Fixed-limit Hold’em: count the bet, then the action
A 10/20 limit game can have 5/10 blinds, a 10-chip flop bet and a 20-chip turn bet. Confusing those three amounts is an expensive way to learn the format. Start with the street, identify its betting unit, then subtract what you have already put into that street.
This is a betting-round lesson. You will rebuild a complete hand, count the raises that reach a cap and practice twelve decisions with Nia and the HPD spade. The examples use imaginary chips. They teach legal amounts and bookkeeping, not which hands you should bet for real money.
Read the two numbers correctly
PokerStars’ published Limit Hold’em profile uses the small bet before the flop and on the flop, then the big bet on the turn and river. The big blind equals the small bet. Its 2/4 example has 1/2 blinds; its 15/30 example has 10/15 blinds, so the small blind is not always exactly half the big blind. The same page describes four bet levels: an opening bet and three raises. These are the documented profile and examples used here; do not assume every room has the same cap.
| Fixed-limit label | Small blind / big blind | Pre-flop and flop unit | Turn and river unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/4 | 1 / 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 10/20 teaching setup | 5 / 10 | 10 | 20 |
| 15/30 | 10 / 15 | 15 | 30 |
Read 10/20 as small bet 10, big bet 20 in this lesson. We write the blinds separately as 5/10. A bare number pair without the game name is easy to misread. Put both fields in a hand record, especially when you study limit and no-limit hands in the same notebook.
For a full raise, the current street’s unit is the amount added above the existing wager. If a flop wager is 20 and the unit is 10, the next full raise makes the total 30. If a turn wager is 40 and the unit is 20, the next full raise makes the total 60, provided another raise is allowed.
| Street at 10/20 | Full opening bet | First full raise total | Next full raise total | Fourth bet total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flop | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 |
| Turn | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 |
| River | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 |
The pre-flop row needs its own wording because the live big blind has already established the first wager. With a 10-chip big blind, the first voluntary full raise is to 20. There is no new 10-chip opening bet to add on top of the blind.
Keep three amounts in the ledger
A useful hand record keeps the current street target, your existing street contribution and the chips you must add. That is enough to catch most counting errors. Pot size belongs in another column.
| Quantity | Example on the flop | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Current total to match | 30 | Every non-all-in caller must reach 30 for this street |
| Your existing contribution | 10 | Chips already counted toward that total |
| Additional call | 30 − 10 = 20 | New chips needed now |
| Raise increment | 10 | Extra amount above the current target |
| Raise-to total | 30 + 10 = 40 | New target after the final allowed raise |
| Additional chips for that raise | 40 − 10 = 30 | What you must move after crediting your earlier 10 |
A raise to 40 and a raise by 40 describe different things. In the last row, the raise increment is 10; the player adds 30 because 20 of those chips first match the outstanding wager. Saying only ‘raise 30’ while pointing at chips leaves too much room for confusion. In a live game, make the intended action and total clear before moving chips, and let the dealer resolve an unclear amount.
Work through the blind credit
Take a fresh 10/20 hand with blinds 5/10. You are the small blind. By the time action reaches you, a player has raised to 20 and another has raised to 30. You have already posted 5, so a full call costs 25 more. A legal raise to the fourth level, 40, would cost you 35 more, assuming your right to raise is open and you have enough chips.
The big blind starts from 10 instead. Against the same 30 target, that player needs 20 more to call. Against 40, the player needs 30 more. Once the next street starts, those blind credits are gone from the street ledger: the chips remain in the pot, but nobody has prepaid the flop.
Check the blind arithmetic before moving on
Small blind calls 30: 5 already posted + 25 added = 30. Small blind raises to 40: 5 + 35 = 40.
Big blind calls 30: 10 + 20 = 30. Big blind calls 40: 10 + 30 = 40. A player with no chips committed pre-flop must add the full target.
The turn changes the unit and clears the street ledger
Suppose the flop reached 40 per player under our four-bet profile. The dealer then puts out the turn. The next full opening bet is 20, not 40 and not 80. The street starts at zero for each player, and its unit is now the big bet.
Nora checks, Eli bets 20 and Tessa raises to 40. Nora has committed nothing this street, so calling costs her 40. Eli already has 20 in, so his eventual call would cost 20. Their final turn contributions can match even though their last physical chip movements differ.
