Rules applicable to all Poker Games
Poker Equipment
Originally Poker was played with a
standard 36 card Piquet deck of playing cards. 0️⃣ Most games these days are played with a
standard 52 card deck. The Ace ranks high except that it can 0️⃣ also be used low in a
"straight" or run of cards i.e. Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5. Some kind of 0️⃣ tokens to bet with are
required and conventionally these are round chips - sets of Poker chips are easily
obtainable 0️⃣ these days and vary from very cheap to extremely high quality sets of great
value. A dealer chip called a 0️⃣ "blind" is also usually used to indicate the current
dealer (or at Casino tables, to indicate who plays first).
Poker Objective
Poker 0️⃣ is
totally a gambling game and unlike some other gambling games cannot really be played
without stakes. The stakes do 0️⃣ not need to be money - peanuts, sweets or matchsticks
will work fine, although seasoned gamblers will sneer at anything 0️⃣ other than serious
stakes. The aim for a hand is to win by having the highest ranked hand of cards 0️⃣ or else
by continuing to bet that your hand is the highest until all the other players drop
out. The 0️⃣ player who is left when all the others have dropped out or the player who has
the highest ranked hand 0️⃣ when the hands are shown wins the "pot" - all the money that
has been bet during that hand. In 0️⃣ the event of a draw, the pot is divided equally
amongst players.
Poker Scoring Hands
There are nine ranking Poker hands. We 0️⃣ list them
below in ascending order: One Pair - 2 cards of the same value The hand with the higher
0️⃣ value pair wins. If they are the same, then the highest value card in the remaining 3
cards determines who 0️⃣ wins. If they are also the same, the highest value card in the
remaining 2 cards determines who wins and 0️⃣ so on.
Two Pairs - 2 different value pairs
The hand with the highest value pair wins. If they are the 0️⃣ same, then the value of the
second pair determines who wins. If they are also the same, then the value 0️⃣ of the
remaining card determines who wins.
Three of a kind - 3 cards of the same value The
hand with 0️⃣ the higher matching 3 cards wins.
The Straight - A run of 5 cards, regardless
of suit The Straight that starts 0️⃣ with the highest value card wins.
The Flush - 5 cards
of the same suit The hand with the highest value 0️⃣ card wins or if the highest cards are
the same, the value of the second highest cards determines the winner 0️⃣ and so on.
The
Full House - 3 cards of the same value and 2 cards of the same different value 0️⃣ The hand
with the higher matching 3 cards wins.
Four of a kind - 4 cards of the same value The
0️⃣ hand with the higher matching 4 cards wins.
The Straight Flush - A run of 5 cards of
the same suit 0️⃣ The Straight Flush that starts with the highest value card wins.
The
Royal Flush A run of 5 cards of the 0️⃣ same suit starting with a ten
If a hand contains
none of the ranking combinations above, then the highest card gives 0️⃣ the value of the
hand. E.g. "Ace High".
General Poker Rules
The dealer changes to the left each hand.
The person to 0️⃣ the right of the dealer cuts the cards after they are shuffled. Ideally
Poker is played with 5, 6 or 0️⃣ 7 players. Bets are placed in front of the player. If at
any point during the betting phases, all but 0️⃣ one player "fold" and drop out, then that
player is the winner of the round and takes the pot/all bets. 0️⃣ Crucially, in this case,
the winning player's hand is not revealed so that the other players do not know if 0️⃣ the
player was bluffing or not.
Poker Stakes
The stakes played for in any Poker game are
agreed at the beginning and 0️⃣ vary widely. The following rules do not give any guidelines
for the stakes but there are some common conventions regarding 0️⃣ raising the
stake.
General Poker Betting Limitation Strategies
In a completely theoretical game,
the stake might be doubled each time and usually 0️⃣ the house rules permit this for a
short number of raises. However, after the stake has doubled 3 or 4 0️⃣ times, it tends to
be so large that doubling it further means many of the players will be forced out 0️⃣ due
to a lack of funds rather than anything to do with their hand. So a historical way of
avoiding 0️⃣ this problem has been to say that after the stake has been raised 3 or 4
times, thereafter it is 0️⃣ only allowed to raise it by the amount it was previously raised
by. So for instance, the ante or first 0️⃣ blind forced bet might be 1 chip, the straddle
(or second blind or Big Blind) forced second bet is usually 0️⃣ double - in our example 2
chips. The first raise would then be 4 chips, the second raise 8 chips 0️⃣ but thereafter
each raise would be 8 chips.
