“Robert’s Rules Of Poker” is authored by Robert Ciaffone, better known in the poker world
as Bob Ciaffone, a leading authority on cardroom rules. He is the person who
has selected which rules to use, and formatted, organized, and worded the text.
Nearly all these rules are substantively in common use for poker, but many
improved ideas for wording and organization are employed throughout this work.
A lot of the rules are similar to those used in the rulebook of cardrooms where
he has acted as a rules consultant and rules drafter. Ciaffone authored the
rulebook for the Poker Players Association (founded in 1984, now defunct), the
first comprehensive set of poker rules for the general public. He has done
extensive work on rules for the Las Vegas Hilton, The Mirage, and Hollywood
Park Casino, and assisted many other cardrooms. Ciaffone is a regular columnist
for Card Player magazine, and can be reached through that publication. This
rulebook will be periodically revised, so suggestions are welcome.
Poker rules are widely used and freely copied, so it is impossible to construct a
rulebook without using many rules that exist as part of a rule set of some
cardroom. If such a rule is used, no credit is given to the source (which is unlikely
to be the original one for the rule).
The goal of this rulebook is to produce the best set of rules in existence, and
make it generally available, so any person or cardroom can use it who so
desires. The purpose is the betterment of poker.
The general philosophy used in this rulebook is to make the rules sufficiently
detailed so a decision-maker will know what the proper ruling is in each
situation. A rule should do more than produce the right ruling. It should be
stated so the decision-maker can refer to specific language in the rulebook, to
have the ruling is accepted as correct.
The author has strongly supported uniform poker rules, and applauds the work done
in this direction by the Tournament Director’s Association (TDA). Nearly all
the rules herein are compatible with the TDA rules, although there are some
slight differences in wording.
This rulebook may be copied or downloaded by anyone, provided it is not sold for profit
without written permission from the author, and the name “Robert’s Rules of
Poker” is used or credited. Excerpts of less than a full chapter may be used
without restriction or credit. People are welcome to use these rules, and even
put their own business name on them, but this does not give a person or
business any rights other than to use the rules in their own establishment, or
to make copies available to someone else with the same restrictions applied to
the recipient as stated here. Anyone may make copies of these rules and
distribute them at no charge to recipients as a business promotion without
obtaining permission.
THIS IS THE OFFICIAL RULEBOOK FOR OUR CARDROOM
Welcome to our cardroom. Your presence in our establishment means that you agree to abide by
our rules and procedures. By taking a seat in one of our card games, you are
accepting our management to be the final authority on all matters relating to that game.
Management will attempt to maintain a pleasant environment for all our
customers and employees, but is not responsible for the conduct of any player.
We have established a code of conduct, and may deny the use of our cardroom to
violators. The following are not permitted:
Collusion with another player or any other form of cheating.
Verbally or physically threatening any patron or employee.
Using profanity or obscene language.
Creating a disturbance by arguing, shouting, or making excessive noise.
Throwing, tearing, bending, or crumpling cards.
Destroying or defacing property.
Using an illegal substance.
Carrying a weapon.
The following actions are improper, and grounds for warning, suspending, or barring a violator:
Deliberately acting out of turn.
Deliberately splashing chips into the pot.
Agreeing to check a hand out when a third player is all-in.
Softplaying by refusing to bet against a certain opponent whenever heads-up.
Reading a hand for another player at the showdown before it has been placed faceup on the table.
Telling anyone to turn a hand faceup at the showdown.
Revealing the contents of a live hand in a multihanded pot before the betting is complete.
Revealing the contents of a folded hand before the betting is complete. Do not divulge the contents of a hand
during a deal even to someone not in the pot, so you do not leave any possibility of the information being transmitted
to an active player.
Needlessly stalling the action of a game.
Deliberately discarding hands away from the muck. Cards should be released in a low line of
flight, at a moderate rate of speed (not at the dealer's hands or chip-rack).
Stacking chips in a manner that interferes with dealing or viewing cards.
Making statements or taking action that could unfairly influence the
course of play, whether or not the offender is involved in the pot.
Using a cell phone at the table.
(These rules are for an establishment that does not completely bar smoking.)
