Pot Limit, No Limit and Fixed Limit are different kinds of poker betting structures and it is very important for someone new to the game to understand the differences. They are normally abbreviated as PL, NL and FL respectively.

Fixed Limit poker is the simplest format, same counts for http://onlinevideopoker.com. Bets are restricted to specific amounts and the number of raises that may be made is also limited. These types of games are described by these limits. For instance a game might be called a £2/£4 FL Texas Hold’em game. This means that the small blind will be £1, the large blind will be £2.00, and pre-flop bets will be limited to £2 or a raise of £2 more than the previous bet. Only three raises are permitted.

The same betting restrictions are maintained for the betting rounds following the flop but on the turn the betting limit is raised to £4 and though the number of raises is still limited to three and this is maintained for the river.

With Pot Limit games the maximum bet that can be placed is for the same amount as is in the pot at that time. A game that is describes as a £1/£2 PL Hold’em game would proceed as follows. Blinds are £1 and £2. The first player’s maximum raise would be £7 which consists of calling the £2 bet which places £5 in the pot and then doubling the pot to £10.

The maximum raise of the next player would be £24 which consists of calling the £7 of the previous bet thus increasing the pot to £17 then doubling the pot to £34. There are no limits to the numbers of raises thus betting can get very high though it is not permitted to bet somebody off the table. If a player can bet no more he remains in the game up to the pro-rata amount he had bet.

With No-limit games there is no upper limit to the amount that may be bet. These are not for beginners.