Hold’em is a game with numerous variations, such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha Hold’em. The latter offers numerous ways to play, as poker players have created versions that range from Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better to Five-Card Omaha and Big O.

Texas Hold’em, on the other hand, is more straightforward. Its variations come in the form of betting limits: Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Hold’em, and No Limit Hold’em.

No matter the limits on betting, Texas Hold’em plays the same, with the dealer button and blinds rotating clockwise with each hand. Each player receives two face-down hole cards, with which they can use any of the five community cards – dealt as the flop, turn, and river cards – to create a winning five-card poker hand. There are four rounds of betting – preflop, post-flop, post-turn, and post-river. The rules remain the same on how to play Texas Hold’em.

The primary variation with Texas Hold’em is the limit on bets, which can be limited to the size of the big blind (limit), the size of the pot (pot limit), or the sky as the limit (no limit).

Limit Texas Hold’em

As the name states, Limit Texas Hold’em limits the amount that a player can bet or raise in any given hand. The minimum bet allowed is the size of the small blind, and the maximum bet is the size of the big blind. 

For example, a Limit Hold’em cash game might be a $5/$10 game. This means that the blinds are $5 for the small and $10 for the big blind. The minimum bet is going to be $5, and the maximum bet is $10. If a player wants to raise that bet, he or she can raise to $20. This limits the amount of money that can be bet in each round and the overall size of the pot.

No Limit Texas Hold’em

No Limit is the most well-known form of Hold’em, as it is used for the most popular poker tournaments in the world. The lack of betting limits allows players to risk all of their chips on any given hand, thus creating some very large pots and allowing for the maximum amount of risk.

When comparing Limit vs No Limit Texas Hold’em, the obvious difference is the risk factor. There is no maximum limit as to the amount that a player can raise in No Limit Hold’em, allowing for the common all-in move that puts all of a player’s chips at risk. This happens in cash games, wherein a player who loses an all-in can buy more chips or leave the game, but it is more common in tournaments.

Tournament Hold’em played in the No Limit format can put players at risk at any time in the tournament if they choose to move all-in. While reentry tournaments allow players to enter a tournament again with another buy-in, the influence and opportunity of the all-in move creates tension and excitement.

Overall, though, the rules remain the same for how to play No Limit Texas Hold’em as for other Hold’em betting variations.

Pot Limit Texas Hold’em

This is a rarer form of Texas Hold’em, as most poker rooms and tournament series offer only Limit or No Limit. Pot Limit Hold’em puts a limit on the maximum raise amount, and that limit is the size of the pot. 

Pot Limit Texas Hold’em strategy varies somewhat from Limit and No Limit, as it limits the level of risk in some cases. However, the pots in pot limit games can grow quite quickly with several raises in a round of betting, so players can exploit those limits based on the size of their opponents’ chip stacks.

Unusual Texas Hold’em Variations

Texas Hold’em is a standard poker game, typically only varying in the limits for betting. There are a few rare occasions that a Texas Hold’em game can adapt different rules in unique variations. This usually only happens in a home game or private game in which players are familiar with the variants.

Pineapple is the most common of these home game versions of Texas Hold’em. In Pineapple, each player receives three hole cards instead of two. Players must then discard one of those hole cards before or after the first round of betting, depending on the preference of the players and the rules of that particular home game. The rest of the game plays as any other Texas Hold’em game.

Six-Plus Hold’em is a version of Texas Hold’em that is played without deuces, treys, fours, and fives in the deck. The rest of the game plays the same.

Royal Hold’em is similar to Six-Plus Hold’em, in that it plays with a partial deck. The Royal Texas Hold’em game uses a deck with only aces, kings, queens, jacks, and tens.

Register with BetMGM Poker to Play Online

Most online poker sites only offer the two most common forms of Hold’em: Limit Hold’em and No Limit Hold’em. BetMGM is one of those poker operators, and it provides fertile ground on which to learn the games, experiment with betting amounts, and devise your own strategy for playing your best.

Register to play online with BetMGM Poker today, and use a poker welcome offer to maximize the benefits of your first deposit.