That reset works in both directions. A checked-through flop adds no chips, yet the turn still uses 20. A heavily raised flop does not make the turn unit larger than 20. The pot may be big or small; the selected betting structure fixes the unit.
Try a turn reset without looking at the table
You paid 30 on the flop and have 70 behind. On the turn Nora bets 20. Your full call is 20, leaving 50 behind. The earlier 30 cannot be used as credit for the new wager.
If you instead make a permitted full raise to 40, you add 40 and have 30 behind. This calculation says what the action costs. It does not say the raise is a good decision.
Count bet levels, not chip movements
Our practice profile allows four full levels in a round. On the flop they are 10, 20, 30 and 40. An opening bet takes the first level. Each full raise moves up one level. Calls can make the pot larger without moving the wager up at all.
| Action in a fresh flop exercise | Current total to match | Bet level | Chips added by this player |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nora bets 10 | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Eli raises to 20 | 20 | 2 | 20 |
| Tessa raises to 30 | 30 | 3 | 30 |
| Nora raises to 40 | 40 | 4, capped | 30 more; she already had 10 in |
| Eli calls | 40 | Still 4 | 20 more |
| Tessa calls | 40 | Still 4 | 10 more |
Each player ends with 40 committed on the flop, making 120 in new contributions. There were six chip-moving actions, four bet levels and three raises. Those are three different counts. If you count every call as a raise, the cap arrives too early. If you allow four raises after the opening bet, it arrives too late.
When the wager is capped at 40, a player who has contributed 20 may call another 20 or fold. A player cannot check away an outstanding amount. The cap prevents another full increase; it does not waive the amount needed to call.
A round also does not end simply because the last raise is unavailable. Everyone still entitled to act must respond. In the table above, Nora’s cap is followed by Eli’s and Tessa’s calls. Stop recording the round only after the remaining action is complete.
Heads-up is a rule check, not an automatic override
PokerStars’ tournament rule 1.6 separately specifies an opening bet plus three raises in its fixed-limit tournaments. A cash-table rule, a tournament rule and a home-game agreement should not be swapped just because all three use the word limit. Before you play, find the stated cap and any heads-up exception for that exact game.
For a separate live-tournament comparison, the 2026 Poker TDA rules keep the house raise cap when a hand is heads-up but more than two players remain in the event. The final two players in the whole event are the exception in that tournament rule. This does not establish PokerStars’ cash-game policy. The trainer below keeps its stated four-bet cap throughout; it never silently switches rules when a scenario has two players.
Rebuild one complete hand
Here is a six-seat 10/20 teaching hand, blinds 5/10, with no ante, rake or all-in player. The cap is four full bet levels per street. Each player starts with enough chips. Seats run clockwise: Sam in the small blind, Bea in the big blind, Nora, Eli, Tessa and Jo on the button. Nora is first to act pre-flop. Sam and Bea fold before the flop, so Nora acts first on later streets.
| Player | Private cards for the teaching hand | Seat |
|---|---|---|
| Nora | A♥ Q♥ | First after the big blind |
| Eli | K♣ K♦ | Next after Nora |
| Tessa | J♠ 10♠ | Before the button |
| Jo | Not needed; folds pre-flop | Button |
| Sam | Not needed; folds pre-flop | Small blind, 5 posted |
| Bea | Not needed; folds pre-flop | Big blind, 10 posted |
Flop Q♠ 9♥ 3♣. Turn 4♦. River 2♠. The complete board is Q♠ 9♥ 3♣ 4♦ 2♠. These exact cards are written in HTML so you can check them independently of the artwork. The actions are a legal accounting exercise, not a recommended line for these hands.
Pre-flop: 105 in the pot
- Sam posts 5 and Bea posts 10. The opening pot is 15.
- Nora raises to 20, adding 20. Pot 35.
- Eli raises to 30, adding 30. Pot 65.
- Tessa calls 30. Pot 95.
- Jo folds, then Sam folds, then Bea folds. Their existing blinds remain in the pot.
- Nora calls 10 more, reaching 30 for the round. Pot 105. Eli and Tessa already match 30, so no further action is needed.
This is a three-level pre-flop round: 10, 20, 30. The first 10 was the big blind. Only Nora and Eli raised. Tessa’s 30-chip call moved more physical chips than Nora’s original raise, but it did not increase the wager.
