THE BET

The first round of betting will begin with the person sitting to the left of the "Big Blind." Players can call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet. To call a hand in the first round with no bets, a player must match the total of the "Big Blind." If the pot has not been raised by any of the players prior to the player with the "Big Blind," he has the option to call or raise. Players should wait for their turn to make a bet or fold their cards. If they do so before that time, it would gives players acting in an earlier position an unfair advantage knowing that there is less competition for the hand.

The second and subsequent rounds of betting begin with the player to the left of the dealer (the player with the "Small Blind").
When only two people remain in the Texas Holdem tournament, the dealer posts the "Small Blind" and has first action pre-flop. For all play after the flop, the player who posted the "Big Blind" will act first.

Each round of betting is limited to a maximum of 1 bet, 1 raise, and 3 reraises for a total of 5 bets per round. When playing a Texas Holdem Tournament with no-limit, you may decide to eliminate the maximum number of bets per round. However, if you do, you will most likely find that you very rarely have 5 or more bets in any round. It is important to note that a player cannot raise or reraise his own bet. The minimum raise for each bet is value of the previous bet (or the value of the "Big Blind" if there have been no bets in that round). The maximum raise for any bet is the total of a player's remaining chips (all-in). If a player goes all-in, the rule for the minimum value of a raise does not apply.

Example:

Small Blind ($50) / Big Blind ($100)

• The first 3 players call the hand and put in $100.


• The fourth player raises to $300. (The minimum raise would have been $100 - the value of the "Big Blind.")


• The fifth player reraises to $500. (Since the last raise was $200, the minimum reraise must also be $200.)


• The sixth player has $620 remaining. He decides to go "all-in" and bets $620. (Because the player went all-in, he does not have to match the previous raise of $200.)

An all-in wager of less than half a bet does not reopen the betting for any player who has already acted and is in the pot for all previous bets. A player facing less than half a bet may fold or call. An all-in wager of half a bet or more is treated as a full bet and a player may fold, call or make a full raise.

Bets should be placed in front of the player and NOT into the pot, until the betting round is completed. This permits all players to easily verify the current bet status. Also, players should keep their bets/raises neatly stacked so that the amount can be easily verified. Once a round of betting is completed, the pot should not be jumbled together. Instead, it should be moved, in stack form, to the center of the table.

An oral statement denotes a player's action and should be binding. A player should orally declare his intentions prior to making his move (fold, check, bet, call, or raise) and declare the amount of a bet/raise (e.g., "I bet $10" or "I raise to $30"). A player who bets or calls by releasing chips onto the table in front of him rather than by orally announcing his intent is bound by that action. However, if a player is unaware that the pot has been raised, the player may withdraw that money and reconsider the action, provided that no one else has acted after the player.

Tapping the table in turn constitutes a check.

If a player folds in turn by tossing his cards toward the dealer and/or at or into the muck (discard pile), the cards are dead and may not be retrieved (even if they are identifiable).

String bets are not allowed. A string bet is a bet that initially looks like a call, but then turns out to be a raise. It can cause other players to react and give away information providing an unfair advantage to the bettor and other players. Once the player's hand has put some chips out, the player may not go back to his stack to get more chips and increase the size of the bet. If the player declares "call" or "raise" as he bets, he will be immune to this problem. Note that an oral declaration is binding, so a player cannot say "I call your $5, and raise you another $5" Once "call" is said, that's it. The rest of the sentence is irrelevant.

A player is never obligated to drop out of contention because of insufficient funds to play or to call the full amount of a bet. The player may always call a bet for the total amount of chips possessed by that player. The excess part of the bet is either returned to the bettor or used to form a side pot with another player or players who matched the amount called, as applicable. There is no limitation on the number of side pots. If a player is all-in and there is no further action possible, all hands should be turned face up on the table before the deal is completed. The all-in player only has a right to the pot(s) in which he has bets placed.