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Pot Limit Texas Holdem Rules

Page summary: A review of the rules for Pot Limit Texas Holdem. Includes strategies for Pot Limit Texas Holdem as well.

Pot Limit Texas Holdem Rules - How to Play Pot Limit Texas Holdem

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Texas Holdem is the most popular casino game by far, and it is played in a few different formats. Texas Holdem is normally played in Limit, No Limit or Pot Limit. The format changes the strategy for the game by affecting the possibilities for aggressiveness with various betting limitations. Aside from the betting differences, the rules and structure of the formats remain completely identical.

Rules

In Pot Limit Texas Holdem, the Pot Limit indicates the format and enforces limitations on how much a player can bet. In Pot Limit, each player is only allowed to place a maximum bet of the pot amount. You don't have to place the maximum bet; however, the maximum bet allowed is the size of the pot including the call bet if you're calling another player.

For example, if the pot is at 200 chips and you're calling a bet of 50 chips, the pot is currently at 250 if you call. So, the maximum you would be allowed to bet is 250.

The rules of Texas Holdem are pretty simple and should be familiar to those who have played other flop games. Pot Limit Texas Holdem is played with blinds - two for each hand. There is a small blind and a big blind. They sit in that order to the immediate left of the dealer.

The betting begins with the man under the gun. This is referring to the player next to the big blind. In the first betting round the big blind will be last to act. Each player has the option to call the big blind, raise or fold. If no one has raised, the big blind will have the option to check.

The flop is dealt after the betting round. The flop consists of three community cards that are face-up. The community cards are used by all of the players at the table to complete their hands. In other words, you're sharing these cards.

After the flop, betting begins. Once the action has went around the table, the turn is dealt. The turn is the fourth community card. Just like after the flop, there is a betting round after the turn. Each phase of the hand is separated by a betting round in Texas Holdem.

Finally, the river, which is the final community card, is dealt for the players remaining in the hand. After the river there is a final opportunity to try and bet your opponent. After the final bets, if a player calls the action, the hand will go to a showdown.

The best five-card poker hand wins in Pot Limit Texas Holdem. The best hand is determined by the standard poker hand ranking system. A Royal Flush is the highest hand and a Pair is the lowest hand. If neither player has at least a pair or better, the winner is determined by the high card. In the event that they have the same high card, it goes to the second highest card and so on. If the players tie, there is a split pot.

Strategy - Hand Selection, Position, Bankroll Management

Texas Holdem players should all be familiar with the term hand selection. Hand selection is about knowing which hands to play and in what position to play them. Being successful at any format of Texas Holdem requires that you understand the correlation of hands to your position.

The later you are to act (check, call, raise or fold), the better your position is. The person that is the button has the best position on the table. The button refers to the person that is in the dealer seat. Post-flop, the button is last to act all the way to a showdown if necessary.

In Pot Limit Texas Holdem, the pot is fairly small in the beginning due to the limitations. However, by the end of the hand it can just about be the size of a No Limit pot. The only way the pot is very large in the beginning is if you get a pot raise, pot re-raise and then another pot re-raise. In that scenario, the pot grows fairly quick. However, most hands are not going to see that kind of action.

Here is a chart that displays groupings of hands. As you move from group 1 to 4, the hands get weaker and weaker. Having said that, the lower you go in the chart, the less they should be played in early position. Those hands should rather be strictly played from a late position. Always keep in mind how many callers are in the hand to determine odds and if it's worth it to get in for the pot size and the positional advantage.

Group 1

  • AA
  • KK
  • QQ
  • AK Suited

Group 2

  • JJ
  • TT
  • AK
  • AQ Suited

Group 3

  • 99
  • AQ
  • AJ Suited
  • KQ Suited
  • KQ

Group 4

  • 88
  • 77
  • 66
  • 55
  • 44
  • 33
  • 22
  • A(Anything) Suited
  • KJ Suited
  • KT Suited
  • QJ Suited
  • QT Suited
  • JT Suited
  • T9 Suited
  • 98 Suited
  • 87 Suited
  • 76 Suited

Pot Limit Texas Holdem provides the comfort of a Limit Holdem game in the early stages and can quickly advance to feeling like a No Limit Holdem game on occasion. Know your hands and where they should be played according to your position. Practice using proper bankroll management strategies. Bankroll management will help you survive and control the variance that is inevitable in poker.

It is recommended to have 300 times the big blind in your bankroll. So, if you're playing the $1/$2 Pot Limit Texas Holdem, you should have $600 in the bankroll. If you're new to the game or are building your bankroll, start out low and have patience. It takes practice and a lot of patience to master the Texas Holdem formats.