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Betting is a key component of any poker game and one of the main things you will be doing at the poker tables. As such, you must master poker betting rules before successfully playing or even competing at the most basic level.
In this guide, we will teach you what a bet in poker is, how and when you can take this action, and in what order the bets are placed.
We will also cover the various types of betting in different poker game formats like limit, pot limit, and no limit and describe each with examples.
This guide is meant for poker beginners, but even if you have been playing poker for a while, there may be some information in it that you find useful. Keep reading and ensure you understand exactly how poker bets work.
A bet in poker is the first aggressive action on any betting street. In flop games like No Limit Texas Hold’em or Pot Limit Omaha, the big blind is considered to be the first bet, with all further aggressive actions before the flop considered raises.
On further betting streets, each player has the option to check or bet.
If a player does decide to make a bet, they must also choose its size in no-limit and pot-limit games, while limit poker has a preset bet size to which players must adhere.
And while the sheer concept of a bet in poker may be fairly straightforward, there are quite a few betting rules that you need to understand, starting with the order of betting in various poker games.
The order of betting in poker depends on the game in question. Popular poker games like No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha use a system of blinds to start the action, with two players to the left of the dealer button posting the small and big blind.
In these games, poker betting rules dictate that the player to the left of the big blind is the first one who can make a raise, call the value of the big blind, or fold.
Other games, like Seven Card Stud, use a system of antes, in which a player with the lowest or highest up-card posts the bring in, while the player to their left is the first to act.
The poker betting rules also differ between poker variations on further betting streets. In NLH and PLO, the player to the left of the button, who posted the small blind, is the first who can make a bet.
In other game versions like Stud games, the player displaying the strongest hand is the one who gets to bet first, which means the betting order can change between streets.
In either case, the betting order will continue clockwise until all the players have acted at least once, while every raise will re-open the action and allow players to act on their hands once again.
On each betting street, players can take the following actions:
All betting in poker starts with forced bets. These bets are introduced into the game to force action and ensure players have a reason to enter pots.
In NLH, these forced bets are the small blind and the big blind, while ante bets are also introduced sometimes, especially in tournaments.
The small blind and big blind are forced bets placed by the two players to the left of the dealer button. The small blind is typically worth 50% of the big blind. For example, in an NL200 game, the small blind is $1, and the big blind is $2.
The value of the big blind is considered the first bet in the pre-flop betting round, and all players must at least call this value in order to stay in the hand.
Ante bets are sometimes introduced to force further action. An ante bet is paid by every player at the table and is usually worth 10% of the big blind.
More recent poker betting rules in tournaments have introduced the “big blind ante,” where a single player pays the entire value of the antes to speed up play.
Each poker hand is made up of a series of betting rounds, also called streets. These streets differ between various poker games, but we will discuss betting rounds in the most popular variations - NLH and PLO.
There are four betting rounds in these games. These are preflop, flop, turn, and river.
The order of betting is the same on each street, with the exception of the pre-flop betting round, in which the first two players are forced to place the small blind and the big blind.
On each following betting round, the player to the left of the button is the first to act, while the player holding the dealer button is always the last to act.
This betting order is exactly what gives the player holding the button a distinct positional advantage in poker hands, as they always get to see how other players have acted before they are asked to act themselves.
There are three popular betting structures used in poker games around the world. These are limit, pot limit, and no-limit betting.
No limit is by far the most popular betting structure these days, as No Limit Texas Hold’em is the game played by most players.
Yet, other betting structures are also used, with Omaha players usually using the pot limit structure and the limit structure used in mixed games.
The differences between the betting structure can create whole new games. For example, Limit Hold’em and No Limit Hold’em are two distinct games requiring different strategies and gameplay styles.
Fixed-limit betting is a variant of poker betting rules that only allows you to bet a certain amount of chips on each betting street.
Many popular poker games, such as Seven Card Stud, Limit Texas Hold’em, and Limit Omaha 8, use this type of betting structure.
In limit games, a big bet and a small bet are designated, with blinds usually being worth half of those two bets.
For instance, in a $5/10 Limit Hold’em game, the small blind will be $2, the big blind will be $5, while the small bet and big bet will be worth $5 and $10 each.
The early rounds of limit poker games use the small bet for betting progression, while you can bet in big bets on the later streets.
For instance, in a hand of $5/10 Limit Hold’em, blinds of $2 and $5 will be posted first. The first player to make a raise will only be able to raise to $10, while the next raise will be up to $15. A maximum of four bets can be put in on any street, meaning that a maximum of $20 can be raised preflop in this game.
On the flop, bets in increments of $5 will be made again, up to $20. On the turn and river, however, you will be betting in big bets of $10, which means raises up to $40 are possible.
The limited size of bets and raises in limit poker games means it can often be difficult to fold drawing hands because of the amazing odds you are getting, which changes the strategy quite a bit.
Pot limit is the next type of poker betting rule we want to examine. In pot limit poker, you can bet the size of the pot and make raises worth the size of the pot as well.
The most popular pot limit game these days is Pot Limit Omaha, where pot limit betting is used to avoid too many preflop confrontations and allow for some postflop play.
With equities running close, pot limit betting makes it impossible for players to protect their hands too much by overbetting the pot, allowing other players to chase their draws with reasonable equity.
Rules for the first bet in pot limit games are simple. You can bet up to the size of the pot, which is in the middle of the table.
Raises are a bit more tricky, as you have to factor in your call first and add up all the chips in the pot, including the opponent's bet and your call, and any other calls that might be out there.
Once you add up all the chips, you will come up with the definitive size of the maximum raise you can make, which will be quite substantial compared to the bet you are facing.
Finally, no-limit poker betting rules are the ones used in No Limit Texas Hold’em, the most popular game out there and the one you probably play most often.
In no-limit betting poker, there are no limits to how much you can bet other than the number of chips in your stack.
Table stakes are the only thing limiting your bets and raises in no-limit games, as you will never be able to bet money you don't have on the table.
Unlimited poker bets allow for overbets and big raises, which shut out draws or force other players to pay a high price if they want to keep playing their hand, which means you can apply the maximum heat and see what happens.
Betting in poker is fairly straightforward in most cases, and it doesn't exactly take too much training to understand when it's your turn to bet and how you can do it.
However, if you want to become a true master of betting, you will need to keep studying and learn more about continuation bets, blocker bets, value bets, and other types of poker bets that poker pros use daily.
Now that you know the most basic poker rules, you can advance to these more complex concepts and realize when and why you should bet, how to size up your bets, and much more. We have plenty of other guides available to teach you about the more intricate aspects of betting in poker, so remember to keep exploring until you have completely mastered your betting skills.
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