Opening deal – Each player is dealt two cards face down, https://zantarelli.com/ which are known as hole cards or pocket cards. Pocket Cards
– First round of betting – Starting with the player to the left of the big blind, each player can call the big blind, raise, or fold. The big blind has the option to raise an otherwise unraised pot.- The flop – The dealer burns a card, and then deals three community cards face up. The first three cards are referred to as the flop, while all of the community cards are collectively called the board. Flop
– Second round of betting – Starting with the player to the left of the dealer button, each player can check or bet. Once a bet has been made, each player can raise, call, or fold.- The turn – The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fourth card face-up to the community cards. This fourth card is known as the turn card, or fourth street. Flop
– Third round of betting – It follows the same format as the second round, but the size of the bets have usually doubled in limit games.- The river – The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fifth and final card to the community cards. This fifth card is known as the river card, or fifth street. Flop
– Final round of betting – It follows the same format as the second and third rounds.- The showdown – Using the best five-card combination of their hole cards and the community cards, the remaining players show their hands, with the bettor or last raiser showing first. The highest five-card hand wins the pot. (In case of a tie, the pot is evenly split among the winning hands.)
These rules deal only with irregularities. See Button and Blind use for rules on that subject.
– If the first or second hole card dealt is exposed, a misdeal results. The dealer retrieves the card, reshuffles, and recuts the cards. If any other holecard is exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues. The exposed card can not be kept. After completing the hand, the dealer replaces the card with the top card on the deck, and the exposed card is then used for the burncard. If more than one hole card is exposed, this is a misdeal and there must be a redeal.- If the flop contains too many cards, it must be redealt. (This applies even if it is possible to know which card is the extra one.)- If the flop needs to be redealt because the cards were prematurely flopped before the betting was complete, or the flop contained too many cards, the board cards are mixed with the remainder of the deck. The burn card remains on the table. After shuffling, the dealer cuts the deck and deals a new flop without burning a card.
– If the dealer turns the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round, even if subsequent players elect to fold. The betting is then completed. The dealer burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card’s place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burn cards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns the final card without burning a card. If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner.
See Explanations, discussion #2 , for more information on this rule.
– If the dealer mistakenly deals the first player an extra card (after all players have received their starting hands), the card is returned to the deck and used for the burn card. If the dealer mistakenly deals more than one extra card, it is a misdeal.- If you are playing the board, you must so declare before you throw your cards away; otherwise you relinquish all claim to the pot.
Omaha
– The dealer deals each player four cards face down (hole cards or pocket cards) Pocket Cards
– First betting round.- The dealer burns a card, then turns over three community cards face up (the flop) Flop
– Second betting round.- The dealer burns another card, then turns over one more community card (the turn, fourth street) Flop
– Third betting round.- The dealer burns another card, then turns over one final community card (the river, fifth street) Flop
The Turn
The River
– Last betting round.- Showdown. (Every remaining player shows hand. with first bettor or last raiser showing first.)- All remaining players must use their two pocket cards and the three board cards.
– All the rules of hold’em apply to Omaha except the rule on playing the board, which is not possible in Omaha (because you must use two cards from your hand and three cards from the board).
– All the rules of Omaha apply to Omaha high-low split except as below.- A qualifier of 8-or-better for low applies to all high-low split games, unless a specific posting to the contrary is displayed. If there is no qualifying hand for low, the best high hand wins the whole pot.
Seven-Card Stud
– Each player must place an ante into the pot.- Each player is dealt two cards face down (hole cards) and one card face up (door card) Hole Cards Door Card
– First betting round.- Each player is dealt one card face up (fourth street) Hole Cards Door Card
– Second betting round.- Each player is dealt another card face-up (fifth street) Hole Cards Door Card
– Third betting round.- Each player is dealt another card face-up (sixth street) Hole Cards Door Card
– Fourth betting round.- Each player is dealt a final card face down (river) Hole Cards Door Card
4th Street
5th Street
6th Street
River
– Last betting round.- Showdown (Every remaining player shows hand with first bettor or last raiser showing first).
