I don’t understand how the betting works in Texas Hold 'Em.
I’m the dealer. The competitors are, clockwise from the dealer’s (my) left, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John & Yoshihiro. $100 & 200 blinds.
OK, so Matthew antes $100, and Mark antes $200. If Luke has a good hand and wants to play, does he have to cough up $200? If he has a really good hand and wants to raise it by $500, then does that mean that he & John have to pay $700? And when the betting gets back around to Matthew, does he have to pay the difference between his blind and the raise?
Yes. I think you understand perfectly. At the end of each round, everyone still in the pot has to have the same amount bet.
This is true in no-limit hold’em. In limit hold’em, the betting amounts are fixed, so if he wanted to raise, he could only raise $200.
The fixed amount is usually the size of the big blind in the first two betting rounds (preflop and flop), and twice that in the last two (turn and river). So in this game, a bet or raise would be $200 in the first two rounds and $400 in the last two rounds. You decide only whether to bet or raise, not how much.
Puggy Pearson said, “Limit poker is a science. No limit poker is an art.”
True to some extent, although both are a blend of both science and art. It’s just that manipulating people and reading them is much more important in No Limit. The ability to go “All In” gives many people pause when deciding whether or not to call a bluff.
Mind you it should be noted that the small blind and big blind are not referred to as antes. Some NL tournaments feature antes, paid by every player, in addition to the blinds particularly in later stages of tournaments.