The betting structure sets how much you may bet. This chapter covers no-limit, pot-limit, fixed-limit, and spread-limit betting, followed by table stakes and cash-game buy-ins.
Stakes are written as two amounts with a slash or dash, and what they mean depends on the structure:
(a) In no-limit and pot-limit, they are the blinds. "$1/$2 no-limit" has a $1 small blind and a $2 big blind; "$5-$10 no-limit" has $5 and $10.
(b) In fixed limit, they are the two bet sizes. "$4/$8 limit Hold'em" bets $4 on the early rounds and $8 on the later ones, with blinds usually of $2 and $4 (3.13).
3.3 No-limit: any amount up to everything in front of you
In no-limit, the only ceiling on a bet or raise is the chips you have on the table. You may bet or raise any amount from the minimum (4.7, 4.8) up to all of them, and there is no limit on the number of raises. Betting everything is going all in.
3.4 Pot-limit: the most you may bet is the size of the pot
In pot-limit, a bet may not be bigger than the pot. The pot counts every chip already in the middle plus every bet still in front of players on this round. Everything else works as in no-limit: the same minimum bet and raise, and no cap on the number of raises.
If nobody has bet yet, the largest bet is simply the pot. On the flop with $37 in the middle and no bet, you may bet anything from the big blind up to $37.
3.5 A pot-sized raise: first call, then raise the size of the pot
Facing a bet, the largest raise is worked out as if you first called, and then raised by the whole pot as it would stand after your call:
Work out what it costs you to call.
Add that call to the pot, including all bets in front of players.
That total is the most you may raise by. Your raise-to amount is the call plus that total.
A quicker way when there is one bet and nobody has called it: three times the bet, plus whatever was in the pot before the bet.
Example: on the turn the pot is $37 and your opponent bets $20. Calling costs $20. The pot after your call would be $37 + $20 + $20 = $77. So you may raise by up to $77, making it $20 + $77 = $97. The quick way agrees: 3 times $20 is $60, plus $37 is $97.
Robert's Rules gives a second check: with $100 in the pot and a bet of $50, the next player may call $50 and raise $200, a total of $250.
3.6 Callers in front of you make the pot-sized raise bigger
Every call already made counts toward the pot, so the more players who have called, the more you may raise. With callers, the quick way becomes: the pot before the bet, plus the bet times (three plus the number of callers). Some worked examples at $1/$2 pot-limit, counting the small blind as $1:
(a)First in before the flop. The blinds make a $3 pot. Calling costs $2, which makes $5, so the most is a raise to $2 + $5 = $7.
(b)Two players have called $2 each. The pot is $1 + $2 + $2 + $2 = $7. Calling costs $2, making $9, so the most is a raise to $2 + $9 = $11.
(c)One player raised to $7 and another called. The pot is $3 + $7 + $7 = $17. Calling costs $7, making $24, so the most is a raise to $7 + $24 = $31. Quick way: $3 + ($7 x 4) = $31.
(d)On the river, the pot is $37, A bets $20 and B calls. For C the pot is $37 + $20 + $20 = $77; calling makes $97, so C may raise to $20 + $97 = $117. Quick way: $37 + ($20 x 4) = $117.
3.7 The small blind: counted at face value or rounded up
Card rooms differ on how the small blind counts before the flop:
(a)Strict count, usual in tournaments. The small blind counts at its actual size. At $5/$10 the first player in may raise to $35, three and a half times the big blind.
(b)Rounded up, common in cash games. Robert's Rules and the WSOP's cash rules both describe treating the small blind as if it were the size of the big blind until the big blind has acted, so at $5/$10 the first player may raise to $40, four times the big blind.
The TDA adds a rule for tournaments: before the flop, a dead or short blind doesn't change the count. The pot is worked out as if both blinds were posted in full, so at 100-200 a first raise of up to 700 is allowed even if the small blind is missing.
In pot-limit, if a player bets or raises more than the pot allows, the extra goes back and the bet stands at the maximum. The dealer or any player should point it out, heads-up too, and it can be corrected until everyone has acted on it. If an oversized bet stands for a while and someone then acts on it, the floor may let it stand, especially if the bettor is the one who now wants it reduced. Putting in a single chip bigger than the pot, without saying anything and with no bet in front of you, is a pot-sized bet.