– The first round of betting starts with a forced bet by the lowest upcard by suit. On subsequent betting rounds, the high hand on board initiates the action. (A tie is broken by position, with the player who received cards first acting first.)- The player with the forced bet has the option of opening for a full bet.- Increasing the amount wagered by the opening forced bet up to a full bet does not count as a raise, but merely as a completion of the bet. For example: In $15-$30 stud, the lowcard opens for $5. If the next player increases the bet to $15 (completes the bet), up to three raises are then allowed when using a three-raise limit.- In all fixed-limit games, when an open pair is showing on fourth street (second upcard), any player has the option of betting either the lower or the upper limit. For example: In a $5-$10 game, if you have a pair showing and are the high hand, you can bet either $5 or $10. If you bet $5, any player then has the option to call $5, raise $5, or raise $10. If a $10 raise is made, then all other raises must be in increments of $10. If the player high with the open pair on fourth street checks, then subsequent players have the same options that were given to the player who was high.- If your first or second holecard is accidentally turned up by the dealer, then your third card is dealt down. If both hole cards are dealt up, you have a dead hand and receive your ante back. If the first card dealt faceup would have been the lowcard, action starts with the first hand to that player’s left. That player may fold, open for the forced bet, or open for a full bet. (In tournament play, if a downcard is dealt face up, a misdeal is called.)- If you are not present at the table when it is your turn to act on your hand, you forfeit your ante and your forced bet, if any. If you have not returned to the table in time to act, the hand is killed when the betting reaches your seat.- If a hand is folded even though there is no wager, that seat continues to receive cards until the hand is killed as a result of a bet.- If you are all in for the ante and have the lowcard, the player to your left acts first. That player can fold, open for the forced bet, or open for a full bet.- If the wrong person is designated as low and that person bets, the action is corrected to the true low card if the next player has not yet acted. The incorrect low card takes back the wager and the true low card must bet. If the next hand has acted after the incorrect low card wager, the wager stands, action continues from there, and the true low card has no obligations.- If you pick up your upcards without calling when facing a wager, this is a fold and your hand is dead. However, this act has no significance at the showdown because betting is over; the hand is live until discarded.- A card dealt off the table must play and it is treated as an exposed card.- In all games, the dealer announces the lowcard, the high hand, all raises, and all pairs. Dealers do not announce possible straights or flushes (except for specified low-stakes games).- If the dealer burns two cards for one round or fails to burn a card, the cards are corrected, if at all possible, to their proper positions. If this should happen on a final downcard, and either a card intermingles with a player’s other holecards or a player looks at the card, the player must accept that card.- If the dealer burns and deals one or more cards before a round of betting has been completed, the cards must be eliminated from play. After the betting for that round is completed, an additional card for each remaining player still active in the hand is also eliminated from play (to later deal the same cards to the players who would have received them without the error). After that round of betting has concluded, the dealer burns a card and play resumes. The removed cards are held off to the side in the event the dealer runs out of cards. If the prematurely dealt card is the final downcard and has been looked at or intermingled with the player’s other holecards, the player must keep the card, and on sixth street betting may not bet or raise (because the player now has all seven cards), but can call.- If there are not enough cards left in the deck for all players, all the cards are dealt except the last card, which is mixed with the burn cards (and any cards removed from the deck, as in the previous rule). The dealer then scrambles and cuts these cards, burns again, and delivers the remaining downcards, using the last card if necessary. If there are not as many cards as players remaining without a card, the dealer does not burn, so that each player can receive a fresh card. If the dealer determines that there will not be enough fresh cards for all of the remaining players, then the dealer announces to the table that a common card will be used. The dealer burns a card and turns one card face up in the center of the table as a common card that plays in everyone’s hand. The player who is now high using the common card initiates the action for the last round.- An all-in player should receive hole cards dealt facedown, but if the final hole card to such a player is dealt face up, the card must be kept, and the other players receive their normal cards.- If the dealer turns the last card faceup to any player, the hand now high on the board using all the upcards will start the action. The following rules apply to the dealing of cards:
If there are more than two players, all remaining players receive their last card facedown. A player whose last card is face up has the option of declaring all in (before betting action starts). If there are only two players remaining and the first player’s final downcard is dealt faceup, the second player’s final down card is also dealt face up, and the betting proceeds as normal. In the event the first player’s final card is dealt face down and the opponent’s final card is dealt face up, the player with the faceup final card has the option of declaring all in (before betting action starts).- A hand with more than seven cards is dead. A hand with fewer than seven cards at the showdown is dead, except any player missing a seventh card may have the hand ruled live.
