Table Stakes

In poker, table stakes limits the amount a player can win or lose in the play of a single hand. A player may bet no more money than he had on the table at the beginning of that hand and consequently cannot go back to his pocket for more money once a hand is dealt. In between hands however, a player is free to rebuy or addon so long as his entire stack after the rebuy or addon does not exceed the maximum buy-in.

This rule generally applies to cash or ring games of poker rather than tournament games and is intended to level the stakes by creating a maximum and minimum buy-in as well as rules for adding and removing chips from play when playing with cash. A player also may not take a portion of his money off the table, unless he (or she) leaves the game and takes his entire stack out of play. Common among inexperienced players is the act of "going south" after winning a big pot, which is to take a portion of your stack out of play often as an attempt to hedge one's risk after a win.

Table stakes is the rule in most cash poker games because it allows players with vastly different bankrolls a reasonable amount of protection when playing with one another. Contrary to classic Hollywood poker movie scenes, money taken from the wallet during a hand does not play under table stakes.