to play.

If you re-raise during Pot Limit, you must bet the minimum of the previous raise doubled. The only exception here occurs when the player lacks enough chips to cover the bet, at which point he or she must go all in with all of his or her chips instead.

Betting in Pot Limit cannot be less than the amount of the big blind. The exception here occurs, again, when the player lacks enough chips and thus has to go all in.

No Limit Poker

When playing No Limit poker, you are allowed to bet any amount that you have. The amount of the pot does not matter. It also does not matter what round it is.

When re-raising in No Limit poker, you have to bet the minimum of the previous raise doubled. Again, if you do not have enough chips to cover the raise, you have to go all in.

When betting in this game, the bet has to total the amount of the big blind. Once more, you have to go all in if you do not have enough chips to cover the bet.

Pot Limit and No Limit Table Stakes

Just about every variation of poker has table stakes. They are designed to protect the player so that he or she can go on playing with whatever amount he or she has.

So, if there are two people playing a given hand, it is possible for one to have one hundred dollars and for one to have fifty dollars, and they can still keep playing. Basically, the person with one hundred dollars can bet up to but not more than fifty dollars. The benefit here is that the player can only lose fifty dollars at a given time as well.

For the sake of example, let's say that there are three people playing – Player 1, Player 2, and Player 3. Player 1 has three hundred dollars, Player 2 has two hundred dollars, and Player 3 has one hundred dollars. Player 3 decides to go all in with one hundred dollars, then Player 2 decides to call, which means he has to bet half of his two hundred. At this point, Player 1 chooses to raise the all in and puts in his entire three hundred, causing Player B to call the all in and throw in his last hundred dollars.

At this point, a side pot comes into play. Player 3 can only win what he or she is able to bet, and that stays in the primary pot. The side pot is for the extra amounts being wagered by Players 1 and 2.

After all the cards have been dealt, Player 3 will get the primary pot – if he or she has the highest hand. Then, depending on who has the highest hand between them, either Player 1 or 2 will get the side pot.