How to Play Texas Hold Em Poker
By PD Laughlin

The suit order of the cards is not taken into account while deciding on the winning cards. Should poker hands be absolutely identical in ranking, the rule of poker pot distribution will be split evenly between the two or more winning players.

The game play remains same for both No Limit Texas Holdem and Pot Limit Texas Holdem games with a few exceptions to the rules mentioned above:

- In Limit Texas Holdem a maximum of four bets is allowed per player during any betting round. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap,

- But in No Limit Texas Holdem and Pot Limit Texas Holdem there is no limit to the number of raises that a player can make. The only criteria being that you cannot raise yourself, (i.e. if a player bets during a betting round, then that player would have to be raised by another player in order for him/her to be able to re-raise). If all the other players in the hand only call or fold, the player would not get an option to raise, because the last raise was done by him.

Betting Structure for No Limit Texas Holdem.

- Minimum raise - The raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $100 then the second player must raise a minimum of $100 (total bet of $200).

- Maximum eligible raise - The size of your stack (your chips on the table).
Betting Rules for Pot Limit Texas Holdem

- Minimum eligible raise - The raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $100 then the second player must raise a minimum of $100 (total bet of $200).

- Maximum eligible raise - The size of the pot: The size of the pot is defined as the total of the active Pot (which can be either the main pot or the side pot depending on whether anyone has gone “all-in”) plus all bets on the table plus the amount the active player must first call before raising.

As an example, if the active pot is $200 and the first player to act in the round bets $150 and the next player calls $150, the third player has a maximum eligible total bet of $800. The $800 total is made up of the $150 call and $650 raise. The $650 max raise portion is equal to the pot of $200 + first player's $150 + second player's $150 + his own call of $150.

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