Variations of Texas Holdem
Being the most popular poker game and all, it’s not surprising that many Texas Holdem variations have sprung up over the years. Once you learn the basic rules of Texas Holdem poker, there’s a whole world of games you can experience. No limit Texas Holdem tournaments get all the limelight but there are also several other very popular variations.
When the term “Texas Holdem” is used, it doesn’t describe a single poker variation. It describes a group of games that may have similarities but are by no means the same game. The games listed below are the most popular Texas Holdem variations.
Poker Tournaments
Poker tournaments have become extremely popular in recent years since ESPN and the Travel Channel decided to air poker tournaments. These broadcasts show the players’ hole cards so the viewers can watch all the action right before their eyes. In addition to that, online poker sites now offer satellite tournaments that can send players to those big televised tournaments at a fraction of the cost.
Professional tournament players can make very good money but it’s not a career for the timid of heart. Weeks and months can pass between big wins for even the best of players. Those who stick with it, however, are handsomely rewarded. A single win in a major Texas Holdem tournament can be worth more than an entire year of normal salary work.
Cash Games
Cash games are also popular among poker enthusiasts. In cash games, a player can come and go as he pleases. Unlike tournaments, cash games use chips that have real cash values. There are no places or prizes in cash games; the only goal is to make as much money as possible while at the table.
Many poker professionals actually prefer cash games over tournaments because the income from cash games is more predictable. Instead of the occasional big win like in tournaments, cash games provide for a more steady stream of smaller wins. But don’t let the word “smaller” fool you. Some of the top cash game players take home millions of dollars a year.
Both Texas Holdem tournaments and cash games can be played in any one of three formats:
Fixed Limit
In this format, all bets and raises are restricted to a certain size. For example, a $5/$10 fixed-limit would feature $5 bets during the first two betting rounds and $10 bets during the second two betting rounds.
The blinds in fixed limit games are set up so that the small blind is equal to half a small bet and the big blind is equal to one big bet. So in a $5/$10 limit game, the blinds would be $2.50 and $5.00.
No Limit
As the name suggests, there is no limit to the size of the bets. The blinds determine the minimum bet, but after that there are no restrictions. For example, a $5/$10 no limit game would allow players to bet any amount starting at $10. Most players buy in for 100 big blinds into no-limit games. In the same game mentioned above, the average buyin would be $1,000.
The blinds in no-limit Texas Holdem are equal to the stakes listed. The blinds in a $5/$10 no limit game are $5 and $10. That sometimes confuses players because the blinds in fixed limit games are not equal to the stakes (see above).
Pot Limit
Pot limit is closely related to no-limit and isn’t played very often. In pot limit, the size of each bet is limited to the current size of the pot. The maximum allowed bet tends to get larger as the hand progresses through each betting round.
Pot limit isn’t as popular as the other two formats because it’s not significantly different than no-limit. If two players want to get it all-in in a pot limit game, they can easily do so by simply raising and re-raising each other. The one thing pot limit games prevent is players making large bets into small pots.