The minimum bet in any poker game depends on the stakes of the cash game or buy-in of the tournament. In Texas Hold’em, there are fixed limit, pot limit, and no limit games, all of which maintain different betting rules in poker for minimum bets. Sometimes, the minimum bet depends on the amount of the blinds and others on the size of the pot.
When a player sits down at a poker game to play cash, there will be a minimum buy-in, such as $100 for a $1/$2 game. The minimum to play any hand will be the $2 big blind in this game, but it can change based on opponents’ raises.
Once the action starts moving in any game or tournament, there will be a minimum bet to play any hand. That depends on the game structure and variation, the basics of which we’ll touch on here.
No Limit Hold’em Poker Betting
Today’s most popular poker game is Texas Hold’em, also known as No Limit Hold’em. This “no limit” structure indicates no betting cap, meaning a player can move “all in” at any time.
Even so, there are a few rules. The blinds set the forced bets for each hand. In a cash game, the name of the game sets the blinds ($1/$2), and in a tournament, the structure establishes escalating blinds on a timetable. For simplicity’s sake, let’s take the $1/$2 No Limit Hold’em game as an example.
- A preflop call must be $2, with the small blind able to add just $1.
- A raise must be at least the size of the big blind, so a raise can be $2 or more.
- Subsequent raises must be at least double the last bet.
There are no max bets, as any player can move all in at any time.
Limit Poker Betting
In Limit Hold’em, sometimes also called Fixed Limit Hold’em, there is a cap on the betting. This reduces the availability of the all-in bet unless it fits within the betting guidelines of the game. To keep it simple, again, let’s take a $2/$4 Limit Hold’em cash game, in which blinds are $1 and $2, as an example:
- A preflop call must be $2, with the small blind able to add just $1.
- An initial bet must be the size of the small blind at $2.
- Preflop and post-flop raises must be in the same increment of $2.
- Turn and river raises must be at least the size of the big blind at $4.
Betting is usually capped at four or five bets. It depends upon the rules of a given poker room.
Pot Limit Poker Betting
In Pot Limit Hold’em or Pot Limit Omaha, the size of each pot determines the max bet. It becomes more complicated, as players should keep track of how much money is on the table, but the dealer can and will do the math if asked. To explain, let’s pretend to sit at a $1/$2 PLO cash game, wherein the blinds are $1 and $2:
- A preflop call must be $2, with the small blind able to add just $1.
- An initial raise would be the size of the pot (both blinds) plus the last outstanding bet of $2 and the $2 that would call the big blind, which all equals $7.
- A reraise would calculate the size of the pot (the raise and blinds) at $10, plus the last outstanding bet of $7 and the $7 that would call that bet. Altogether, that is $24.
- A bet of “pot” is common, and in question form in a live game, it often prompts the dealer to count the pot.
Ease of Poker Betting Online
The rules stay the same for players in live poker games or online poker. The amounts will vary based on the stakes in cash games and tournament structures in tournaments, but the rules are uniform.
The big difference is that online poker provides betting prompts. Players can hit “pot” to bet the amount of the pot without having to calculate anything on their own. And they can choose options like “minimum bet” or “maximum bet” – or even how many big blinds to bet – to avoid any reliance on one’s own math. The games also move along much faster due to these shortcuts.
Try any of the games at BetMGM Poker to see how much easier poker betting is online!
