# Help Me Understand Texas Hold 'Em Poker **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 29, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-texas-hold-em-poker/252661 "2004-06-29T03:24:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-texas-hold-em-poker/252661/1 "2004-06-29T03:24:03Z")
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? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-texas-hold-em-poker/252661/2 "2004-06-29T03:48:26Z")
Yes. I think you understand perfectly. At the end of each round, everyone still in the pot has to have the same amount bet. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-texas-hold-em-poker/252661/3 "2004-06-29T04:03:24Z")
> [@](#): > > 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? 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. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-texas-hold-em-poker/252661/4 "2004-06-29T09:51:59Z")
Puggy Pearson said, “Limit poker is a science. No limit poker is an art.” ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-texas-hold-em-poker/252661/5 "2004-06-29T10:59:07Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-texas-hold-em-poker/252661/6 "2004-06-29T11:14:48Z")
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.