Spread Limit Online Poker
In stark contrast to other types of limits, spread limit online poker sites are actually quite rare and most spread limit play takes place at home games or at live casino special events. Spread limit online poker sites offer games where both a minimum and maximum bet are established before the game begins. Players are allowed to place a bet for the minimum, maximum and any amount between the two when they make a betting decision.
Best Poker Sites For Spread Limit Players
One of the reasons that spread limit is not as popular with online poker players is that the game actually functions much like either no limit or fixed limit. A variation on spread limit, called California Spread, often features an upper limit so high that play is indistinguishable from no limit online poker.
Poker sites more likely to offer spread limit poker games are those that specialize in fixed limit and pot limit games.
Where To Play Spread Limit Games
The best spread limit online poker sites focus on offering a variety of minimum and maximum betting limits in order to give poker players plenty of options when choosing a game. There is generally no standard for the limits used in spread limit poker. While one game might have limits of $2.00 to $12.00, another game could have limits from $1.00 to $1,000.00.
When the best spread limit online poker sites do feature spread limit poker games, they are usually played in specialty or holiday tournaments rather than ring games. Therefore, it is important that your chosen site have a large selection of special tournaments to keep the site's player base interested. If you are able to find ring games with spread limit betting rules, they will be few and far between.
Spread Limit Format Betting Rules
One important thing to remember when playing at spread limit poker sites is that the minimum bet can quickly become irrelevant while the maximum bet is always enforced. For example, you make a bet at the beginning of a hand for the minimum bet of $2.00. The player beside you calls your bet and raises it to $6.00. The new minimum bet to stay in the hand is $4.00. In any other situation, a minimum bet would imply that you were only bound to make that bet to stay in a hand. However, no player may make a bet that is higher than the maximum bet at any time. This is not to say that the action cannot result in a cumulative total of more than the maximum bet.
With spread limit online poker sites, the minimum bet would come back into play during the next betting round. In other words, a previous betting round where the minimum was eclipsed by a bet or raise would not adjust the minimum bet to a new level.
Most spread limit online poker sites will establish minimum and maximum bets that are not as far into the extremes as varieties like California Spread. More often than not, spread betting poker games use limits within $10.00 to $20.00 of each other. As with any other open limit game (like pot limit), it is important that players avoid making obvious bets too often. For example, some players will make bets closer to the minimum bet when their hand is weak but make bets near the maximum when their cards are strong.
