What are game limits and what do NL, PL and FL mean?
We offer three different game types for several games: No Limit, Pot Limit, and Fixed Limit. The game type you choose decides the amount you are able to bet each turn for each betting round.
Fixed Limit (FL)
In a Fixed Limit game, both the bet and raise amounts for each round are preset and listed under the "stakes" column for that table. For example:
In a $5/$10 Fixed Texas Hold'em game, both the bets and raises for the first two rounds of betting must be $5, no more, no less. The last two rounds have a bet/raise amount of $10.
The Cap: In Fixed Limit games, each round of betting has a maximum number (three) of allowable raises known as the cap. This means a bet can only be raised three times after which all players must call or fold. If only two players remain in the hand, the cap is increased to a maximum of five raises. This rule is in effect for all the betting rounds in order to speed up play.
Pot Limit (PL)
In a Pot Limit game, you can't bet more than the current pot amount plus whatever it takes to call the previous bet. The minimum bet is the big blind, ($10 in our $5/$10 game) and if a bet is made, any raises must be equal or greater than the previous raise. For example:
You're playing a $5/$10 PL game, and the pot has reached $100. A player (we'll call him John) bets the minimum $10. You've got a great hand, and you want to raise the maximum. The most you can raise is:
Original pot ($100) + Previous Bets ($10) + Call Amount ($10) = $120, making your total bet amount $130.
The player to your left (we’ll call her Lisa) wants to raise you the maximum amount. Just add one more step to the formula.
Original Pot ($100) + Previous Bets [John's bet ($10) + Your bet ($120)] + Call Amount ($130) = $360, making Lisa's total bet amount $490 (your bet + her raise).
Suppose you don't think your hand is good enough to bet the pot, but you still want to raise on John. Your raise must be at least equal to his bet, so your total bet must be at least $20. If you bet $20, and Lisa wants to raise you the minimum, her bet must be at least $40.
There is no cap to the number of raises per betting round, so you can keep raising until you run out of money.
No Limit (NL)
There are no maximum limits in ‘No Limit’ poker and you can bet your whole stack at any time. The minimum bet is the high stake, or the big blind amount ($10 in or $5/$10 game). Similar to a PL, your raise must be at least equal to the previous bets/raises. There are no caps to the number of raises per betting round, so a stack of chips can be lost quickly.
In both PL and NL, if somebody bets or raises you more than your current chip stack, you can call "all-in." In this case, you will have a shot at winning the "main pot" corresponding to your stack and any further raises go into a side pot, which you aren't a part of.
For online poker, PL and NL games, a "bet slider" is displayed when it is your turn to act. The slider's boundaries represent your minimum and maximum bet, so you're able to move the slider to bet anything in between, or you can type your raise amount in the bet field.
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