Betting Structure: Pot Limit
Before we get into the details of Pot Limit betting, we should say that Pot Limit games are played a lot more in Europe then in the U.S. and that very good players often feel that Pot Limit is a much more skilled betting game than No Limit. We would also offer that learning to play Pot Limit will improve your Limit and No Limit betting skills. The reason for this is that with the Pot Limit betting structure you must learn to manipulate the size of the pot such that it is either more or less advantageous for an opponent to call you. And, of course, since the opponent knows you are manipulating them, it adds a whole new element to the “he knows that I know that he knows I know” aspect of the game.
In Pot Limit betting is simple in appearance but very tricky when in play. When it is a players turn to act, they may bet any amount up to the size of the pot. Simple right? But there is one twist. The pot size includes the player, who is doing the betting, first making the call. An example will help:
After the flop the pot is 300 and the first player to act bets 100. Notice they could have bet up to 300 but they only bet 100. The question is how much is the maximum the next player can bet? The pot is now 400 (300 from before the flop plus the 100 bet by the first player to act), here is how the “pot” calculation is done. First, the player wishing to raise the full amount must call the previous bet, which in this case is 100, so the 400 pot becomes 500 with the call. Now a “pot” bet is made of 500. So the player will put in 600 of which 100 is the call and 500 is the new full pot bet. The pot is now 1,000 and the next player may make a bet of 1,000 + 1,000 = 2,000 + 2,000 = 4,000 total.
Got that? It really is not that difficult but it does take some practice. One final fact about Pot Limit games, a good pot limit dealer will always keep track of the pot and if you ask they will know how much is in there at all times, however, to become a good pot limit player you should keep accurate track of the pot yourself.
Join an interesting discussion of Pot Limit betting in our poker forum.
-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #113