3.9 In pot-limit the dealer counts the pot; in no-limit you count it yourself
At pot-limit a player may ask the dealer how big the pot is, and the dealer enforces the maximum without being asked. At no-limit and fixed limit the dealer doesn't count the pot for you; working it out is your job. The TDA's tournament rules say the same.
3.10 Fixed limit: a small bet early, a big bet later
Fixed-limit games have two bet sizes, the small bet and the big bet, usually double the small one. Which rounds use which depends on the game:
(a)Flop games such as Hold'em: the small bet before the flop and on the flop; the big bet on the turn and river. At $4/$8, bets are $4 and then $8.
(b)7-Card Stud and Razz: the small bet on third and fourth street, the big bet from fifth street on. In 7-Card Stud a pair showing on fourth street lets a player bet either size (7-Card Stud).
(c)Draw games with one draw: the small bet before the draw, the big bet after (Robert's Rules notes Northern California lowball as an exception). Triple-draw games are in 5-Card Draw.
3.11 A fixed-limit bet or raise is exactly one bet
In fixed limit you don't choose a size: a bet is the round's bet and each raise adds exactly one more. At $4/$8 before the flop, the $4 big blind is the bet, and raises go to $8, $12 and $16. In stud, raising the small bring-in up to a full small bet is "completing" it, which counts as the round's bet, not a raise. Two fixed-limit rules are in the next chapter: the cap on the number of raises (4.15) and what an all-in for less than a full bet does (4.14).
3.12 Spread limit: any amount between a minimum and a maximum
In a spread-limit game, a bet may be any amount between a set minimum and maximum; the maximum often doubles on later rounds. Raises follow the usual rule that a raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise. In a $1-$4 game, if A bets $3, B may call $3 or raise to $6 or $7, but not to $4 or $5. Spread limit was once common in small card-room games and is still found in home games.
The forced bets are set in proportion to the betting:
(a)Fixed limit with blinds: the big blind is the small bet and the small blind is usually half of it. At $2/$4, the blinds are $1 and $2.
(b)No-limit and pot-limit: the stakes name the blinds (3.2), and the big blind is also the smallest bet allowed all hand.
(c)Stud: each player antes a small fraction of the small bet, and the bring-in is more than the ante but less than a full small bet. Robert's Rules' example is $15/$30 stud with a $5 bring-in; pagat.com's is a $0.50 ante and a $2 bring-in with a $5 small bet.
The exact figures are the house's choice. Who posts what, and what happens when someone can't, are in Blinds, antes and bring-ins.
3.14 Table stakes: only the chips in front of you when the hand begins can play
Almost every game is played for table stakes: you may bet only the chips you had on the table when the hand was dealt. You can't reach into your pocket, sign an IOU or add chips in the middle of a hand. Card rooms want all chips kept in plain view, because knowing how much each opponent has in play is part of the game.
Robert's Rules allows one exception: chips you have already paid for and are waiting to receive may play ("playing behind"), as long as the amount is announced to the table.
The other side of table stakes: the chips on the table are the most you can win or lose from any one opponent in a hand. A player who can't cover a bet calls with what they have and is all in (4.10); the players with more chips go on betting into a side pot (Pots).
To sit in a cash game you must buy at least the minimum amount of chips. Big-bet games usually set a maximum too. Common practice:
(a)Robert's Rules: a full buy-in at fixed limit is at least ten times the game's big bet, and a player may make only one short buy-in; the house may set a maximum at no-limit and pot-limit.
(b)The WSOP's cash rules: a minimum of 20 to 40 big blinds and a maximum of 40 to 100 big blinds as the usual rule of thumb.
(c)pagat.com: minimums are typically 10 to 20 times the minimum bet.
3.17 You may add chips between hands, not during one
You may buy more chips at any time between hands. Robert's Rules says adding to your stack is not a new buy-in and may be any amount; the WSOP's cash rules let you add only while below the maximum buy-in, and only enough to reach it. Chips bought during a hand don't play until the next one (3.14).
3.18 You may not take chips off the table and keep playing
Removing part of your stack while staying in the game is called going south (or ratholing), and card rooms don't allow it. You may take all your chips when you leave the game. Robert's Rules lets a player take chips for safekeeping on a break, but everything must come back to the table on return. pagat.com notes that casinos allow small amounts for food or tips.
A player who cashes out and returns to the same game shortly afterward can't come back with less. Robert's Rules and the WSOP's cash rules both say that within one hour your buy-in must equal what you took away.