The Minimum Raise Rule in No-Limit Hold'em

In No-Limit Hold’em you can bet anything up to your whole stack — but there’s a floor. Here’s how the minimum works.

The rule

A raise must be at least as big as the last bet or raise in that betting round.

The minimum opening bet on every street is one big blind.

Examples at 1/2 blinds

• Preflop open: the big blind is 2, so the minimum raise is to 4 (a raise of 2).
• Re-raise: someone raises to 6 (a raise of 4 over the 2). The next minimum raise is to 10 (6 + 4).
• Postflop: a player bets 10. The minimum raise is to 20. If someone raises to 35 (a raise of 25), the next minimum is to 60.

The key is to measure the size of the raise, not the total.

Short all-ins

A player can always go all-in, even for less than a minimum raise. What changes is whether it reopens the betting.

Example: Ana bets 100. Ben calls. Cal goes all-in for 140 — a raise of only 40, less than a full raise of 100.

• Players who haven’t acted yet can call, fold or raise as normal.
• Players who already acted (Ana and Ben) can only call the extra 40 or fold. They can’t re-raise, because Cal’s all-in wasn’t a full raise.

Rules vary slightly between card rooms, especially with several short all-ins in a row — ask the dealer if unsure.

Two live-game traps

String bets. Putting some chips in, then reaching back for more, is a string bet and only counts as a call. Announce “raise” first, or put the whole amount out in one motion.

The oversized chip. Throwing out a single chip bigger than the bet without saying anything counts as a call, not a raise. Say “raise” before the chip lands.

Get the rest of the betting rules — including the big blind option — in Betting Rules: Minimum Raises, All-Ins and the Big Blind Option.

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