|
|
No Limit & Pot Limit Poker Rules |
|
NO LIMIT & POT
LIMIT
A no-limit or pot-limit betting structure for a game gives it
a different character from limit poker, requiring a separate
set of rules in many situations. All the rules for limit games
apply to no-limit and pot-limit games, except as noted in this
section. No-limit means that the amount of a wager is limited
only by the table stakes rule, so any part or all of a player’s
chips may be wagered. The rules of no-limit play also apply
to pot-limit play, except that a bet may not exceed the pot
size. The maximum amount a player can raise is the amount in
the pot after the call is made. Therefore, if a pot is $100,
and someone makes a $50 bet, the next player can call $50 and
raise the pot $200, for a total wager of $250. For those rules
that apply only to no-limit and pot-limit lowball, see the sub-section
at the end of “Section 11 – Lowball.”
NO-LIMIT RULES
1. The number of raises in any betting round is unlimited.
2. The minimum bet size is the amount of the minimum bring-in,
unless the player is going all-in. If the big blind does not
have sufficient chips to post the required amount, anyone who
enters the pot is required to enter for the minimum bet (unless
going all-in for a lesser sum). The minimum bet remains the
same amount on all betting rounds. If a player goes all-in for
an amount that is less than the minimum bring-in, a player who
wishes to raise must raise at least the amount of the minimum
bring-in. For example, if the big blind and minimum bring-in
are $100, and a player goes all-in on the flop for $20, a raise
must be to at least a total of $120.
3. A straddle bet sets a new minimum bring-in; it is not treated
as a raise.
4. All raises must be equal to or greater than the size of the
previous bet or raise on that betting round, except for an all-in
wager. A player who has already checked or called may not subsequently
raise an all-in bet that is less than the full size of the last
bet or raise. (The half-the-size rule for reopening the betting
is for limit poker only.)
5. “Completing the bet” is a limit poker wager type
only, not allowed at big-bet poker. For example, if a player
bets $100 and the next player goes all-in for $140, a player
wishing to raise must make the total bet at least $240 (unless
going all-in).
6. Multiple all-in wagers, each of an amount too small to qualify
as a raise, still act as a raise and reopen the betting if the
resulting wager size to a player qualifies as a raise.
Example: Player A bets $100 and Player B raises $100 more, making
the total bet $200. If Player C goes all in for less than $300
total (not a full $100 raise), and Player A calls, then Player
B has no option to raise again, because he wasn't fully raised.
(Player A could have raised, because Player B raised.)
7. At non-tournament play, a player who says "raise"
is allowed to continue putting chips into the pot with more
than one move; the wager is assumed complete when the player's
hands come to rest outside the pot area. (This rule is used
because no-limit play may require a large number of chips be
put into the pot.) In tournament play, the TDA rules require
that the player either use a verbal statement giving the amount
of the raise or put the chips into the pot in a single motion,
to avoid making a string-bet.
8. A wager is not binding until the chips are actually released
into the pot, unless the player has made a verbal statement
of action.
9. If there is a discrepancy between a player's verbal statement
and the amount put into the pot, the bet will be corrected to
the verbal statement.
10. If a call is short due to a counting error, the amount must
be corrected, even if the bettor has shown down a superior hand.
11. Because the amount of a wager at big-bet poker has such
a wide range, a player who has taken action based on a gross
misunderstanding of the amount wagered needs some protection.
A bettor should not show down a hand until the amount put into
the pot for a call seems reasonably correct, or it is obvious
that the caller understands the amount wagered. The decision-maker
is allowed considerable discretion in ruling on this type of
situation. A possible rule-of-thumb is to disallow any claim
of not understanding the amount wagered if the caller has put
eighty percent or more of that amount into the pot.
Example: On the end, a player puts a $500 chip into
the pot and says softly, “Four hundred.” The opponent
puts a $100 chip into the pot and says, “Call.”
The bettor immediately shows the hand. The dealer says, “He
bet four hundred.” The caller says, “Oh, I thought
he bet a hundred.” In this case, the recommended ruling
normally is that the bettor had an obligation to not show the
hand when the amount put into the pot was obviously short, and
the “call” can be retracted. Note that the character
of each player can be a factor. (Unfortunately, situations can
arise at big-bet poker that are not so clear-cut as this.)
12. A bet of a single chip or bill without comment is considered
to be the full amount of the chip or bill allowed. However,
a player acting on a previous bet with a larger denomination
chip or bill is calling the previous bet unless this player
makes a verbal declaration to raise the pot. (This includes
acting on the forced bet of the big blind .)
13. If a player tries to bet or raise less than the legal minimum
and has more chips, the wager must be increased to the proper
size. (This does not apply to a player who has unintentionally
put too much in to call.) The wager is brought up to the sufficient
amount only, no greater size.
14. All wagers may be required to be in the same denomination
of chip (or larger) used for the minimum bring-in, even if smaller
chips are used in the blind structure. If this is done, the
smaller chips do not play except in quantity, even when going
all-in.
15. In non-tournament games, one optional live straddle is allowed.
The player who posts the straddle has last action for the first
round of betting and is allowed to raise . To straddle, a player
must be on the immediate left of the big blind , and must post
an amount twice the size of the big blind .
16. In all no-limit and pot-limit games, the house has the right
to place a maximum time limit for taking action on your hand.
The clock may be put on someone by the dealer as directed by
a floorperson, if a player requests it. If the clock is put
on you when you are facing a bet , you will have one additional
minute to act on your hand. You will have a ten-second warning,
after which your hand is dead if you have not acted.
17. Since all a player's chips may be put at risk on a hand,
the house has the right to set a maximum amount for the buy-in
to help control the effective size of a game.
18. The cardroom does not condone "insurance" or any
other “proposition” wagers. The management will
decline to make decisions in such matters, and the pot will
be awarded to the best hand. Players are asked to refrain from
instigating proposition wagers in any form. The players are
allowed to agree to deal twice (or three times) when someone
is all-in. “Dealing twice” means the pot is divided
in two, with each portion being dealt for separately.
POT-LIMIT RULES
1. If a wager is made that exceeds the pot size, the surplus
will be given back to the bettor as soon as possible, and the
amount will be reduced to the maximum allowable.
2. The dealer or any player in the game can and should call
attention to a wager that appears to exceed the pot size (this
also applies to heads-up pots). The oversize wager may be corrected
at any point until all players have acted on it.
3. If an oversize wager has stood for a length of time with
someone considering what action to take, that person has had
to act on a wager that was thought to be a certain size. If
the player then decides to call or raise, and attention is called
at this late point to whether this is an allowable amount, the
floorperson may rule that the oversize amount must stand (especially
if the person now trying to reduce the amount is the person
that made the wager).
4. In pot-limit play, it is advisable in many structures to
round off the pot size upward to produce a faster pace of play.
This is done by treating any odd amount as the next larger size.
For example, if the pot size was being kept track of with $25
units, then a pot size of $80 would be treated as a pot size
of $100.
5. In pot-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha, many structures
treat the little blind as if it were the same size of the big
blind in computing pot size. In such a structure, a player can
open for a maximum of four times the size of the big blind .
For example, if the blinds are $5 and $10, a player may open
with a raise to $40. (The range of options is to either open
with a call of $10, or raise in increments of five dollars to
any amount from $20 to $40.) Subsequent players also treat the
$5 as if it were $10 in computing the pot size, until the big
blind is through acting on the first betting round.
6. In pot-limit, a player who puts a chip or a bill larger than
the pot size into the pot without comment is considered to be
making a bet of the pot size (unless he is facing a bet).
|
|
