Fixed Limit Poker Betting Rules

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Limit poker is a variation of the popular card game where the betting limit is set. This can apply to cash games as well as tournaments but the most popular option is Limit Texas Hold'em ring games. Welcome to PokerStrategy.com's beginners course for Fixed Limit. Our goal is to give you a comprehensive crash course that introduces you to the current best and most advanced beginner strategy for Fixed Limit Texas Hold'em. This article teaches you how to play poker and specifically deals with the strategy for the first betting round. In Fixed Limit, there is a rigid betting structure that determines when and how much you can bet. In Pot Limit, the betting is only capped at the pot size, and there aren't really any other restrictions. Fixed Limit Five Card Draw poker allows a maximum of four bets in each round - a bet, a raise, a re-raise and a cap.

The following rules will apply to all tournaments unless otherwise stated.

1. In some games – known as fixed limit or pot limit – players are permitted to bet only a very specific amount, determined by the pre-arranged level of the game. But “no limit” means that there are no betting restrictions: no matter how many chips you have in front of you during a no limit game, you are allowed to bet them all whenever it.
2. Cap Limit Poker The general idea with cap limit games is there’s a limit to how much money you can put during a hand. This is relative to big blinds, and is often between 20 and 30. Once you’ve reached the cap it’s treated as if you’re “all in.”.

Registration

1. Sit & Go tournaments start as soon as the required number of players takes a seat. Players choose their seats on a first-come-first-served basis.
2. Players will be allowed to unregister from a Sit&Go tournament as long as not all the seats have been filled.
3. Multi-table tournaments start at predetermined times. Players will be randomly seated.
4. Late registration is available in selected multi-table tournaments. Registration is considered closed when any of the following occurs:
   • The level specified in the 'Tournament info' window in the Lobby is reached.
   • The tournament's maximum capacity is reached.
   • When the tournament has awarded the first prize rank.
   • At the end of Add-On and Rebuy period.
5. Players will be allowed to unregister from a multi-table tournament up to 5 minutes before the tournament start time providing registration is still open. Players who register less than 5 minutes before the tournament start time will not be able to unregister.

Rules

6. All players in tournaments will be forced to post all blinds and/or antes. Players who are not present and ready to play will be blinded/anted off.
7. There will be a five-minute break every hour in all scheduled tournaments, unless otherwise stated.
8. Players moved to a new table will be dealt in to the game as soon as possible.
9. In general, each player will post a small blind and a big blind every round. Collapsing tables and moving players mean it is possible that any of the following may occur at any time:
   1. A player may be forced to post the big blind more than once per round.
   2. A player may be positioned with the button for more than one hand.
   3. A player may skip one or both blinds in a round.
10. Since these are basically random occurrences, no player will receive any long-term advantage, and the rule is necessarily fair for all players.
11. In tournaments, seats are randomly assigned prior to start.
12. With the exception of rebuy tournaments, a player is eliminated when he loses all of his chips.
13. In limit tournaments (fixed betting), there will be one bet and three raises in each betting round. When only two players remain, there is no limit on the number of raises. In pot-limit and no-limit tournaments, there are no limits on the number of raises.
14. When two players remain, the player due to assume the big blind will do so, and the small blind will inherit the button. The small blind or button will act first prior to the flop and second after the flop.
15. If two (or more) players from the same table are eliminated on the same hand, the player who started the hand with the most chips will be awarded the higher finishing position.
16. Tournaments will, at pre-determined times, go into 'hand-for-hand' mode. This allows tables to play the exact same number of hands at critical times.
17. When tournament is running hand-for-hand, and two or more players are eliminated on the same hand (from the same table or from different tables), then the player who started the hand with the most chips will be awarded the higher finishing position.
18. Players are expected to follow established poker etiquette. Any players who abuse proper etiquette may be disqualified from the tournament.
19. Soft playing is not allowed in tournaments. Soft playing happens when a player does not bet his hand to its full potential with the expressed intent of helping another player advance further in the tournament.
20. Players who do not act on their hand in time ('time out') will be automatically folded.

