Part II: The Betting Rounds

Betting Basics:

In the first betting round, the player on the immediate left of the Big Blind has three options: Call, Raise or Fold.

To Call, the player places a bet that is equal to the Big Blind.

To Raise, the player puts in more money. The size of this amount varies with the type of game being played

To Fold, the player is out of the hand and cannot win any money. Any money he has put into the pot up to this point is lost.

Subsequent players have the same three options, plus the option to ReRaise. A ReRaise must equal at least the size of the last Raise.

Once the action returns to the blinds, they have a couple of options. If there has been a raise, the blinds can fold, call, or re-raise. If no one has raised, either of the blinds can take the opportunity to raise. The small blind (Butch) must, at a minimum, match the big blind if he wishes to play the hand. The big blind (Norm) can simply check ( staying in the hand without betting) if no one has raised.

The second betting round and all subsequent betting rounds start with the first player to the dealer's left still in the hand. In addition to Calling, Raising or Re-Raising, players now also have the option to Check

Once a bet has been made a player may choose to Call for that amount or Raise (or ReRaise, where applicable). If he chooses to do neither, he must Fold. Thus, at the end of the rund, all players will have put in an equal amount of bets

Betting Structures in Limit Holdem:

Limit poker is just what it sounds like. The bets are limited to a specific size, you cannot make a smaller or larger bet. These limits are clearly marked, and become part of the name of the table. For instance, there are $1/$2 tables, $5/$10 tables or $50/$100 tables.

In Hold 'Em, the amount that can be bet pre-flop or on the flop is the first number. In a $5/$10 game, you'll be betting $5 at a time. On the turn and river, the second number is the only amount that can be bet (this is typically, although not always, double the first amount). In that same $5/$10 game, players bet $10 at a time after the turn card is dealt.

There is a limit of four bets per player per betting round. That means a player can bet, get re-raised, re-raise again, and be re-raised


Betting structures in No-Limit Holdem:

This is where you can bet any amount between the cost of the big blind and the amount of money you have at the table on any betting round. When two amounts are used in reference to a no limit game (like "$3/$6 no limit"), the amounts are just the costs of the blinds and have no relationship to the amount that a player can bet, except that the minimum bet will be the larger of those two numbers

Now, what happens if another player bets $200, but you only have $100 at the table? You can go all-in on your $100. If you win the hand, you get only $100 from your opponent. If two other players bet $200, and you only have $100, then you would win $100 from each of them. Then the winner between the two of them would get the remaining money (the sidepot).