Limit and No Limit Texas Hold’em

For beginners, it is important to understand the differences in Limit and No Limit Hold’em. Depending on the version you are playing, the betting rules are completely different. In the Limit version of Hold’em it’s exactly the way it sounds. This players only bet a pre-determined amount. Limit depends on the size of the big blind and how the first round of betting actually begins. On the first round pre-flop no player can raise more than the value of the big blind. After the flop, players can again only play to the limit of what is in the pot. The same rule applies when it comes to Fourth Street and the river card.

Overall limit Hold’em is much more restrained than the No Limit version.  No limit is not for the faint of heart and for that reason many players off and online prefer the limit version.

No Limit Hold’em simply means that a player doesn't have to respect what is in the pot. Players can then bet whatever the amount of chips they want. In a real money game, players cannot buy any more chips or pull cash out of their pockets. They also are not allowed to borrow from friends unless there is a certain set of rules previously agreed among all the players.

Players can only bet with what they have.  In a tournament, where players are playing with "chips" this rule especially applies. No limit Hold’em is a completely different world of ordinary poker, the basic rules are the same, but the way the betting is organized is completely different. Beginners will see that in some tournaments, players who find themselves short stacked will take some often stupid risks to stay in the game. This includes the ever risky of going “all-in”. 
For a player who calls an “all in” against bets it is then that this situation creates a side bet. If the "all in" player wins the hand they can only win the equivalent of the chips in their stack. On the other hand, if another player wins the call they win all the chips in the "all in" caller's stack as well as any other chips on the table.