The Pack
The standard 52 card pack is used.
Poker Hands
Five of a Kind - This is the
highest possible hand and 🏧 can occur only where at least one card is wild, such as a
joker. Examples of five of a kind 🏧 would be four 10s and a wild card or two queens and
three wild cards.
Straight Flush - This is the 🏧 highest possible hand when only the
standard pack is used, and there are no wild cards. A straight flush consists 🏧 of five
cards of the same suit in sequence, such as 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 of hearts.
Four of a 🏧 Kind -
This is the next highest hand. An example is four aces or four 3s.
Full House - This
colorful 🏧 hand is made up of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, such
as three 8s 🏧 and two 4s.
Flush - Five cards all of the same suit, but not all in
sequence, is a flush. An 🏧 example is Q, 10, 7, 6, and 2 of clubs.
Straight - Five cards
in sequence, but not all of the 🏧 same suit is a straight. An example is 9♥, 8♣, 7♠, 6♦,
5♥.
Three of a Kind - This combination contains 🏧 three cards of the same rank, and the
other two cards each of a different rank, such as three jacks, 🏧 a seven, and a four.
Two
Pairs - This hand contains a pair of one rank and another pair of a 🏧 different rank,
plus any fifth card of a different rank, such as Q, Q, 7, 7, 4.
One Pair - This
🏧 frequent combination contains just one pair with the other three cards being of
different rank. An example is 10, 10, 🏧 K, 4, 3.
No Pair - This very common hand contains
"nothing." None of the five cards pair up, nor are 🏧 all five cards of the same suit or
consecutive in rank. When more than one player has no pair, the 🏧 hands are rated by the
highest card each hand contains, so that an ace-high hand beats a king-high hand, and
🏧 so on.
Object of the Game
Before and after each card(s) is revealed, players take turns
to bet. To stay in the 🏧 hand and see the next card, all players must have put the same
amount of chips in the pot as 🏧 each other.
The best poker hand wins the pot.
The
Deal
Every player is dealt two cards, for their eyes only.
The dealer spreads 🏧 five
cards - three at once, then another, then another - which can be used by all players to
make 🏧 their best possible five-card hand.
The Play
In Hold'em, each player is dealt two
private cards (known as ‘hole cards’) that belong 🏧 to them alone. Five community cards
are dealt face-up, to form the ‘board’. All players in the game use these 🏧 shared
community cards in conjunction with their own hole cards to each make their best
possible five-card poker hand. In 🏧 Hold'em, a player may use any combination of the
seven cards available to make the best possible five-card poker hand, 🏧 using zero, one
or two of their private hole cards.
The Blinds
In Hold'em, a marker called ‘the button’
or ‘the dealer 🏧 button’ indicates which player is the dealer for the current game.
Before the game begins, the player immediately clockwise from 🏧 the button posts the
"small blind", the first forced bet. The player immediately clockwise from the small
blind posts the 🏧 "big blind", which is typically twice the size of the small blind, but
the blinds can vary depending on the 🏧 stakes and betting structure being played.
In
Limit games, the big blind is the same as the small bet, and the 🏧 small blind is
typically half the size of the big blind but may be larger depending on the stakes. For
🏧 example, in aR$2/$4 Limit game the small blind isR$1 and the big blind isR$2. In
aR$15/$30 Limit game, the small 🏧 blind isR$10 and the big blind isR$15.
In Pot Limit and
No Limit games, the games are referred to by the 🏧 size of their blinds (for example,
aR$1/$2 Hold’em game has a small blind ofR$1 and a big blind ofR$2).
Depending on 🏧 the
exact structure of the game, each player may also be required to post an ‘ante’
(another type of forced 🏧 bet, usually smaller than either blind, posted by all players
at the table) into the pot.
Now, each player receives his 🏧 or her two hole cards.
Betting action proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player ‘under the
gun’ (immediately 🏧 clockwise from the big blind).
Player Betting Options
In Hold'em, as
with other forms of poker, the available actions are ‘fold’, ‘check’, 🏧 ‘bet’, ‘call’ or
‘raise’. Exactly which options are available depends on the action taken by the
previous players. If nobody 🏧 has yet made a bet, then a player may either check (decline
to bet, but keep their cards) or bet. 🏧 If a player has bet, then subsequent players can
fold, call or raise. To call is to match the amount 🏧 the previous player has bet. To
raise is to not only match the previous bet, but to also increase it.
Pre-Flop
After
🏧 seeing his or her hole cards, each player now has the option to play his or her hand by
calling 🏧 or raising the big blind. The action begins to the left of the big blind, which
is considered a ‘live’ 🏧 bet on this round. That player has the option to fold, call or
raise. For example, if the big blind 🏧 wasR$2, it would costR$2 to call, or at leastR$4
to raise. Action then proceeds clockwise around the table.
Betting continues on 🏧 each
betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in
the pot.
The Flop
Now, three 🏧 cards are dealt face-up on the board. This is known as
‘the flop’. In Hold'em, the three cards on the 🏧 flop are community cards, available to
all players still in the hand. Betting on the flop begins with the active 🏧 player
immediately clockwise from the button. The betting options are similar to pre-flop,
however if nobody has previously bet, players 🏧 may opt to check, passing the action to
the next active player clockwise.
The Turn
When the betting action is completed for 🏧 the
flop round, the ‘turn’ is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community
card in Hold'em 🏧 (and is sometimes also called ‘Fourth Street’). Another round of
betting ensues, beginning with the active player immediately clockwise from 🏧 the
button.
The River
When betting action is completed for the turn round, the ‘river’ or
‘Fifth Street’ is dealt face-up on 🏧 the board. The river is the fifth and final
community card in a Hold'em game. Betting again begins with the 🏧 active player
immediately clockwise from the button, and the same betting rules apply as they do for
the flop and 🏧 turn, as explained above.
The Showdown
If there is more than one remaining
player when the final betting round is complete, the 🏧 last person to bet or raise shows
their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round in which 🏧 case the player
immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards first. The player with the best
five-card poker hand 🏧 wins the pot. In the event of identical hands, the pot will be
equally divided between the players with the 🏧 best hands. Hold'em rules state that all
suits are equal.
After the pot is awarded, a new hand of Hold'em is 🏧 ready to be played.
The button now moves clockwise to the next player, blinds and antes are once again
posted, 🏧 and new hands are dealt to each player.
