Betting Structures

An Overview of the Different Betting Structures in Poker
There are a few different betting structures in poker; it depends on where you are playing and with whom you are playing.  If you are playing at home with friends, you can choose whichever structure you like as your structure for the night.  One of the best ways to do this is to choose different structures on different nights that you play; eventually your group of friends will probably recognize one type of betting as their preferred type among the group.  If you can’t come up with a favorite structure of betting as a group, you can simply continue to rotate the ways that you play.  For newer players who are playing with very small amounts of money, it is possible to play with limitless betting; however, it is usually a good idea to set limits on games with newer players.  New players tend to want the betting to go on forever and ever and never really get down to the showdown.  This is fine, but they’re playing with such small bets that it really doesn’t matter one way or another; quite literally, the stakes are too low to really make a difference.  When the stakes are this low, it’s better to set a cap on the betting so that the hands keep going around and around.  Keep the stakes low; new players shouldn’t think of raising the stakes to avoid this kind of endless betting strategy; the solution to the problem is simply to set a maximum number of bets.
In most games that have bet limits, the limit is four bets.  At this point, everyone has to show their cards (everyone who’s met the four bets, that is).  When you’re playing for low amounts of money, this is a good idea, because you will continue to have one hand after another.  The hands will not become stale and hard feelings will not develop among the players as often.  When one pot gets drawn out for a long period of time, everyone gets invested in it (both literally and figuratively).  Not only does everyone want to make the money in it their own, they simply want to be able to say that they won the big pot, whether it’s worth much or not.  Limitless betting is simply not that much fun in the long run.  Better to set the bets at four, or even three if you’re feeling particularly snappy.
On the other hand, for more advanced poker players, it can be very satisfying to play games without betting limits.  It is most often in this kind of game that really good poker players get distinguished from really awesome poker players.  When the stakes are this high, only the best of the best survive.  When you take a look at a big pot that’s about to get even bigger, your instinct might be to fold, but in the end you might have ended up having the best hand.  You just can’t know if your hand is the best or not.  Wouldn’t it be great if you could?  Actually not, because then poker wouldn’t be any fun at all.
When you enter a game be sure to find out what kind of betting structure they are playing.  This is not just to guard your bankroll but also a matter of enjoyment.  Some players truly don’t enjoy playing no-limits betting and other players don’t enjoy playing when there are limits on their game.  It’s, in the end, a matter of taste.  There’s one type recommended more often for beginners and the other for experienced players, but in the end it’s all a matter of personal taste.
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