No Limit, Pot Limit or Fixed Limit Poker
Variations of Basic Poker
Mar 6, 2009 Mary Welling-Bonney
It doesn't matter if you play Hold 'em, Stud, Omaha, or any other variation. There are No Limit, Pot Limit, and Fixed Limit games for each.
Fixed Limit
In Fixed Limit poker you start out with a set blind level, most times 10/20. If you have a really good hand and want to raise you can only raise the preset amount of an additional 20 chips. As the blinds raise the amount you are allowed to bet raises. The betting and raises all throughout the game are predefined. You can only go all in when you have a limited number of chips that go into the pot with the usual betting. There is no big leap in betting.
This type of betting can help restrict what you lose. In tournaments it takes longer to get players knocked out because they bet little amounts at a time. It is helpful if you have a problem with the aggressive all-in bets in other versions as this is not allowed. Players will often stay in early on with a hand they would have folded in PL or NL because even with a raise it won't cost them much to see if they can catch the cards they needed.
On the downside, it can take an inordinately long time to get rid of players. It is also given itself over to the limit version of all-in. This is called string betting. It is very tedious to bet and get just about around the table only to have one person raise. Now it has to go all the way around the table again only to have another raise. This can happen up to four times at each point in the betting.
Fixed poker is great if you need to slow yourself down a bit.
Pot Limit
In Pot Limit Poker the betting is somewhat defined but not as rigid as it is in Fixed limit. You can raise up to the size of the pot. In small pots this can br frustrating but it can also save you from losing a lot. As the blinds rise so to does the size of the pot so it doesn't take long for an all-in bet.
With the ability to bet more comes the ability to raise more and eliminate other players quicker. Generally you don't have much of the string type bets but if someone bets the pot the next person can raise because there is now a different sized pot. This also means any other players still in the hand can also raise to a maximum of the new pot total. You can see how this can go all-in without a lot of effort. Pot limit slows betting down in comparison to No limit but not nearly as much as Fixed limit.
No Limit
No limit is what they generally show on television. It does not mean that everyone is going to go all-in every hand but it does mean that each player can choose that as an option at anytime. It is often a strategy used when a player is trying to pick up the pot. They may or may not want to be called. There are times when players know going all-in will make the other players fold and they can pick up some nice pots.
If you are an avid player it is good practice to switch it up now and then. It helps you look more closely at your own play and you may see some weaknesses in your play that you hadn't seen in just playing one variation of the game.
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