Cancellation policy

21. Single Table Sit & Go tournaments, Multi Table Sit & Go tournaments & Multi-table tournaments: if a tournament is cancelled for technical reasons, the following refund policy will take effect:
    1. If the tournament has not yet started:
       • All registered players will be refunded their buy-in and entry fee
    2. If the tournament has started but registration for the tournament is still open (ie the tournament is still in the late registration period)
    • Eliminated players at the time of cancellation will not be refunded their buy-in or entry fee
    • Players still in the tournament will be refunded their buy-in and entry fee.
    • Any buy-ins (excluding entry fees) collected from players who have been eliminated from the tournament will be distributed on a percentage basis to the remaining players according to each remaining player's chip count.
    • The tournament will only pay out funds which have been collected in buy-ins. Any guaranteed prize pool amount from the tournament will not be a relevant factor in calculating payouts.
    3. If the tournament has started and the registration period for the tournament has closed:
    • Eliminated players at the time of cancellation will not be refunded their buy-in or entry fee
    • Players still in the tournament will be refunded the amount that would have been awarded to the next player to be eliminated from the tournament. 50% of the remaining prize pool will be distributed equally between the remaining players, and 50% will be distributed on a percentage basis according to each player's chip count. The remaining players will also be refunded their entry fee.
    4. In extraordinary circumstances where the quality of our service is severely degraded, such as may happen due to the occurrence of an Act of God, a terrorist attack, fire, or malicious DDoS attack, we reserve the right to cancel tournaments and refund players their buy-in and entry fee only for tournaments where the actual prize pools may be less than guaranteed prize pools. In such an event we will refund all players their buy-in and entry fee, including those players who were eliminated at the time of cancellation.
22. Sit & Go Hero tournaments. If a tournament is cancelled for technical reasons, the following refund policy will take effect:
    1. If the tournament has not yet started
       • All players will be refunded their buy-in and entry fee
    2. If the tournament has started
       • Eliminated players at the time of cancellation will not be refunded their buy-in or entry fee.
       • Players still in the tournament will be refunded the amount that would have been awarded to the next player to be eliminated from the tournament. 50% of the remaining prize pool will be distributed equally between the remaining players, and 50% will be distributed on a percentage basis according to each player's chip count. The pre-determined bounty amount will form part of the total prizepool if this has not already been won. The remaining players will NOT be refunded their entry fee.

    A Sit & Go Hero tournament will be deemed as started only when the first card is dealt.

23. Rebuy tournaments: With each rebuy and add-on, the total chips in the tournament will increase. The total chips in rebuy tournaments will be equal to the sum of all players 'player's starting chips (including extra starting chips, if any)' plus the sum of chips given to all players through a rebuy request plus the sum of chips given to all players through an add-on request. The total chips in the tournament will continue to accumulate as and when players make a rebuy request and the final number will be calculated only when the add-on period is over.

If a tournament crashes during the add-on period, the exact count of total chips in the tournament at the time of crash (including the chips added into the tournament as a result of rebuy and add-on requests) will be used to distribute the balance of the prize pool money.

24. Where a Satellite tournament is offering a guaranteed prize; the guaranteed prize is only guaranteed and paid out if the late registration period closes after the specified number of blind levels. If the tournament completes while late registration is still open, only monies collected will be distributed in prizes to players in the form of tickets, tournament dollars and/or cash, which will be based on how the prize structure is configured.
25. The tournament disconnect protection and cancellation policy applies to all tournaments.
26. We reserve the right to cancel or reschedule tournaments at any time, for any reason, with or without notice. We reserve the right to amend our poker tournament rules and policies at any time without notice. Such amendments will take effect as soon as they are listed in the 'Tournament Rules' section of the website. It is the player's sole responsibility to review the tournament rules and policies before entering a tournament.
27. The poker tournament rules and policies contained herein represent the complete understanding between the player and the site with respect to the player's activities at any tournament, except as otherwise specified in any poker tournament rules pertaining to a particular tournament, as posted on the website.
28. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, all use of the website by a player is governed by the Terms and Conditions of use. In the event of any dispute, these Terms and Conditions of use will apply.

Last modification date: 30/10/2018

In addition to the many forms of poker, there are also several betting variations that are played. In our rules of poker lesson we explained how to play Texas hold’em but we didn’t mention the betting limits in our example hand, as it may have been a case of too much, too soon. In this poker lesson we’re going to use hold’em as the game format – but this time using the different betting variations; fixed-limit, pot-limit and no-limit.

For simplicity we’ll assume a hold’em poker game with a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2. While the three different betting structures will all be posting the same amount, you’ll see a big difference in how the games will play due to the different betting variations.

Fixed Limit

In fixed limit, as its name implies, one’s choice of how much to bet is fixed by the stakes. Using our example of $1 and $2 blinds, the player “under the gun” (this is the first player to the left of the big blind) has three options.

• He may call the $2 big blind.
• He may raise but is only permitted to raise $2 as the limits are fixed.
• He may fold and sit out this hand and wait for a new deal. He may not check as the purpose of the blinds is to create the initial action.

If anyone wishes to raise then they can only do so in increments of $2, as shown here:

After this first round of betting the dealer delivers the flop. Players are still limited to a maximum bet of $2 and raises of $2. However, on the turn and river the betting amount doubles, so in our example the betting would now be in $4 increments. These are known as ‘big bets’. There isn’t a choice of betting either $2 or $4. If one now wishes to bet, the amount must be $4 and raises must be in $4 increments. In fact, a fixed limit game with blinds of $1 and $2 is called a $2-$4 game due to the early betting rounds being limited to $2 and the last two rounds doubling but limited to $4.

In fixed limit games, each round of betting usually has a maximum number of allowable raises, which is generally capped at three. If there’s a bet, it can usually only be raised three times, after which all players must call, or fold. In a $2-$4 game the most a player could wager on the first two betting rounds would be $8 (a call, raise, raise, raise) and $16 on the turn and river, if the betting was capped. It’s worth pointing out that some venues will allow more than 3 raises per betting round, so be sure to know the house rules before you sit down and play.

