Betting Structures
Mar 18, 2008By: There are 4 basic betting structures found at online poker sites.
First a note on table stakes: The only chips that can be used during a hand are those chips that were on the table at the beginning of the hand. A player may not buy new chips during the hand and bet them immediately. If a player does not have enough chips to cover a bet or raise he may go ALL-IN for the remainder of his chips and is still entitled to that portion of the pot. If a player goes ALL-IN, all additional betting goes into a side pot which the ALL-IN player is not eligible to win. If several players go ALL-IN on the same hand their may be any number of side pots. A player cannot be forced to fold because he cannot call a bet or raise. If a player purchases chips during a hand, those chips will be available for play on the next hand.
All poker pots are started with some form of forced bet or ante to “start” the pot. Some games like Seven Card Stud use an ANTE. Others like Hold’em use BLINDs. Sometimes in tournaments or high limit games you may find both antes and blinds, especially as the limits progress.
An ANTE is a small fee that every player must pay prior to the deal. The online poker client will automatically prompt you for the ante. On most, you may select auto-ante and the antes will be paid automatically before each hand. Ante sizes vary but on most sites they are less than 25% of the small bet, but on some sites or networks the ante may be larger.
BLINDS are forced “blind” bets made by the players immediately to the dealer’s left, in positions 1 and 2. Most online poker sites require two blinds.
• In LIMIT the small blind is paid by the player immediately to the dealer’s left and is equal to half the opening round bet size. The Big Blind is paid by the next player and equal to a full bet. Since these bets are “BLIND” and made before the cards are dealt, these players, on the first round, will act last and have the opportunity to call, check, or raise after the other players have acted. (In a game with odd bet sizes like $5/10, the small blind may be either, $2 or $3. The size varies on different sites.)
• In NO LIMIT games the big blind equals the size of the minimum bet for the first round and the small blind is half of that bet.
• In POT LIMIT games you may encounter poker sites that do not have a small blind. Both BLINDS are equal to the minimum bet. A few poker sites provide a variation which involves a STRADDLE. The STRADDLE is a voluntarily posted blind bet by the player in position 3. It is a blind raise of the bet and equal to twice the BIG BLIND. If allowed; the action starts on player 4, and the player placing the STRADDLE will act last on the first round of betting.
Fixed Limit or LIMIT: As the title implies this structure has a specific bet size for each round of betting, and a maximum number of raises allowed on each betting round, of a bet and usually 3 raises, but 4 raises on a few sites. The most common structure is split limit structure where the early rounds have one limit and on the later rounds the maximum bet or raise is required. Limit games are usually noted by $1/2, or $5/10 for example. The first number is the early round maximum and the second number is the maximum for the late betting rounds. In many games the first two rounds of betting are at the lower or SMALL BET size and on all other rounds the BIG BET is required.
Spread LIMIT is a structure that may be offered on a few sites. Instead of fixed bet size, each betting round has a maximum bet size, and that maximum may or may not double on the later rounds. For example, the game would be noted both the minimum and maximum bet size like $1-4. The player may bet $1 to $4 any time. The game may be noted as $1-4-4-8-8. The player may bet $1 to $4 on the first two rounds but may bet up to $8 on the last two rounds of betting. If the maximum bet size is usually 4 or 5 times larger than the minimum bet similar to, $10-$50 or $20-$100. The Spread LIMIT structure has almost disappeared from online poker.
Other LIMIT considerations: A player, that does not have a full bet, may always go ALL-IN for his remaining chips. If the player raises ALL-IN, for less than a full bet, most sites do not consider it a legal raise, and the next player may not be allowed to reraise. On a few online poker sites the raise is considered legal if the raise size is greater than half of the original bet, and a re-raise is allowed.
In LIMIT poker, some variations may be encountered, but most could be considered promotions and will usually have a good explanation available on the website. For example you may encounter BIG RIVER Texas Hold’em. This structure is basically the same except on the last betting round, or river, the bet size is increased to either 5 or even 10 times the normal bet size.
The KILL GAME structure is available on a few sites, and the player should be aware of it when encountered. A KILL GAME is a FIXED LIMIT game where the stakes are doubled when some specified trigger event occurs. A trigger event would be if a player wins two pots in a row or a certain specified pot size would be another…there may additional triggers. To initiate the higher stakes or KILL, the player that fulfilled the triggers must post an additional blind that is twice the Big Blind, (even if the player is one of the small or big blinds.) The KILL may be double the big blind (a full kill) or a ½, 1/3, or ¼ of the big blind added to the big blind and the KILL player acts in turn. (You may encounter games where the KILL player acts last.) The bet size will double again for this hand on the usual street. It is possible that the KILL could remain in effect for several hands if the same player continues to win or another trigger condition is met. There are also variations of the KILL, Bet size increases 50%, or Double KILL, where the second KILL in a row, doubles the already doubled bet size, but you probably won’t see these variations online for a while.
POT LIMIT poker limits the bet/raise size to the size of the pot at the time of the bet or raise. The minimum bet is equal to the big blind or the size of the previous bet or raise, which ever is larger. If the pot equals $47 the maximum bet is $47. When calculating a raise the method for determining pot size may vary. On some poker sites the Call by the raiser is not added into the pot size; on other sites those chips are included in the pot total. For example: Pot equals $47, Player A bets $20, Player B calls $20, and Player C Raises. On some sites Player C can only raise $47+$20+$20=$87. On other sites he can raise $47+$20+$20+$20 (his Call) =$107. Although not seen much any more, you may see the pot total rounded up to the next even chip size. On a $47 pot the maximum would be $50. This practice is a legacy of live poker when a dealer was doing the math instead of a computer. It’s disappearing now. If you encounter 2 blinds of equal size it is usually a POT LIMIT poker game. A player may, of course, push ALL-in with his remaining chips, but unlike LIMIT poker, a legal raise must be equal to or greater than the previous bet or raise, and he cannot be re-raised.
NO LIMIT poker is as it sounds, there is no limit to the bet size. A player may bet or raise from the minimum, to all of his chips at anytime. The minimum bet is usually equal to the big blind or the size of the last bet or raise. If the Big Blind equals $10, Player A bets $30 and Player B raises $50 more, Player C must raise $50 for a legal bet. A player may of course push ALL-IN with his remaining chips but a raise is not legal if it is less than the minimum, and he cannot be re-raised. Capped NO LIMIT Poker is a variation found on at least one Internet poker site. The Cap, usually a very large amount compared to the blinds, modifies the Table Stakes rule. In a Capped NO LIMIT game each player can only bet a maximum of the “CAP” on any one hand. When a player has reached the Cap, he is declared All-in, regardless of the number of chips remaining in his stack. An example: Cap of $1,000 – preflop a player bets $250, on the Flop the player bets $400, on the Turn, the player bets $400, only $350 of his bet would be allowed and he would be all-in for a $1,000 bet. The same cap applies to all players in the game.
Some games play better under one structure than another. Games like Stud and Omaha play best as LIMIT or POT LIMIT. Stud doesn’t fit the NO LIMIT Structure very well. Hold’em is probably the game that plays best in all 4 structures. Generally in LIMIT and POT LIMIT games, playing the cards is a bit more important, and in NO LIMT playing your opponent is a more important skill.