The seat on each side of the dealer is a nonsmoking seat.
Cigar or pipe smoking is not allowed in the cardroom.
Smoking by a guest or spectator is not allowed.
1. Management reserves the right to make decisions in the spirit of fairness, even
if a strict interpretation of the rules may indicate a different ruling.
2. Decisions of the shift supervisor are final.
3. The proper time to draw attention to a mistake is when it occurs or is
first noticed. Any delay may affect the ruling.
4. If an incorrect rule interpretation or decision by an employee is made in
good faith, the establishment has no liability.
5. A ruling may be made regarding a pot if it has been requested before the
next deal starts (or before the game either ends or changes to another table).
Otherwise, the result of a deal must stand. The first riffle of the shuffle
marks the start for a deal.
6. If a pot has been incorrectly awarded and mingled with chips that were not
in the pot, and the time limit for a ruling request given in the previous rule
has been observed, management may determine how much was in the pot by
reconstructing the betting, and then transfer that amount to the proper player.
7. To keep the action moving, it is possible that a game may be asked to
continue even though a decision is delayed. The delay could be to check the
overhead camera tape, get the shift supervisor to give the ruling, or for some
other good reason. In such circumstances, a pot or portion of it may be
impounded by the house while the decision is pending.
8. The same action may have a different meaning, depending on who does it, so
the possible intent of an offender will be taken into consideration. Some
factors here are the person’s amount of poker experience and past record.
9. A player, before he acts, is entitled to request and receive information
as to whether any opposing hand is alive or dead, or whether a wager is of
sufficient size to reopen the betting.
1. Only one person may play a hand.
2. No one is allowed to play another player’s chips.
3. Management will decide when to start or close any game.
4. Collections (seat rental fees) are paid in advance. In all time-collection games, the
dealer is required to pick up the collection from each player before dealing. A
player not wishing to pay collection may play one courtesy hand in stud, and
may play until the blind in button games, provided no one is waiting for the game.
If there is more than one person on the list for that game when the collection
becomes due, everyone must pay collection. A new player is not required to pay
if there is either no list or only one person waiting.
5. Cash is not allowed on the table. All cash should be changed into chips in order to
play. If a player seems unaware of this rule and tries to play unnoticed cash
that was on the table during a pot, the dealer may let the cash play if no one
in the pot objects, then have all the cash changed into chips after the hand.
Any chips from another cardroom are not permitted on the table, do not play in
the game, and when found will be treated similarly to unnoticed cash. [See
Section 16 – “Explanations,” discussion #5, for more information on this rule.]
6. Money and chips may be removed for security purposes when leaving the table. The
establishment is not responsible for any shortage or removal of chips left on
the table during a player’s absence, even though we will try to protect
everyone as best we can. All removed funds must be fully restored when
returning to the game.
7. If you return to the same game within one hour of cashing out, your buy-in must be
equal to the amount removed when leaving that game.
8. All games are table stakes (except “playing behind” as given in the next rule). Only
the chips in front of a player at the start of a deal may play for that hand,
except for chips not yet received that a player has purchased. The amount
bought must be announced to the table, or only the amount of the minimum buy-in
plays. Awareness of the amount being in play for each opponent is an important
part of poker. All chips and money must be kept in plain view.
9. "Playing behind" is allowed only for the amount of purchased chips while awaiting
their arrival. The amount in play must be announced to the table, or only the
amount of the minimum buy-in plays.
10. Playing out of a rack is not allowed.
11. Permission is required before taking a seat in a game.
12. Playing over without permission from the floorperson
is not allowed. A playover box is required. Permission from the absent player
is not necessary.
13. Pushing bets (“saving” or “potting out”) is not allowed.
14. Pushing an ante or posting for another person is not allowed.
15. Splitting pots will not be allowed in any game. Chopping the big and small blind by
taking them back when all other players have folded is allowed in button games.
16. Insurance propositions are not allowed. Dealing twice (or three times) when all-in is
permitted at big-bet poker.
17. The game's betting limit will not be changed if two or more players object. Raising
the limit is subject to management approval.