It is generally believed that the primary strategy for a fixed limit hold’em poker game stresses the importance of value betting. We will be explaining and expounding upon value betting and other strategic nuances of poker in later lessons but for now just know that value betting occurs when you actually want your opponents to call your bets as you believe you hold the best hand. So just save this little nugget of information for later in your poker development.

It’s also worth briefly mentioning a variation on fixed limit called spread limit poker. It’s very similar to fixed limit except the amount of the allowable bet is fixed to a range rather than a particular amount. For example in a $1-$3 spread limit poker game you have the option to bet or raise anywhere from $1 to $3. The normal restriction is that each bet or raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise. For example if the action is on you and an opponent raised $2 you could not re-raise $1. Your options for re-raising would be either $2 or $3.

Pot Limit

In pot limit play the amount a player can wager is determined by the size of the pot, hence the name pot limit. Pot limit play can get a whole lot pricier than limit play. As the size of the pot grows, the size of the bets can also increase. Let’s review an example using the same stakes of a $1 and $2 blind structure, as we did in limit play.

In pot limit the first player to the left of the big blind has the same options as the player in fixed limit in terms of calling, raising or folding. The difference is in how much he can raise. Calling would simply be matching the $2 posted big blind. Folding requires nothing but mucking (throwing away) your cards. If the player wishes to raise he can raise to a total of $7. How that number is arrived at is as follows: small blind bet of $1 plus the big blind bet of $2 plus a call of $2 equals $5, which would be the raise. The raiser is then calling $2 and raising $5 for a total of $7.

To demonstrate the dramatic difference between our first variation of betting in fixed, let’s see what can happen after the flop in pot limit.

With $31 in the pot, the first player can bet anywhere from $2 to $31. The next player has several options, but if he wishes to raise then the minimum amount he can raise is the size of the previous bet. The maximum he can raise is $93 more ($62 in the pot, plus the call of $31), meaning his total bet would be $124. Wow, this could get expensive!

The thing to remember in pot limit is a player who wishes to raise first counts the amount he would need to call and adds it to the pot and then can raise the size of the pot. As you can see the betting in pot limit hold’em can escalate much quicker than in fixed limit hold’em. The emphasis in pot limit is placed on post flop play. The reason for this is that you can normally see flops fairly cheaply before the pot grows to the size where raises can get pretty expensive. So our nugget to remember at this juncture for the betting variation of pot limit is to focus to strong post flop play.

No Limit

No limit hold’em has been called by many but most notably, Doyle Brunson (legendary poker player), as the ‘Cadillac of poker’. Its name says it all – there is no limit, except the size of the blinds. Still using the same blind structure as $1 and $2, the first player to act can call, fold or raise. The difference from the other two structures is that a player can raise a minimum of the size of the big blind, but his maximum allowable bet is only limited to the chips he has in front of him at the table (the amount he started the hand with). If there has been a bet beforehand, then the minimum raise amount would be the size of the previous bet. For example, if a player bets $50 then if the next player wishes to raise he must bet at least $100. This is the same as in pot limit, but with one big different, there is no maximum limit.

Fixed Limit Poker Betting Rules Poker

To use an extreme example to demonstrate the dynamic this format of betting offers, let’s imagine a player in the same $1 small blind and $2 big blind game that happens to have $10,000 in front of him. The action is on him and if he wishes to play he must at least call the $2, however he can elect to raise his entire $10,000!

So you thought pot limit could get expensive – not compared to no limit.

Please bear in mind that although this player has gone all-in for $10,000 – it’s really only $200 – which is the total amount the other player can wager. He can’t win money that another player doesn’t have, and vice versa. This is not like the movies! If you recall the scene from the classic western comedy ‘A Big Hand for the Little Lady’ – she gets up during the middle of a poker hand and runs to the bank to get the deed for the ranch – to call someone’s bet. Well, you can’t do that in Texas hold’em. You can’t do that in any casino anywhere in the world. Poker is always played at table stakes, and table stakes means you can only wager the amount of money you have in front of you when the hand begins. You can’t reach into your wallet mid-stream and pull out more money. You certainly can’t run and get the deed to your ranch, and toss that into the pot – or the keys to your BMW, as a way of calling a bet. That’s the movies – not real life!

Conclusion

The betting variations described in this lesson are listed in order of excitement, danger, risk and reward. The first variation, fixed limit is safer than either of the other two due to the limit which can be bet. As you can see both pot limit and no limit can become daunting as the amounts bet and raised can escalate very quickly. Which you may favour becomes a matter of taste. Some prefer the smooth, relaxing ride of a carousel while others crave the adrenalin rush offered by a roller coaster.

Fixed Limit Poker Betting Rules For Real

By Tom 'TIME' Leonard

Tom has been writing about poker since 1994 and has played across the USA for over 40 years, playing every game in almost every card room in Atlantic City, California and Las Vegas.

Fixed Limit Poker Betting Rules Card Game

Fixed Limit Poker Betting Rules Against