Information on the Basics of Poker Betting.

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Poker Betting

The Basics of Poker Betting

This is a discussion of the basics of poker betting. Poker is a game of chance. However, when you introduce the concept of betting, poker games gain quite a bit of skill and psychology.

So, how do you bet in poker? Here we will review some of the basic poker bets, poker betting order, poker betting limits, and more. In conjunction with this discussion, you should look at the basic poker odds and probabilities for poker hands. Also you should be familiar with the basic poker hands.

Poker Bets

In most poker games, you must ante something (the amount varies by game), just to get dealt cards. After the ante, the players will begin to bet into the pot in the middle of the poker table. At the end of the poker game, the highest poker hand (that hasn't folded) wins the pot.

Poker betting typically occurs in a clockwise order - after you place your poker bet, the player to your left will bet and so on. Basically, when the poker betting gets to you, you have one of four choices:

Bet - If you are the first player to bet, you would bet an amount within the poker betting limits of that particular poker game. This amount goes into the pot.

Call - When you call, you bet enough to match the total amount of what has been bet. For example, if a poker player bet a quarter, you would call and put a quarter into the pot. If another player raised your bet, you would put an amount equal to the raise into the pot (if you bet twenty five cents, and another player then bet seventy five cents, you would owe fifty cents).

Raise - When you raise, you first bet enough to match what has already been bet by another poker player (as in calling), then you 'raise' the poker bet another amount (the amount is up to you, but there is typically a limit to raises.) For example, if a poker player bet twenty five cents, you might call the twenty five cents and raise another fifty cents - for a total poker bet of seventy five cents.

Fold - When you fold, you drop out of the current poker hand. You lose any possibility of winning the pot, but you do not have to put any more money into the pot.

Limit / Pot Limit / No Limit

The maximum poker bets and raises allowed, and the structure of poker betting, is determined by the poker game designation as follows:

Fixed Limit poker games are games where the poker betting limits are structured by round. For example, $10/$20 indicates that the initial poker bets and raises are $10, and the later poker bets and raises are $20.

In Pot Limit poker games, the maximum amount poker players can raise or bet is equal to the size of the pot.

In No Limit poker games, there is simply no structure or maximum limit on the poker bet or raise (except to the extent that you are limited to betting the amount of poker chips you have on the poker table).

Determining when and how much to bet is a large part of the skill and strategy of poker. To make poker betting determinations, you need to understand the odds of getting a particular poker hand. So what exactly are the odds of getting various poker hands? Take a look at our page on poker odds.

...go here for a complete Index of the Poker Rules including Texas Holdem and Omaha Poker

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