See Explanations, discussion #3 , for more information on this rule.
– A player who calls a bet even though beaten by an opponentiss upcards is not entitled to a refund. (The player is receiving information about an opponent’s hand that is not available for free.)
Mississippi Stud
– Ante, then deal two cards down and one up: Low card must bet in limit-betting games, high card must bet or fold in big-bet games.- Deal each active player two more upcards; bet from highest hand.- Deal each player a fourth upcard: bet from highest hand.- Deal each player a fifth upcard: bet from highest hand, followed by a showdown.
– Low ante games: Ante, one unit; bring-in, two units, complete, 10 units. The maximum bet for the first two rounds is 10 units. Bets double to 20 units for the third and fourth rounds.- High ante: Ante, four units; bring-in, five units; raise, 10 units. Bets double to 20 units for the third and fourth rounds.
Seven-Card Stud High-Low
– All rules for seven-card stud apply to seven-card stud high-low split, except as otherwise noted.- A qualifier of 8-or-better for low applies to all high-low split games, unless a specific posting to the contrary is displayed. If there is no qualifying hand for low, the best high hand wins the whole pot.- A player can use any five cards to make the best high hand and any five cards, whether the same as the high hand or not, to make the best low hand.- The low card by suit (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades) initiates the action on the first round, with an ace counting as a high card for this purpose.- An ace can be used for high or low.- Straights and flushes do not affect the value of a low hand.- Fixed-limit games use the lower limit on third and fourth streets and the upper limit on subsequent rounds. An open pair on fourth street does not affect the limit.- Splitting pots is determined only by the cards and not by agreement among players.- When there is an odd chip in a pot, the chip goes to the high hand. If two players split the pot by tying for both the high and the low, the pot shall be split as evenly as possible, and the player with the highest card by suit receives the odd chip. When making this determination, all cards are used, not just the five cards used for the final hand played.- When there is one odd chip in the high portion of the pot and two or more high hands split all or half the pot, the odd chip goes to the player with the high card by suit. When two or more low hands split half the pot, the odd chip goes to the player with the low card by suit.
Razz
– All seven-card stud rules apply in razz except as otherwise noted.- The lowest hand wins the pot. Aces are low, and straights and flushes have no effect on the low value of a hand. The best possible hand is 5-4-3-2-A.- The highest card by suit starts the action with a forced bet. The low hand acts first on all subsequent rounds. If the low hand is tied, the first player clockwise from the dealer starts the action.- Fixed-limit games use the lower limit on third and fourth streets and the upper limit on subsequent streets. An open pair does not affect the limit.- The dealer announces all pairs the first time they occur, except pairs of face cards, which are never announced.
Lowball
– The rules governing misdeals for hold’em and other button games are used for lowball.