18. Players must keep their cards in full view. This means above table-level and not past
the edge of the table. The cards should not be covered by the hands in a manner
to completely conceal them.
19. Any player is entitled to a clear view of an opponent’s chips. Higher denomination
chips should be easily visible.
20. Your chips may be picked up if you are away from the table for more than 30 minutes.
Your absence may be extended if you notify a floorperson in advance. Frequent
or continuous absences may cause your chips to be picked up from the table.
21. A lock-up in a new game will be picked up after five minutes if someone is
waiting to play. No seat may be locked up for more than ten minutes if someone
is waiting to play.
22. A new deck must be used for at least a full round (once around the table) before
it may be changed, and a new setup must be used for at least an hour, unless a
deck is defective or damaged, or cards become sticky.
23. Looking through the discards or deck stub is not allowed.
24. After a deal ends, dealers are asked to not show what card would have been dealt.
25. A player is expected to pay attention to the game and not hold up play. Activity
that interferes with this such as reading at the table is discouraged, and the
player will be asked to cease if a problem is caused.
26. A non-player may not sit at the table.
27. In non-tournament games, you may have a guest sit behind you if no one in the game
objects. It is improper for a guest to look at any hand other then your own.
28. Speaking a foreign language during a deal is not allowed.
1. You must be present to add your name to a waiting list.
2. It is the player’s responsibility to be in the playing area and hear the list
being called. A player who intends to leave the playing area should notify the
list-person, and can leave money for a lockup. The lockup amount is $20.
3. When there is more than one game of the same stakes and poker form, and a must-move
is not being used, the house will control the seating of new players to best
preserve the viability of existing games. A new player will be sent to the game
most in need of an additional player. A transfer to a similar game is not
allowed if the game being left will then have fewer players than the game being entered.
4. A player may not hold a seat in more than one game.
5. The house reserves the right to require that any two players not play in the same
game (husband and wife, relatives, business partners, and so forth).
6. When a button game starts, active players will draw a card for the button position.
The button will be awarded to the highest card by suit for all high and high-low
games, and to the lowest card by suit for all low games.
7. To avoid a seating dispute, a supervisor may decide to start the game with one
extra player over the normal number. If so, a seat will be removed as soon as
someone quits the game.
8. In a new game, the player who arrives at the table the earliest gets first choice
of remaining seats. If two players want the same seat and arrive at the same
time, the higher player on the list has preference. A player playing a pot in
another game may have a designated seat locked up until that hand is finished.
Management may reserve a certain seat for a player for a good reason, such as
to assist reading the board for a person with a vision problem.
9. To protect an existing game, a forced move may be invoked when an additional game
of the same type and limit is started. The must-move list is maintained in the
same order as the original waiting list. If a player refuses to move into the
main game, that player will be forced to quit, and cannot play in the must-move
game or get on that list for one hour.
10. In all button games, a player going from a must-move game to the main game may
play until due for the big blind. The player must then enter the game as a new
player, and may either post an amount equal to the big blind or wait for the
big blind. In all stud games, a player may play only one more hand before moving.
11. You must play in a new game or must-move game to retain your place on the list, if with
your playing there would be three or fewer empty seats.
12. A player who is already in the game has precedence over a new player for any seat
when it becomes available. However, no change will occur after a new player has
been seated, or after that player’s buy-in or marker has been placed on the
table, unless that particular seat had been previously requested. For players
already in the game, the one who asks the earliest has preference for a seat change.
13. In all button games, a player voluntarily locking up a seat in another game must
move immediately if there is a waiting list of two or more names for the seat
being vacated, except that the player is entitled to play the button if a blind
has already been taken. Otherwise, a player may play up to the blind before
moving. In a stud game, a player changing tables may play only the present hand
if someone is waiting for the seat being vacated, or one more hand when no one is waiting.
14. When a game breaks, each player may draw a card to determine the seating order for a
similar game. The floorperson draws a card for an absent player. If the card
entitles the absent player to an immediate seat, the player has until due for
the big blind in a button game to take the seat (two hands in a stud game), and
will be put first up on the list if not back in time.
1. When you enter a game, you must make a full buy-in. At limit poker, a full buy-in is
at least ten times the maximum bet for the game being played, unless designated otherwise.
