Pot
Limit
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 players 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. For those rules that apply only to no-limit
and pot-limit lowball, see the section 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.
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 wasnt
fully raised. (Player A could have raised, because Player
B raised.)
4. A wager is not binding until the chips are actually
released into the pot, unless the player has made a verbal
statement of action.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.)
8. 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 players 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.)
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. 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.
5. 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.
6. In pot-limit holdem 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.
7. 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.
Rules provided by Bob Ciaffone via ROBERTS RULES
OF POKER
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