See Explanations, discussion #7 , for more information on this rule.- These rules governing misdeals are reprinted here for convenience. “The following circumstances cause a misdeal, provided attention is called to the error before two players have acted on their hands:- The first or second card of the hand has been dealt faceup or exposed through dealer error.- Two or more cards have been exposed by the dealer.- Two or more extra cards have been dealt in the starting hands of a game.- An incorrect number of cards has been dealt to a player, except the button can receive one more card to complete a starting hand.- The button was out of position.- The first card was dealt to the wrong position.- Cards have been dealt out of the proper sequence.- Cards have been dealt to an empty seat or a player not entitled to a hand.- A player has been dealt out who is entitled to a hand. This player must be present at the table or have posted a blind or ante.”
– Wait for the big blind.- Kill the pot for double the amount of the big blind.
– No card has been dealt off the deck in response to his request (including the burncard).- No player has acted, in either the betting or indicating the number of cards to be drawn, based on the number of cards the player has requested.
– If a joker is used, it becomes the lowest card not present in the hand. The joker is assumed to be in use unless the contrary is posted.- In limit play, check-raise is not permitted (unless the players are alerted that it is allowed).- In limit ace-to-five lowball, before the draw, an exposed card of 7 or under must be taken, and an exposed card higher than a 7 must be replaced after the deal has been completed. This first exposed card is used as the burn card.
See Explanations, discussion #8 , for more information on this rule.- In limit play, the sevens rule is assumed to be in use (the players should be alerted if it is not). If a player checks a 7 or better and it is the best hand, all action after the draw is void, and the player cannot win any money on any subsequent bets. The player is still eligible to win whatever existed in the pot before the draw if he has the best hand. If a player checks a 7 or better and the hand is beaten, he loses the pot and any additional calls he makes. If there is an all-in bet after the draw that is less than half a bet, a 7 or better can just call and win that bet. However, if another player overcalls this short bet and loses, the person who overcalls receives the bet back. If the seven or better completes to a full bet, this fulfills all obligations.
– The best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of at least two different suits. Straights and flushes count against a player, and aces are considered high only.- Before the draw, an exposed card of 7, 5, 4, 3, or, 2 must be taken. Any other exposed card must be replaced (including a 6).- Check-raise is allowed on any hand after the draw, and a 7 or better is not required to bet.
– All the rules for no-limit and pot-limit poker apply to no-limit and pot-limit lowball. All other lowball rules apply, except as noted.- A player is not entitled to know that an opponent cannot hold the best possible hand, so these rules for exposed cards before the draw apply:- In ace-to-five lowball, a player must take an exposed card of A, 2, 3, 4, or 5, and any other card must be replaced.- In deuce-to-seven lowball, the player must take an exposed card of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 7, and any other card including a 6 must be replaced.
Draw High
– A maximum of one bet and four raises is permitted in multihanded pots.
See Explanations, discussion #6 , for more information on this rule.- Check-raise is permitted both before and after the draw.- Any card that is exposed by the dealer before the draw must be kept.- Five cards constitute a playing hand. Fewer than five cards for a player (other than the button) before action has been taken is a misdeal. If action has been taken, a player with fewer than five cards may draw the number of cards necessary to complete a five-card hand. The button can receive the fifth card even if action has taken place. More or fewer than five cards after the draw constitutes a fouled hand.- A player can draw up to four consecutive cards. If a player wishes to draw five new cards, four are dealt right away, and the fifth card after everyone else has drawn cards. If the last player wishes to draw five new cards, four are dealt right away, and a card is burned before the player receives a fifth card.
See Explanations, discussion #9 , for more information on this rule.- You can change the number of cards you wish to draw, provided:- No cards have been dealt off the deck in response to your request (including the burncard).- No player has acted, in either the betting or indicating the number of cards to be drawn, based on the number of cards you have requested.
