The Different Betting Structures in Poker
Even with the popularity of poker, there are still some lingering misconceptions about it and one of those is the perception that it is a monolithic game, that poker is a game without any variant and with only one rule. This much is untrue because poker is only a blanket term for a host of card games that has apparent similarities.
Furthermore, each of these card games, otherwise called as poker variants, is subdivided further into different kinds because as much as there are multitudes of poker variants out there are the numbers of rule variations for each of the poker variants. One such rule variation that distinguishes each poker variant from one another is the betting structure used by each and every variant.
So if one is to start taking on all the poker variations there is, being familiar with the different betting structures is a good place to start off. There are only a couple of them so being knowledgeable with each will be easy and helpful since every one of them is utilized in most poker variants.
Here are the different betting structures:
Limit Games
Limit games are games where the betting structure is rigidly prearranged. There is a set amount as to what players can bet at the pot. To illustrate, a $5 Limit poker game forces players to bet only in increments of $5. Players can only bet or raise $5 throughout the game. The only exception is when a player has less than $5 in chips which is only when a player can be allowed to bet or call with what is left of that player's chips.
Pot Limit Games
Games with pot limit betting structures have no prearranged amount of bets as was the case with limit games. The betting amount in pot limit games is determined by its forced bets, the big blind and the small blind.
In a game where the small blind is $5 and big blind $10, the minimum amount for calling will then be $10 since that was the last amount put in the pot. The minimum for raising on the other hand will be $20 because raises should be at least equal to the amount of the last bet that was made and since the last bet that was made was $10, the raise would should be at least $10 also which makes $20 which is the total of the call (the first $10) and the raise (the other $10).
No Limit Games
It would be a little bit contradictory to say that no limit games are betting structures because in essence, such games have no betting structures at all since players are free to bet and raise any amount as they please. Such type of games is the one regularly featured on televised poker games. No limit games allow players to call or raise any amount even if they choose to call or raise with all that they have at any point that they want. Such a move may be familiar with those who watch poker matches in TV since players there regularly call or raise "all in", the term used for staking everything that one has got.
Betting structures are one of the things that diversify the different poker variants and as such, players who want to be exposed to as many variants as possible should start familiarizing with them since almost every poker variant utilize them.
