Betting Rounds and Bet Types

The five actions

A betting round ends when every player still in the hand has either folded or put in the same amount. If everyone checks, the round ends with nothing added to the pot.

Forced bets: blinds and antes

Without a forced bet, nobody would ever have to play. Every game therefore starts with money in the middle, put there in one of two ways.

• Blinds — two players post before the cards are dealt, a small blind and a big blind, and the obligation moves one seat clockwise each hand. Used in Hold’em, Omaha and most modern games.
• Antes — every player puts in a small amount each hand. Used in Stud, in many home games, and added to the blinds in the later stages of tournaments.
• Bring-in — a stud-only forced bet paid by the lowest exposed card on third street.

In blind games the big blind counts as the first bet of the opening round. Calling it is therefore a call, not a bet, and the big blind gets the last turn in that round because they have already paid.

How much you may bet

The betting format is a separate matter from the game. The same Hold’em is dealt identically in all three of the formats below.

No-limit

Any amount from the minimum bet up to your entire stack, at any turn. The standard for modern Hold’em.

Pot-limit

Up to the current size of the pot, counted after your call. Standard for Omaha.

Fixed-limit

Bets come in fixed units, usually doubling for the later rounds, with a cap of four bets per round.

Spread-limit

Any amount between a stated minimum and maximum, common in small home games.

Two rules apply in every format. A raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise, and a player may always go all-in for less than the required amount if that is all they have left.

All-ins and side pots

When a player puts in their last chip, they can only win the portion of the pot they have matched. Everything beyond that is set aside in a side pot which they cannot win, and which is contested by the players who still have chips.

1. The short stack goes all-inA player with $30 calls a $100 bet for everything they have.
2. Build the main potEvery player’s contribution is capped at $30 for this pot. With three players involved, the main pot holds $90 and the all-in player can win it.
3. Build the side potThe remaining $70 from each of the other two goes into a side pot of $140, contested only between them.
4. Award each pot separatelyThe side pot is decided first, then the main pot. The all-in player may win the main pot even if they lose the side pot they were never in.

Dealers construct these automatically. In a home game, build them physically in separate piles before the next card is dealt, not afterwards.

Procedural rules that cost money

• String bets. Chips must go forward in one motion unless you announce the amount first. Saying “raise” before you move protects you.
• A verbal declaration is binding. Say “call” and you have called, even if you then see something that changes your mind.
• Acting out of turn. Your premature action may be held to, and it gives free information to players still to act.
• The minimum raise. Raising to less than the previous raise is not a raise; it is corrected or treated as a call.
• An incomplete raise all-in. If a player goes all-in for less than a full raise, it may not reopen the betting for players who have already acted.
• Splashing the pot. Throwing chips into the middle makes the amount unverifiable. Stack them in front of you instead.

The social side of these conventions is covered in Table Etiquette.