The Everygame online poker room gives you lots of choices. When you enter the poker room lobby, you will be offered a choice of poker games: Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha HiLo, or Telesina. You will be offered a choice of playing formats: Ring Games, Tournaments, or Sit-and-Go.
And, in addition to all those choices, you will be offered a choice of limits:
- Fixed Limit
- Pot Limit
- No Limit
What does it mean? What is a limit in a poker game? And how do you pick the limit that’s right for you? Let’s find out, because it is important to know your limits when you play poker online.
Know Your No-Limit Poker
In No-Limit Poker, the minimum bet is equal to the size of the big blind. The maximum bet is your entire stack of chips.
Once a bet has been made, the minimum raise is equal to the size of the previous bet. The maximum raise is—once again—your entire stack of chips.
After a raise has been made, the minimum re-raise is equal to the size of the previous raise. The maximum re-raise is—you guessed it—your entire stack of chips.
To sum it all up, there is no limit in No-Limit Poker. Whether we’re talking bet, raise, or re-raise, you can always wager everything you’ve got and nobody’s going to stop you.
Know Your Fixed-Limit Poker
Fixed-Limit Poker has small bets and big bets of precisely fixed amounts. The small bet is equal to the big blind; the big bet is double the small bet. For example, in a game with blinds of $5/$10, the small bet is $10 and the big bet is $20.
In the Pre-Flop and Flop rounds, betting is calculated in increments of the small bet: the first bet must be $10, the first raise must be to $20, the first re-raise to $30, and so on.
In the Turn and River rounds, betting is in increments of the big bet: bet of $20, raise to $40, re-raise to $60, etc.
In each round, the betting is capped after three raises. Once the cap is reached, players may call or fold but they cannot raise until the next street is dealt. The rules—and the limits—are strictly enforced when you play Fixed-Limit Poker.
Know Your Pot-Limit Poker
Pot Limit is the Goldilocks of online poker games: if you find the limits in Fixed Limit are too small and those in No Limit are too big, then Pot-Limit Poker might be just right for you.
Minimums in Pot-Limit Poker are the same as those in No-Limit: minimum bet equals the big blind; minimum raise equals the previous bet; minimum re-raise equals the previous raise.
The maximum you can bet or raise in Pot-Limit Poker is the pot. What that means is the sum of all previous bets on the current hand plus the amount of your hypothetical call if you were to choose to call. Add it all up, and you can bet up to that amount or raise by up to that amount.
Thus, on the one hand, the limits in Pot-Limit Poker are quite a bit bigger than those in Fixed-Limit Poker. But, on the other hand, they still don’t allow you to go all-in with your entire stack whenever you want to, as you can in No-Limit Poker. So Pot-Limit Poker truly is a Goldilocks solution of moderate, reasonable, and flexible poker betting limits.
Poker Limits and Poker Strategy
In a way, you can say that Fixed-Limit Poker, Pot-Limit Poker, and No-Limit Poker are all the same game with minor variations. In reality, however, the differences are far from minor. The differences in limits can result in vastly different styles of play and vastly different poker strategies, to such an extent that they could almost be seen as different games entirely.
Remember, in No-Limit Poker it is possible to win a huge stack of chips on a single hand; it is also possible to lose a huge stack on a single hand. In Limit Poker, that doesn’t happen. Instead, you are looking for a steady and consistent accumulation of small victories that could add up to something big by the end of the day. It is a more subtle game.
And with changes in outlook come related changes in poker strategy. In No-Limit Poker, implied odds are more important than pot odds; in Limit Poker, it’s the opposite. In Limit Poker, optimal strategy is to be tighter in the pre-flop but more aggressive on the river as compared to No-Limit Poker. And there are many more differences, both large and small, that require practice and experience to feel fully comfortable with.
The Sky's the Limit at Everygame Poker
The Everygame Online Poker Room offers Fixed-Limit Poker Games, Pot-Limit Poker Games, and No-Limit Poker Games. Try them all, keep practicing and keep improving, and see what you like best. When it comes to online poker enjoyment, the sky is the limit at Everygame.