Betting Structure: Spread Limit
Spread Limit is the least common betting structure you are likely to encounter but there are casinos and card rooms from Las Vegas to Moscow that do use Spread Limit. Any game played with a spread-limit betting structure allows a player to raise any amount within a specified range. So, if you are in a “one to five” spread limit game, any player may bet 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 on any betting round.
If player opens for 2 you could make it 7 or 6 or 5 or 4. Some but not all rooms require that your raise be of at least the same amount as the previous bet; so if someone bets 3 you cannot raise 2. This is not a universal rule, as some spread limit games allow any bet within the limits at any time. In such a room, you could bet 2, a raiser could make it 7 and the next bettor could make it 8. This is exactly why, when playing spread limit you should be clear on the local application of the rules.
In the United States you will often hear Spread Limit called “California Spread”; this is because many of the card rooms in California do not allow No Limit betting, instead to avoid the No Limit ban, rooms will have very high spreads like 1/100 or 2/500. The high end of the spread turns the game effectively into a No Limit game.
There is one warning about playing spread limit, which has to do with betting tells. If you always bet 2 on your drawing hands and 5 on your big pairs; your opponents will figure you out fast. Varying your bets is important in Spread Limit, either randomly vary your bets or never change your opening bet to avoid this obvious betting tell.
-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #114
