Confused about betting in no limit holdem

[jacatone]

If the blinds are say $100.00 and 200.00 and a player raises to $500.00, what would the next player have to bet if he wanted to raise? Would it be the $500.00 plus the difference of $300.00? Thanks.

[HalfSugar]

Correct

[jacatone]

What about minimum raises. Again, if the blinds are $100 and $200, can someone raise to $300.00 or does it have to be in increments of the big blind to $400.00?

[HalfSugar]

The opening increment has to be a big blind but players are not restricted to betting multiples of the big blind so the open here could be a minimum of $400 but then any other number, eg 401, 402, 425 etc

[golddog]

Unless, of course, you're playing limit poker, in which the bet sizes are pre-defined, or spread limit, in which there's a range of acceptable bets.

For an example of the second, in Colorado our laws state that no one can wager more than $100 at a time. So, the biggest game you can find is usually (I kid you not) a $1-2 blind with a $2-100 spread.