Texas Hold'em Betting Limitation Strategies
There are a
multitude of other betting regimes and 0️⃣ limitations which can be confusing. To give some
topical examples, following are the 2 main betting rules from the currently 0️⃣ most
popular variety of Poker - Texas Hold'em: Limit Hold'em
Second forced bet (big blind)
must be double the first forced 0️⃣ bet (small blind).
Raises in the first two rounds of
betting must equal the big blind
Raises in the last 2 rounds 0️⃣ of betting must be double
the big blind
It must be the same or greater than the big blind
It must be 0️⃣ the same or
greater than the previous raise
It must be the same or less than the number of chips
the 0️⃣ player has already bet.
Basic Draw Poker
Preliminaries
No Limit Hold'em - Second
forced bet (big blind) must be double the first forced 0️⃣ bet (small blind). A Raise may
be of any amount limited by the following constraints:
The player to the dealer's left
0️⃣ bets a starting amount by putting down some chips. This is called "the Ante". The next
players puts down a 0️⃣ further initial bet - traditionally, double the ante. This is
called "the Straddle". The value of the stake traditionally starts 0️⃣ at 4 X the ante but
this may vary according to the house rules. Each player is dealt 5 cards.
First 0️⃣ Round
of Betting
The player to the left of the player who bet the Second Blind starts the
first round of 0️⃣ betting. Each player in succession can do one of 3 things:
"Fold" -
Throw in their cards and take no further 0️⃣ part in the hand
"Call" - Increase the bet in
front of them to match the level of the player who 0️⃣ last raised it.
"Raise" - in
addition to calling, a player may also raise the stake by adding more to the 0️⃣ bet in
front of him.
The Draw
After a player raises, if all the subsequent players either fold
or call but do 0️⃣ not raise the stake further, then no further raises may be made. At this
point, some of the players may 0️⃣ have dropped out and the remaining players will all have
the current value of the stake in front of them.
Each 0️⃣ player in turn, then requests to
discard 1, 2 or 3 cards in exchange for replacement cards from the deck, 0️⃣ if they wish -
the objective being to improve the rank of the hand.
Second Round of Betting
The
betting process then 0️⃣ restarts with the first player to the dealer's left who has not
yet folded. In the second round of betting, 0️⃣ until someone Raises, players may:
"Fold" -
Throw in their cards and take no further part in the hand
"Check" - Stay 0️⃣ in the game at
the current stake level
"Raise" - a player raises the stake by adding more to the bet
0️⃣ in front of him
The Showdown
If all players check, then play proceeds straight to the
Showdown. Otherwise, as soon as someone 0️⃣ raises the stake, subsequent players can only
Fold, Call or Raise. Betting ceases when, after a raise, all subsequent players 0️⃣ either
Call or Fold.
Once betting for the second round has ceased, if only one player remains
in the game, that 0️⃣ player wins the pot. The player's hand is not revealed to the other
players. This means that if the player 0️⃣ had been bluffing - pretending that his hand was
highly ranked when it was not, then no-one will be any 0️⃣ the wiser. Otherwise, all
players reveal their hands and the highest ranked hand wins the pot.
Basic Five-Card
Stud Poker
Preliminaries
All players 0️⃣ contribute an agreed starting stake to the pot.
Each player is one card face down (called the "hole" card) and 0️⃣ one card face up.
First
Round
The player with the lowest value card showing must starts the betting. If there
are two 0️⃣ or more players with the same value, whichever of these players closest to the
dealer's left starts. Each player in 0️⃣ succession can do one of 3 things:
"Fold" - Throw
in their cards and take no further part in the hand
"Call" 0️⃣ - Increase the bet in front
of them to match the level of the player who last raised it.
"Raise" - 0️⃣ in addition to
calling, a player may also raise the stake by adding more to the bet in front of
0️⃣ him.
Subsequent Rounds
After a player raises, if all the subsequent players either fold
or call but do not raise the stake 0️⃣ further, then no further raises may be made until
the next card is dealt.
