Real Money Limits, Stakes and Types of Poker Games

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There are many different types of poker games. A short summary of the limit types are described below:

Types of Poker Games:

Fixed limit or limit poker: The bet size is limited to a pre-set amount which cannot be exceeded. The bets are usually small relative to the overall size of the pot.

Pot limit: In a pot limit game the maximum bet size is the overall size of the pot. A common pot limit game is Pot Limit Omaha or PLO for short. For more information on PLO see PLO Quick Pro's poker commandments.

No limit poker No limit poker, such as No limit hold'em means that any bet size can be used during any betting rounds. The famous all-in move can be employed at any stage to put maximum pressure on your opponent!

The stakes in poker can be defined in two different ways. Firstly, the small blind/big blind amount can be used to define a stake such as 1/2 No limit (or 1/2 NL for short). Otherwise, the value of a 100bb buy-in can be quoted e.g. 200Nl. For deep tables (where the standard buy -in is 200bb+) the stake won't be called 400NL, it will instead just be called 200NL deep.

There are many different types of poker game types such as cash games, tournaments, sit and go's and each can be broken down into further subcategories.

Types of Poker Game Structures:

Cash games are the most basic poker format. A player buys in with a certain amount of money depending on the stakes, and with that cash they can bet/raise/call once they have been dealt cards. Players can sit out whenever they want once they are not in the hand without a penalty. This is the best format for the poker player with the busy schedule as it is easy to get in a few hands during a short free period.

Tournaments, on the other hand, require a player to play until either they are out of chips or they have busted from the tournament. If a player sits out their blinds are still taken meaning they will still lose chips despite not being at the table. Tournaments can require a significant time investment so would not be recommended unless you have a completely free schedule. However, tournaments have the largest prizes and can attract massive player pools!

Sit and go tournaments are much like tournaments although they aren't scheduled – they will start when enough players register. Much like tournaments they require a time commitment – a player cannot sit out without playing the blinds. However, they typically are much quicker from start to finish than a tournament.  Sit and go tournaments are often good practice for final tables of larger multi-table tournaments.

That is for types of poker games.

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