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. All bets must be at least equal to the minimum bring-in,
unless the player is going all-in. (A straddle bet sets
a new minimum bring-in, and is not treated as a raise.)
3. 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.)
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.)
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.)
4. 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.
5. A wager is not binding until the chips are actually
released into the pot, unless the player has made a verbal
statement of action.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.)
9. 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 .)
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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 .
13. 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.
14. 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, if a chip or a bill larger than the
pot size is put into the pot without comment, it is considered
to be a bet of the pot size.
