One of the more confusing aspects of Texas Hold’em for beginners is how betting works during the game. Depending on the structure of the game you’re playing in, the rules for betting can be very different, and sometimes rather confusing. Here’s a quick guide to Texas Hold’em Betting that should help you understand exactly what’s going on.

Texas Hold’em Betting: General Rules

When this happens, the pot is split. Fixed-limit hold ’em games have a two-tiered betting structure, with the lower limit used in the first two betting rounds and the higher limit (which is usually double the lower limit) used in the final two rounds of betting. As an example, suppose you are playing in a $3-$6 hold ’em game. I recently played PLO. The game is non-standard, but I really liked it. What do you like best?

In Texas Hold’em, betting begins to the left of the dealer button and moves around the table clockwise. At the beginning of a hand, two players must make forced bets, called blinds, in the two seats directly to the left of the button. At any time, players have the option to call the current bet, raise the current bet, or fold their hand. If no bets have been made yet in a round, players also have the option of passing their turn by checking.

Each Texas Hold’em betting structure also has its own betting rules.

Texas Hold’em Betting: Limit Texas Hold’em

In Limit Texas Hold’em, betting is structured so that all bets on a given round are of the same size. In the vast majority of cases, a smaller bet is required in the first two rounds of betting, with a larger bet required on the turn and river.

Generally, a Limit Texas Hold’em game will be named based on the size of these bets. For instance, a $2/$4 Limit Texas Hold’em game will have $2 bets and raises early in the hand, and $4 bets and raises later in the hand. The large blind is usually the size of the smaller bet (in this case, $2), and the small blind will be about half the size of the large blind (again, in this case, $1).

Also, since this is a 95 percent confidence interval with both an upside and a downside, aren’t you actually calculating a 2.5 percent risk of ruin since 2.5 percent of the time you can do better than the upper limit results (and now you won’t care about your bankroll requirements) which leaves only 2.5 percent for the downside? Jan 01, 2017 Using pot odds in Texas Hold’em will certainly help you beat the tables. While No Limit Hold’em may use more implied odds principles (as you can stand to win much more by being able to freely choose exactly how much you want to bet or raise at any given point), Limit Hold’em uses the concept of expressed pot odds incredibly well!

Texas Hold’em Betting: No Limit Texas Hold’em

In No Limit Texas Hold’em, betting limits are mostly eliminated. When players bet or raise, they now have the option of betting as much of the money they have in front of them as they like. The only restriction is that any bet must be at least the size of the big blind, and any raise must be at least as large as the raise that proceeded it.

Most No Limit Texas Hold’em games will be named after the size of the blinds being used. A $1/$2 No Limit game will have a $2 big blind, and a $1 small blind. Each bet will need to be at least $2. If a player raises that bet to $6, that is a raise of $4; if another player wishes to raise again, they will need to make the bet at least $10 ($6 plus the $4 size of the previous raise).

Texas Hold’em Betting: Pot Limit Texas Hold’em

Pot Limit Texas Hold’em betting is slightly more complex than in the above examples. While players may raise more than they can in Limit games, they do not have complete freedom as in No Limit games. Instead, players are limited by raising the amount of the current pot size.

Calculating the pot size for these games can sometimes seem complicated. The pot is considered to be the total of the chips already in the pot on previous rounds, bets made on the current round of betting, and the amount the current player would need to call before making a raise.

For instance, imagine a pot that already has $50 in it. A player then opens the betting on a new round with a $20 bet. If the next player wishes to raise, the pot size is:

$50 for the previous rounds’ bets
$20 for the current round’s bet
$20 for what the next player would have to call to stay in the hand.

This means that the current pot is considered $90, and the player may raise an additional $90 beyond that. Thus, the player may put up to $110 into the pot — $20 to call, and another $90 to raise.

As with No Limit Hold’em games, the games are usually named based on the size of the blinds; a $1/$2 Pot Limit Hold’em game will have a small blind of $1 and a large blind of $2.

Texas Hold’em Betting: Spread Limit Texas Hold’em

While it’s a less common variant, you may sometimes find Spread Limit Texas Hold’em games available. These games allow players to bet or raise anywhere in a given range of allowable bets. For instance, a $1-$5 Spread Limit Texas Hold’em game would allow bets anywhere from $1 to $5. As with other games, normal betting rules still exist; specifically, a raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise (in other words, if one player raises $5, the next cannot raise $1).

Texas Holdem Betting Strategy

Betting is the crux of poker. The game of Texas Hold’em consists of a series of bets based on the perceived strength of your cards – without betting, it would simply be a game of who got dealt the best hand and players would just wait to have the best possible hand before wagering money.

Many players totally misunderstand the art of betting – too often on forums, I’ve heard players say they bet “to see where I’m at” or “because he checked”. Let’s be clear: your bet should be one of two things; a value bet or a bluff.

Value Bet

A value bet is, quite simply, betting your hand for value. This means you believe your opponent will call with a worse hand. When you raise AK before the flop, it’s a value bet. If you bet 88 on a 824 board, it’s a value bet. It’s quite simple – if you think that your opponent’s range of hands is worse than your holding, bet for value and hope for a call.

Bluff

A bluff is the opposite of a value bet – you think your opponent’s range of hands is stronger than your hand, however you don’t think it is strong enough to call a bet. So, you bet.

If, for example, you have Ah-Qh on a low board with two hearts, you have a strong hand and bet for value. The turn and river blank and your opponent checks to you. If you think he has a middle pair that won’t call a third bet, bet and take down the pot.