Draw Jacks or Better
– A pair of jacks or better is required to open the pot. If no player opens the pot, the button moves forward and each player must ante again, unless the limit of antes has been reached for that particular game. (Most games allow three consecutive deals before anteing stops.)- If the opener should show false openers before the draw, any other active player has the opportunity to declare the pot opened. However, any player who originally passed openers is not eligible to declare the pot open. The false opener has a dead hand and the opening bet stays in the pot. Any other bet placed in the pot by the opener can be withdrawn, provided the action before the draw is not completed. If no other player declares the pot open, all bets are returned except the opener’s first bet. The first bet and antes remain in the pot, and all players who were involved in that hand are entitled to play the next hand after anteing again.- Any player who has legally declared the pot opened must prove openers in order to win the pot.- In all cases, the pot plays (even if the opener shows or declares a fouled hand) if there has been a raise, two or more players call the opening bet, or all action is completed before the draw.- Even if you are all in for just the ante (or part of the ante), you can declare the pot open if you have openers. If you are all in and falsely declare the pot open, you lose the ante money and cannot continue to play on any subsequent deals until a winner is determined. Even if you buy in again, you must wait until the pot has been legally opened and someone else has won it before you can resume play.- Once action has been completed before the draw, the opener cannot withdraw any bets, whether or not the hand contains openers.- An opener may be allowed to retrieve a discarded hand to prove openers, at management’s discretion.- Any player can request that the opener retain the opening hand and show it after the winner of the pot has been determined.- You can split openers, but you must declare that you are splitting and place all discards under a chip to be exposed by the dealer after the completion of the hand. If you declare that you are splitting openers, but it is determined that you could not possibly have had openers when your final hand is compared with your discards, you lose the pot.- You are not splitting openers if you retain openers. If you begin with the ace, joker, king, queen of spades, and the ten of clubs, you are not splitting if you throw the ten of clubs away. You are breaking a straight to draw to a royal flush, and in doing so, you have retained openers (ace-joker for two aces).- After the draw, if you call the opener’s bet and cannot beat openers, you do not get your bet back. (You have received information about opener’s hand that is not free.)
No Limit Pot Limit
– A pair of jacks or better is required to open the pot. If no player opens the pot, the button moves forward and each player must ante again, unless the limit of antes has been reached for that particular game. (Most games allow three consecutive deals before anteing stops.)- If the opener should show false openers before the draw, any other active player has the opportunity to declare the pot opened. However, any player who originally passed openers is not eligible to declare the pot open. The false opener has a dead hand and the opening bet stays in the pot. Any other bet placed in the pot by the opener can be withdrawn, provided the action before the draw is not completed. If no other player declares the pot open, all bets are returned except the opener’s first bet. The first bet and antes remain in the pot, and all players who were involved in that hand are entitled to play the next hand after anteing again.- Any player who has legally declared the pot opened must prove openers in order to win the pot.- In all cases, the pot plays (even if the opener shows or declares a fouled hand) if there has been a raise, two or more players call the opening bet, or all action is completed before the draw.- Even if you are all in for just the ante (or part of the ante), you can declare the pot open if you have openers. If you are all in and falsely declare the pot open, you lose the ante money and cannot continue to play on any subsequent deals until a winner is determined. Even if you buy in again, you must wait until the pot has been legally opened and someone else has won it before you can resume play.- Once action has been completed before the draw, the opener cannot withdraw any bets, whether or not the hand contains openers.- An opener may be allowed to retrieve a discarded hand to prove openers, at management’s discretion.- Any player can request that the opener retain the opening hand and show it after the winner of the pot has been determined.- You can split openers, but you must declare that you are splitting and place all discards under a chip to be exposed by the dealer after the completion of the hand. If you declare that you are splitting openers, but it is determined that you could not possibly have had openers when your final hand is compared with your discards, you lose the pot.- You are not splitting openers if you retain openers. If you begin with the ace, joker, king, queen of spades, and the ten of clubs, you are not splitting if you throw the ten of clubs away. You are breaking a straight to draw to a royal flush, and in doing so, you have retained openers (ace-joker for two aces).- After the draw, if you call the opener’s bet and cannot beat openers, you do not get your bet back.