Another card is then dealt face-up to 0️⃣ each player. The betting
process then restarts with the first player to the dealer's left who has not yet
folded. 0️⃣ In the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds of betting, until someone Raises,
players may:
"Fold" - Throw in their cards 0️⃣ and take no further part in the hand
"Check"
- Stay in the game at the current stake level
"Raise" - a 0️⃣ player raises the stake by
adding more to the bet in front of him
The Showdown
If all players check, then play
0️⃣ proceeds straight to next round. Otherwise, as soon as someone raises the stake,
subsequent players can only Fold, Call or 0️⃣ Raise. Betting ceases when, after a raise,
all subsequent players either Call or Fold. After the fifth card has been 0️⃣ dealt and the
final round of betting is completed, the Showdown occurs.
If only one player remains in
the game, that 0️⃣ player wins the pot. The player's hole card is not revealed to the other
players. This means that if the 0️⃣ player had been bluffing - pretending that his hand was
highly ranked when it was not, then no-one will be 0️⃣ any the wiser. Otherwise, all
players reveal their hands and the highest ranked hand wins the pot and all bets.
Texas
0️⃣ Hold'em Poker Rules
Texas Hold'em is a version of Draw Poker that has become the most
fashionable version of Poker played 0️⃣ towards the latter half of the first decade of the
21st century. It is the Poker game most commonly played 0️⃣ in Casinos and is also the game
regularly featured in the World Poker series tournament and other televised Poker games
0️⃣ - which accounts for its popularity.
Preliminaries
The player to the dealer's left bets
a starting amount by putting down some chips. 0️⃣ This is called "First Blind". The next
players puts down some chips too - this is called the "Second blind" 0️⃣ and is normally
equal to double the first blind. The second blind also usually is the value of the
minimum 0️⃣ bet.
First Round
Each player is dealt 2 cards, face down. These are called "The
Hole Cards" The player to the left 0️⃣ of the player who bet the Second Blind starts the
first round of betting. Each player in succession can do 0️⃣ one of 3 things:
"Fold" -
Throw in their cards and take no further part in the hand
"Call" - Increase the 0️⃣ bet in
front of them to match the level of the player who last raised it.
"Raise" - in
addition to 0️⃣ calling, a player may also raise the stake by adding more to the bet in
front of him.
Second (The Flop), 0️⃣ Third (The Turn) & Fourth (The River) Rounds
After a
player raises, if all the subsequent players either fold or call 0️⃣ but do not raise the
stake further, then no further raises may be made and play proceeds to the second
0️⃣ round.
The second, third and fourth rounds are played in a similar way. First, the top
card of the deck is 0️⃣ discarded - an anti-cheating ritual called "Burning the card".
Then:
In the second round, three "community cards" are dealt face-up in 0️⃣ the middle of
the table. These cards are called "The Flop" and the round is usually called "The Flop"
round.
In 0️⃣ the third round called "The Turn", a fourth community card is dealt to join
those already on the table. This 0️⃣ card is called "Fourth Street".
In the fifth round,
"The River", the final community card dealt. This card is called "Fifth 0️⃣ Street".
"Fold"
- Throw in their cards and take no further part in the hand
"Check" - Stay in the game
at 0️⃣ the current stake level
"Raise" - a player raises the stake by adding more to the
bet in front of him
The 0️⃣ Showdown
The community cards are used by all the players in
conjunction with their two hidden "hole" cards to form their 0️⃣ hand and from these cards,
the players choose the five that give them the highest ranked Poker hand. The betting
0️⃣ process then restarts with the first player to the dealer's left who has not yet
folded. In the second, third 0️⃣ and fourth rounds of betting, until someone Raises,
players may:If all players Check, then play proceeds straight to next round. 0️⃣ Otherwise,
as soon as someone raises the stake, subsequent players can only Fold, Call or Raise.
Betting ceases when, after 0️⃣ a raise, all the other remaining players either Call or
Fold. After the fifth card has been dealt and the 0️⃣ final round of betting is completed,
the Showdown occurs.
If at any point during any of the betting rounds, only one 0️⃣ player
remains in the game, that player wins the pot. The player's hole cards are not revealed
to the other 0️⃣ players. This means that if the player had been bluffing - pretending that
his hand was highly ranked when it 0️⃣ was not, then no-one will be any the wiser.
Otherwise, all players reveal their hands and the highest ranked hand 0️⃣ wins the pot and
all bets.