Semi-Bluff

A semi-bluff is a bet that right now is likely to be behind your opponents range, but has the chance to improve on later streets. The 2 most common types of semi bluffs are with large draws such as a flush draw that has 9 outs and an open ended straight draw that has 8 outs (learn how to count outs here).

Take the example above of having Ah-Qh on a board of 9h-4h-2c. You have only ace high but your nut flush draw and two overcards give you a good chance to win the pot – in fact, against JJ on that board you are a 55/45 favourite!

Therefore a semi-bluff is a bet made as a bluff, such as with ace high and a flush draw, that aims to fold out a better hand but has numerous outs if called. This way even if a better hand does call your bluff, you can still take the pot with a good turn or river card.

When to Value Bet; When to Bluff?

This question simply boils down to how to read your opponents’ hand. A detailed article on this would far exceed a reasonable word count, so I’ll attempt to surmise succinctly as I have done in the previous beginner articles.

Pot Limit Hold'em

Firstly, you don’t put your opponent on a hand – you put him on a range of hands. If someone raises before the flop then bets the flop and turn of a 9-8-2 board they don’t automatically have KK or 22 or 98. To narrow down an opponent’s range, let’s use an example hand. A decent, tight-aggressive player raises under the gun. You call on the button; your cards are irrelevant but say you have 77. Both blinds fold. Now, before the flop is dealt, ask what is his range? Knowing what you know about this player (that’s he’s a pretty good TAG) you can confidently give him an estimated range of AA-22 and AK-AJ.

The flop is something unconnected and dry, such as 9c-5d-2d. Your opponent bets and you call, knowing he will continuation bet his entire range. The turn is the 5c and your opponent bets again – now his range has narrowed.

He is unlikely to have 99, 55 or 22 as many players will check this hand and allow you to bluff off your chips into their monster.

He also probably doesn’t have any pair less than 99, nor is he likely to have AK-AJ unless he holds the nut flush draw. His range therefore has narrowed to TT+, AdKd, AdQd and AdJd.

This is a very simple example about how you can narrow down someone’s range of hands over a few rounds of betting.

Manyelements of Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) and No Limit Hold’Em (NLH) play are similar.However, there are key differences which distinguish the two games. Theincrease to four pocket cards, pot limit betting caps, and other variations yieldkey strategy differences between the two games. For players new to PLO, themost basic rule difference is that you must use exactly two hole cards and threeboard cards to create your hand. Think that’s easy? Well, see how often, whenfirst playing PLO, that you believe you’ve made a straight when you haven’t.

Here are thetechnical and strategy differences between PLO and NLH you need to look out for.

Pre-flop Equity Differences in PLOare Much Smaller than in NLH

Most handsin PLO have no more than a 2:1 pre-flop equity advantage. For example, pocketaces in NLH have an average equity advantage of about 85/15 against any randomhand. In Omaha, holding two aces and two random cards is only about a 65/35advantage. So many combinations can hit a flop that even the raggiest startinghands have potential against very strong hands. What this means is…..

PLO Loves Action

The reduced differentialin PLO pre-flop equities means that players frequently have pot odds to enter ahand pre-flop, particularly in late position. While a VPIP (Voluntary Put Moneyin Pot) of 10%-15% in NLH would not be unheard of for a decent player, that samefrequency would be exceedingly tight for a PLO player. Even some very good PLO playersmay have a VPIP of 25%-30%. Of course, some players enjoy the shrunken equitydisadvantages far too much. Be prepared to open your ranges in PLO, but becautious about justifying entering every hand. Also, sharpen your board readingskills, because you’ll be seeing more flops than in NLH.

Position is even More Important inPLO

PLO is a drawinggame, and you want to be in position on your draws. In PLO, there is morecalling behind pre-flop than 3-betting, and more defense of 3-bets in position.If you are 3-betting pre-flop, it should be for value only, not as a bluff.While play is loose, you don’t want to increase the pot size too quickly beforethe board has unfolded. Out of position you should only be raising with premiumhands. Beyond that, try to keep the pot multi-way, which means more earlyposition limping than is typically seen in NLH.

Set Mine with Caution in PLO

While smallpair set mining in deep stack NLH games can be profitable, it should generallybe avoided in PLO. The odds of losing set over set, or a set losing to a straightor flush is much higher. A hand like 6633 should likely be discarded.

You Need Stronger Hands to Win atShowdown

Pot Limit Hold'em Rules

In NLH, you can generally bet any flush with impunity. In PLOthere are times when, given the action, small flushes absolutely should befolded. Be judicious about your draws. When drawing to flushes or straights, youalmost always should be drawing to the nuts.

Also, while over-pairs are likely to call at least one raisein NLH, they are folding most of the time in PLO. Similarly, while two pair isa strong holding in NLH, it’s only a bluff catcher in PLO.

Suitedness Matters More in PLO

Experienced NLH players will play suited cards cautiously,understanding their limited increase in equity. However, double suited hands such as AsAd8s4d and Jh10h9c8c (for itsstraight potential as well) are considered among the top 10 hands in PLO. Lookat every Top 20 or 30 starting hand chart in PLO and it will come with the tag“All hands are double suited.” Suitedness, particularly double suitedness,matters in PLO.

Pot Limit Texas Holdem Strategy

If you are transitioning from NLH to PLO, attention to thedifferences above will save you a lot of heartache.