Flop: a check-raise brings the pot to 165
- Nora checks. Pot remains 105.
- Eli bets 10. Pot 115.
- Tessa calls 10. Pot 125.
- Nora raises to 20, adding 20 because she had only checked. Pot 145.
- Eli calls 10 more. Pot 155.
- Tessa calls 10 more. Pot 165.
The flop added 20 from each of three players: 60. Nora’s check did not spend a bet level. Eli opened at level one; Nora’s raise reached level two. The sequence ends before the cap because everyone matches 20 and nobody raises again.
Turn: double the unit, then follow the fold
- Nora bets 20. Pot 185.
- Eli raises to 40, adding 40. Pot 225.
- Tessa folds without putting chips into this street. Pot remains 225.
- Nora calls 20 more. Pot 245.
The turn adds 40 from Nora and 40 from Eli. Tessa’s previous 50 stays in the pot, but her fold ends her claim to it. There is no refund just because she does not see the river. A fold is not the same accounting event as returning an unmatched bet.
River: close the ledger at 285
- Nora checks. Pot remains 245.
- Eli bets 20. Pot 265.
- Nora calls 20. Pot 285.
| Player | Pre-flop including blind | Flop | Turn | River | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nora | 30 | 20 | 40 | 20 | 110 |
| Eli | 30 | 20 | 40 | 20 | 110 |
| Tessa | 30 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
| Sam | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Bea | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Jo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pot | 105 | 60 | 80 | 40 | 285 |
At showdown Eli’s best five are K♣ K♦ Q♠ 9♥ 4♦, a pair of kings. Nora’s are Q♥ Q♠ A♥ 9♥ 4♦, a pair of queens. Eli receives the 285-chip pot. His net change is +175 after subtracting his own 110 contribution. Nora loses 110, Tessa 50, Sam 5 and Bea 10. Those changes sum to zero.
Audit the hand without replaying every action
Street audit: 105 + 60 + 80 + 40 = 285. Player audit: 110 + 110 + 50 + 5 + 10 = 285.
Net audit: 175 − 110 − 50 − 5 − 10 = 0. The gross pot award and the winner’s profit are different numbers.
Action audit: the pre-flop maximum reached 30, the flop 20, the turn 40 and the river 20. No street reached its four-bet cap. A large final pot does not prove a round was capped.
Short stacks: separate a short call from a short raise
You do not need a complicated reopening ruling to practice a short call. Use a fresh river with two remaining players, an earlier pot of 100 and no side pot. Nora bets 20. Eli has only 7 left and calls all-in. Only 7 of Nora’s new wager is matched, so 13 returns to her. The contested pot is 100 + 7 + 7 = 114.
Do not write 127 as the final pot and then award it all. That figure includes Nora’s unmatched 13. If you record all physical chip movements first, show a separate 13-chip return before calculating the award. The side-pot and uncalled-bet lesson covers the same distinction when several contribution layers exist.
| River record | Nora | Eli | Contested pot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earlier pot | Already recorded | Already recorded | 100 |
| New chips moved | 20 | 7 | Temporarily 127 on the table |
| Unmatched return | 13 back | 0 | 114 |
| New amount at risk in this river exchange | 7 | 7 | 100 + 14 = 114 |
A short raise is a different problem: the all-in total exceeds the current wager but by less than one full unit. To decide whether somebody may raise again, the rule set, the amount faced, that player’s earlier action and the cap all matter. Do not import the no-limit full-raise test without checking the limit rule.
Separate TDA example: test only whether action reopens
Under the 2026 Poker TDA limit rule, a player who already acted needs an increase of at least half a full bet or raise for action to reopen. Suppose the unit is 20, Nora bets 20, Eli calls and Tessa is all-in for 29 total. Nora faces 9 extra, below the 10 threshold. Change Tessa’s total to 30 and the increase reaches that threshold.
This compares reopening only. It does not establish the next raise-to amount or override a cap. It is a TDA tournament example, not a stated PokerStars cash rule. Ask the dealer to apply the actual rule set before acting.
The minimum-raise and reopening lesson is useful for comparing the no-limit calculation. Keep its betting structure visible in your notes; copying an answer while dropping the game label can change the ruling.
