a round of betting...what exactly does that mean?

[sneakyimp]

hi...been reading "Robert's Rules" trying to understand exactly how a round of betting operates and have some questions. Robert's rules says:

[quote]The player with the button is last to receive cards on the initial deal and has the right of last action after the first betting round. The button moves clockwise after a deal ends to rotate the advantage of last action. One or more blind bets are usually used to stimulate action and initiate play. Blinds are posted before the players look at their cards. Blinds are part of a player’s bet, unless the structure of a game or the situation requires part or all of a particular blind to be “dead.â€Â

[Dave B]

preflop, betting starts to the left of big blind. After the flop, betting starts to the left of the button.

button moves when a hand is complete

no, you cannot reraise your initial bet

[Flesh2Flesh]

assuming a NO LIMIT game, here are my questions:
1) who is the first player to evaluate their cards and call,raise, or fold? i was under the impression it was the small blind but I've seen other rules to the effect that it's the person after the big blind. does this change after the flop or turn??

2) the button moves when a hand is complete, right? that is, when somebody has won the pot and the dealer is shuffling preparing for the next round of cards...?

3) if I raise and everyone calls me, can i raise again?

1. On the first round (preflop) it's the person after the big blind. On all other rounds (2-4) it's the person after the dealer button (small blind position).

2. Right

3. No, U can't because everybody called you. Bet's are equal around the table. Note that the big blind can raise if everybody calls him/her.

[sneakyimp]

thanks guys...


oh...what are dead chips??

[Dave B]

Dead chips are chips in the pot that are not part of the action. For example, you leave to take a dump and miss you blind. You post a big blind AND a small blind. The small blind is dead-meaning other players dont need to call both bets to see a flop.

[redd38]

I guess it means like if someone is sitting out they still post blinds but their chips are dead. Or maybe you have a penalty for talking about your cards and someone has to put chips in the pot for that, those chips are dead.

At least that's what I would think they're talking about... just chips that aren't part of a bet.

[sneakyimp]

thanks again...

so suppose this happens in the first round of betting

small blind - $5
big blind - $10
player 3 - calls (puts $10 in pot)
player 4 - calls (puts $10 in pot)
BUTTON/player 5 - calls (puts $10 in pot)

question 1
at this point, the small blind can:
call - must drop another $5 to seek the flop, correct?
fold - loses that first $5, right?
raise - needs to add $5 plus the amount of the raise

did i get that right?

question 2
assuming no limit, how big does the first raise in this hand have to be?

question 3
what if a player doesn't have the minimum raise amount...they can go 'all in', right?

question 4
assuming the small blind calls, can the big blind then raise? if so, how big does the raise have to be?

question 5
suppose 2 players go all in at different points...would you have two side pots?

[skel]

I think it would just be easier for you to actually see how it works online

Download pokerstars and play the play money tables and just play a few mintues and you will get it.

[sneakyimp]

would love to...but i'll get busted here at work.

[Nut Flush]

1) yes
2) The minimum raise in your situation is $10
3) yes, a side pot will be created
4) yes, in limit the raise would be the amount of the big blind, in no limit the minimum raise would be the amount of the big blind but can raise all your chips if you want
5) It depends, if nobody else calls, the player that had the most chips prior to going all in will get the difference refunded to him. For example, you go all in with $500, I go all in next with $750. If nobody else calls, I'll get $250 of my bet back so that it matches your all in. If sombody had called with $650, I'd get $100 back and there would be a $150 sidepot betweeen me and him that you couldn't win since you only bet $500.

[sneakyimp]

THANKS, nut flush. this is super helpful. i hope you folks will bear with me as a flesh this out:

1) assuming it's the first round of betting:

small blind - $5
big blind - $10
player 3 - calls (puts $10 in pot)
player 4 - calls (puts $10 in pot)
BUTTON/player 5 - calls (puts $10 in pot)
small blind: calls (puts in $5)
big blind: calls

no one else can raise, correct? the round is OVER and we get the flop, right?

2) on each subsequent round of betting, is the small blind always the first to act? or does it have anything to do with the last person to raise on the previous round?

3) is there ever a situation where the poorest player goes all in, a side pot is created, then another player goes all in and two other players create a second side pot?

sorry if i sound like an idiot here...i want to understand this thoroughly.

[wEbMaStEr]

1: correct, you now see a flop

2: It is always the player to left of the dealer button who acts 1st in each round of betting (1st player still in the hand on dealers left, whether they check or raise)

3: yes this can happen, as a player may only win whatever he puts into the pot from each player still in the hand, if player A has 500 player B has 1000 player C has 2000 and player D has 5000 if all players go all in on 1 hand then main pot would be 2000 (all that player A can win) side pot 1 would be 1500 (this and main pot are all player B can win) side pot 2 would be 2000 (this, side pot 1 and main pot are all player C can win) players D's remaining 3000 chips would be returned to him.
Each pot is then won by the best hand from the players involved in that pot

[AlicanteKid]

The only case where you can reraise your initial bet is on the first round of betting and if you're under the gun (left of the BB) and you do what is known as a live straddle. A live straddle is posting a blind that is 2xBB before the hole cards are dealt. In effect, you are raising the BB in the dark and if the bet is called, you have the option to raise your bet just like the BB normally does.