Most fixed limit games are played with a four bet maximum. This means that in a given betting round, there can be no more than three raises, meaning that on the betting round, only four bets of the given limit have been made.

Consider this example in a $20/$40 game, during a $20 round with three players that proceeds as follows:

• Player A bets $20.
• Player B puts in another bet, raises another $20, making it $40 to play.
• Player C puts in a third bet, raising another $20 on that, thus making it $60 to play.
• Player A puts in the fourth bet (she is usually said to cap the betting).

Once Player A has made her final bet, Players B and C may only call another three and two bets (respectively); they may not raise again because the betting is capped.

A common exception in this rule practiced in some card rooms is to allow unlimited raising when a pot is played heads up (when only two players remain). Usually, this has occurred because all other players have folded, and only two remain. Many card rooms will permit these two players to re-raise each other until one player is all in.

Some variations do exist for this exception. For example, some card rooms require that the pot became heads up before the third bet has entered the pot on that betting round. It is widely believed that this variation exists to prevent two colluding players from raising a third player out of the pot.

This exception to the four bet maximum has been observed in nearly all card rooms in the USA. It has never been observed in Internet card rooms.

In some card rooms, there is a five bet maximum instead of four.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.