A cap limits a round, not the whole session
Run a deliberately extreme paper exercise under the selected four-bet profile. One player fully matches every capped street at 10/20. Pre-flop contributes 40, flop 40, turn 80 and river 80. The total is 240, including any live blind as part of the pre-flop 40. There is no ante, incomplete all-in, returned wager or rule exception in this exercise.
| Street | Unit | Four-level contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-flop | 10 | 40 |
| Flop | 10 | 40 |
| Turn | 20 | 80 |
| River | 20 | 80 |
| Hand total | 240 |
That player has committed twelve big bets of 20, or twenty-four small bets of 10. If a study note just says ’12 BB’, ask whether BB means big bets or big blinds. Here twelve big bets are 240, while twelve big blinds of 10 would be 120. Spell the unit out when you record a result.
The 240 is an arithmetic result for one tightly specified hand. It is not a buy-in recommendation, a prediction of how a typical hand plays or a ceiling on losses over repeated hands. A later hand starts a new set of betting rounds. A different cap or a heads-up exception would also change this calculation.
Street, cap and action trainer
Work through the twelve decisions before opening the answer key. You can change an answer and check it again. A score records this rehearsal only; the page makes no network requests or saved progress records. Use it away from active play and follow the room’s rules on study aids.
Twelve decisions about the next legal amount or action. Select an answer, then check it. Use the question picker or Previous and Next. All cases use imaginary chips; the main profile keeps a maximum of four full bet levels per street. No incomplete raises are simulated.
Open the trainer answer key
1. 10. The flop uses the 10-chip small bet. The 5 is a blind post; the 20-chip big bet starts on the turn. Your 300-chip stack does not change this full-bet size.
2. 40. Eli matches Nora's 20 and adds one 20-chip big bet: 40 total. This is the second bet level of the turn, not a 40-chip raise increment.
3. 25. The target is 30 and your live blind already contributes 5: 30 − 5 = 25 more. Do not add the blind a second time.
4. 40. The four levels are 10, 20, 30 and 40. The opening bet plus three raises reaches 40. Four raises would incorrectly add a fifth level.
5. Call 20 more or fold. Matching the capped total costs 40 − 20 = 20 more. You cannot check while behind the wager, and this profile permits no fifth full bet.
6. Three. The 10-chip live big blind is the first pre-flop bet level. The increases to 20, 30 and 40 are three raises. No extra opening bet belongs in this count.
7. One. The current wager is still 10. The two calls add chips to the pot but do not create new bet levels. This round ends once every remaining player has answered the action.
8. 20. The 40 belongs to the completed flop round. Your turn contribution starts at zero, so matching Nora's new 20-chip wager costs 20.
9. 30. The river uses the 30-chip big bet. The two blind posts are 10 and 15; neither is the river betting unit.
10. 13. Only 7 can be matched: 20 − 7 = 13 returns to Nora. The pot becomes 100 + 7 + 7 = 114. This is a short call with no reopening question.
11. 285. A check adds zero. Eli and Nora add 20 each: 245 + 20 + 20 = 285. That equals the five players' complete contribution ledger.
12. 240. The four street totals are 40, 40, 80 and 80: 240. A blind is included in the pre-flop 40. This is one specified hand, not a session-loss limit.
If JavaScript is unavailable, all twelve questions remain visible and the answer key still opens. The interactive checking buttons stay hidden. Use the labels to mark choices or work on paper. Reset clears only this trainer's answers; it does not change anything at a poker room.
A short recording routine for your next study hand
- Write the game and the full small-bet/big-bet pair, then the blind posts separately.
- Start a fresh contribution column on each street. Mark the turn's larger unit before recording its first wager.
- After each action, record the target, the acting player's total and the chips added. Count only increases toward the cap.
- When the round ends, add the player contributions and compare the result with your running pot.
- If an all-in appears, pause the ordinary full-bet model. Separate eligibility, unmatched returns and any reopening decision.
- Write the applicable room or event rule beside a cap or heads-up exception. Keep an unresolved ruling unresolved until you have the rule.
For mixed-game practice, the H.O.R.S.E. lesson changes the card game around the fixed-limit structure. Here the card game stays Hold'em while you track the size and status of each wager. Repeat the worked hand until both the street totals and player totals reach 285 without borrowing credit from an earlier street.