No Limit
| No Limit (NL): With no limit rules the maximum bet and raise are only limited by your stack of chips meaning that you can go all-in whenever it is your turn to act. There is no cap on how many times the bet can be raised during each betting round. The chip stacks of the players are the only limit. The minimum bet is the BB while the minimum amount you can raise with equals the size of the bet or raise (amount raised with) before you. When you raise, however, you normally state the amount you raise to rather than the amount you raise with and this can get confusing in live games. When you play online, on the other hand, the poker software keeps track of the minimum amount you can raise to and this makes things really simple. |
When playing no limit you must understand the difference between raise with and raise to.
Raise to: The amount you raise to is your complete bet; i.e. the amount you raise with + the cost of calling. In online poker rooms you only specify the amount you raise to. This is also standard practise in casinos.
Raise with: The amount you raise with is only the part of your bet that exceeds the bet before you. In casinos and other live poker rooms you CAN specify the amount you raise with but the amount you raise to is standard.
No Limit Texas Hold'em Example
You are playing a game of No Limit Hold'em. The SB is $1 and the BB is $2. There are eight players at the table, including you. Each player has a stack of $300.
►The following actions are taken on the pre-flop:
SB is paid (adds $1 to pot); BB is paid (adds $2 to pot); Player 3 folds; Player 4 calls (adds $2 to pot); Player 5 folds; Player 6 calls (adds $2 to pot); Player 7 raises to $10 (thereby raising with $8)
You are player 8 and it is your turn to act. You are sitting on the button and you are holding Ah-Ac. The cost of calling is $10 but you want to raise. The minimum amount that the poker room lets you raise to is $18 (the minimum amount you can raise with is $8). The maximum amount you can raise to is $300. You decide for something in between - you raise to $40.
SB folds; BB folds; Player 4 folds; Player 6 folds; Player 7 calls (adds $30 to pot).
The total pot at the end of the pre-flop: 1+2+2+2+10+40+30=$87
Remaining players at the end of the pre-flop: Player 7 and you.
►The following actions are taking on the flop (Ad-Js-6h):
Player 7 checks; you go all in (adding $260 to pot); Player 7 folds.
You win the hand. The actual amount you have won is $87-$40=$47.
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The no limit betting structure might not see as many hands through to the showdown as the fixed limit does but the hands are far more dramatic, complex and unpredictable. No Limit Hold’em is currently the most popular form of poker in both tournaments and cash games and given the dynamic output of the no limit rules it is easy to see why.
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