I remember learning to play poker and not quite understanding the rules completely, especially when it came to betting in poker. I know I am not the first person to be confused and I know I won’t be the last. But hopefully this article will prevent you from becoming one.

I was playing a game and I had only $5 left. Like I said, I was still learning the game. Anyway, the bet was $10 and my thought was “I don’t have $10, I’ll have to fold”, which I did and wouldn’t you know it I had a hand that would have won. What did I do wrong? Well I should have asked because this betting situation is covered. Let me explain what I should have done and what would have happened.

First let me setup the game. Still in the game were my two opponents , Mike and Jeff. Mike had placed a bet of $10. In this situation I am only required to bet $5 as this is all the money I have left. I would be in a situation called “all in”. Being “all in” brings up a special betting in poker structure which is called a “side pot”. Playing online poker all this is taken care of for you.

What would happen is that $5 from Mike’s $10 would be placed in a side pot. Jeff has been doing better than me and can match Mike’s $10 bet. Jeff’s $10 bet would go into the side pot. Let us at this point assume the betting is over for simplicity’s sake. If I have the best hand then I would win the main pot. The side pot would be won by the next best hand. The next best hand would be between Mike and Jeff as they are the only ones with money in the side pot. If Jeff or Mike had the best hand they would have won both the main and side pots. If there was only Mike and I left in the game, then Mike’s bet would have only been $5 and the round of betting in poker would end.

You will see the above situation mostly in No Limit and Pot Limit games. This is due to the fact that the betting in poker games that have no limit or pot limits can become quite large.

Betting in poker games that have a limit (Limit games) is different when compaired to No Limit or Pot Limit games. The amount that a bet can be has been set at the start of the game. A $2/$5 game would mean that bets are set at $2 for the early rounds and $5 for the later rounds.

In No limit games your maximum bet can be the number of chips in front of you. So if you have a $100 worth of chips you can bet $100.

Pot Limit games allow you to place a bet up to the value of the chips in the pot. This means as the game goes on the maximum bet allowed will increase.

ad I known about side pots or at least asked a question about betting in poker, I could have won the main pot and lasted at least a few more hands. Knowing this, you won’t be caught in this situation where you will find yourself sitting around while your buddies continue to play. Remember in online gambling or in an online casino you don’t have to worry about side pots or the other playersnot knowing about side pots, the casino takes care of that for you.