Limit Hold'em

Objective

Win chips by making the best 5-card hand at showdown, or by forcing all other players to fold.

The Basics

Limit Hold'em follows the same community card structure as No-Limit Hold'em — two hole cards and five shared board cards — but all bets and raises are fixed to predetermined sizes depending on the street. Players may use both, one, or neither hole card.

Setup

Two blinds are posted before each hand: the player left of the dealer posts the small blind, the next posts the big blind. Each player is dealt 2 hole cards face down. The player left of the big blind acts first preflop.

Betting Rounds

1. Preflop — Hole cards dealt. Action starts left of the big blind. Small bet sizing applies.
2. Flop — Three community cards dealt face up. Action starts left of the dealer. Small bet sizing applies.
3. Turn — One community card added. Big bet sizing applies.
4. River — Final community card. Big bet sizing applies.

Bet Sizing

• Preflop and flop use the small bet (equal to the big blind).
• Turn and river use the big bet (2× the small bet).
• Raises are in fixed increments of the applicable bet size.
• Maximum of four bets per street (bet + three raises), unless heads-up.

Key Rules

• Players may use both, one, or neither hole card to make their best hand.
• The big blind has the option to raise preflop even if no other player raised.
• The cap of four bets per street is lifted when the hand is heads-up.

Common Mistakes

• The betting doubles on the turn — the big bet applies from the turn onward.
• The raise cap (four bets) applies in multi-way pots but not heads-up.
• The big blind retains the option to raise preflop even facing only calls.

At the Table

Two hole cards, five community cards. Any combination of the seven cards may be used to make the best 5-card hand.