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Poker betting happens in turn i.e. in a clockwise direction. If you are neither of the blinds, when it is your turn to act you will have the option to fold, check or raise. If you are not “opening the pot” (the first voluntary bettor) then you have the option to call as well.
The blinds and the ante are forced bets that create an initial stake for the players to contest.
The ante is the equal amount of chips put into the pot by each player before each betting round. The blind is forwarded by one or more players, typically the 2 players to the left of the dealer button, the small blind and the big blind respectively.
Folding means you muck your hand and forfeit your stake at the pot.
Checking is basically a pass, it can only be made on an unopened betting round; it indicates an ongoing interest in the pot and reserves your right to raise or call in later rounds.
Calling means you match the current bet or raise in the pot. A betting round ends only when all players have an equal stake in the pot or when a bet or raise goes uncalled; in which case the player who made the bet or raise takes the pot.
Raising is to literally raise the size of the bet required to stay in the game. All subsequent players are then required to bet equal to this new amount which can be re-raised by anyone within the same betting round. General poker rules state that a raise should be equivalent to the previous bet or raise, unless the amount you’re raising by is your total stack, in which case the raise is whatever you have on the table.
The number of raises in a single betting round in usually capped by a house rule of some sort; it’s usually 3 or 4 raises while pot-limit and no-limit games have uncapped raising.
Capped raising normally falls away anyway when only 2 people are left at a table.
There are 4 common forms of betting limits; no limit, pot limit, fixed limit and spread limit, these limits apply to the amounts that players may open or raise.
No limit is exactly that, a player may raise to any amount, at any time.
Pot Limit restricts the betting to amounts equal in size to the current pot before the raise is proposed.
Fixed Limit refers to the standardized amount that is wagered as a bet throughout the round, the players can only choose to either bet or not.
Spread Limit is probably the most reasonable compromise between structured and no limit play; players are allowed to raise to amounts within a specified range.
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