Playing the Hold'em - Betting and Limits
"Without Betting, poker would just be a game of luck", says Lou Krieger, author of Poker for Dummies. This is especially true for Texas Hold'em. The secret to the game is to minimize your losses when you are holding a bad hand, and maximize your winnings when you have a good hand.
Limits determine the level of betting action. There are four different types of Texas Hold'em limit games:
* Fixed Limit
Fixed limit games are games where the action is a fixed amount. Let talk an example of a $10/$20 fixed limit game. $10 would be the minimum bet for the first two rounds, and $20 minimum for the last two rounds. The big blind would be equal to the minimum bet of $10 and the small blind would be $5 or half the minimum bet.
* Spread Limit
Spread limit games are similar to fixed, except that the players can bet any amount within the range of the two limits.
* Pot Limit
Pot limit games are limited to the amount that is in the pot.
* No Limit Games
There is no limit to betting in these games, these games should not be played by beginners or the weak-hearted.
There are two ways of winning the game. You can either win by having the best hand at showdown, or by everyone else folding. The showdown is the 5th and final round of the hand, when all the betting has stopped, all the players show their cards, and the winner claims the pot. Folding refers to when a player puts down his cards and forfeits his chance of winning the pot.