2. You are allowed to make only one short buy-in for a game. Adding to your stack is
not considered a buy-in, and may be done in any quantity between hands.
3. A player coming from a broken game or must-move game to a game of the same limit
may continue to play the same amount of money, even if it is less than the
minimum buy-in. A player switching games voluntarily must have the proper
buy-in size for the new game. A player switching games is not required to buy
in for any more than the minimum amount.
1. Once action begins, a misdeal cannot be called. The deal will be played, and no
money will be returned to any player whose hand is fouled. In button games,
action is considered to occur when two players after the blinds have acted on
their hands. In stud games, action is considered to occur when two players
after the forced bet have acted on their hands.
2. The following circumstances cause a misdeal, provided attention is called to the
error before two players have acted on their hands.
(a) The first or second card of the hand has been exposed by a dealer error.
(b) Two or more cards have been exposed by the dealer.
(c) Two or more boxed cards (improperly faced cards) are found.
(d) Two or more extra cards have been dealt in the starting hands of a game.
(e) An incorrect number of cards has been dealt to a player, except the top card may
be dealt if it goes to the player in proper sequence.
(f) Any card has been dealt out of the proper sequence (except an exposed card may be
replaced by the burncard).
(g) The button was out of position.
(h) The first card was dealt to the wrong position.
(i) Cards have been dealt to an empty seat or a player not entitled to a hand.
(j) 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.
1. Your hand is declared dead if:
(a) You fold or announce that you are folding when facing a bet or a raise.
(b) You throw your hand away in a forward motion causing another player to act
behind you (even if not facing a bet).
(c) In stud, when facing a bet, you pick your upcards off the table, turn your
upcards facedown, or mix your upcards and downcards together.
(d) The hand does not contain the proper number of cards for that particular game
(except at stud a hand missing the final card may be ruled live, and at lowball
and draw high a hand with too few cards before the draw is live). [See Section
16 - “Explanations,” discussion #4, for more information on the stud portion of this rule.]
(e) You act on a hand with a joker as a holecard in a game not using a joker. (A
player who acts on a hand without looking at a card assumes the liability of
finding an improper card, as given in Irregularities, rule #8.)
(f) You have the clock on you when facing a bet or raise and exceed the specified time limit.
2. Cards thrown into the muck may be ruled dead. However, a hand that is clearly
identifiable may be retrieved and ruled live at management’s discretion if
doing so is in the best interest of the game. An extra effort should be made to
rule a hand retrievable if it was folded as a result of incorrect information given to the player.
3. Cards thrown into another player’s hand are dead, whether they are faceup or facedown.
1. In button games, if it is discovered that the button was placed incorrectly on the
previous hand, the button and blinds will be corrected for the new hand in a
manner that gives every player one chance for each position on the round (if possible).
2. You must protect your own hand at all times. Your cards may be protected with your
hands, a chip, or other object placed on top of them. If you fail to protect
your hand, you will have no redress if it becomes fouled or the dealer accidentally kills it.
3. If a card with a different color back appears during a hand, all action is void
and all chips in the pot are returned to the respective bettors. If a card with
a different color back is discovered in the stub, all action stands.
4. If two cards of the same rank and suit are found, all action is void, and all
chips in the pot are returned to the players who wagered them (subject to next rule).
5. A player who knows the deck is defective has an obligation to point this out. If
such a player instead tries to win a pot by taking aggressive action (trying
for a freeroll), the player may lose the right to a refund, and the chips may
be required to stay in the pot for the next deal.
6. If there is extra money in the pot on a deal as a result of forfeited money from
the previous deal (as per rule #5), or some similar reason, only a player dealt
in on the previous deal is entitled to a hand.
7. A card discovered faceup in the deck (boxed card) will be treated as a
meaningless scrap of paper. A card being treated as a scrap of paper will be
replaced by the next card below it in the deck, except when the next card has
already been dealt facedown to another player and mixed in with other
downcards. In that case, the card that was faceup in the deck will be replaced
after all other cards are dealt for that round.
8. A joker that appears in a game where it is not used is treated as a scrap of
paper. Discovery of a joker does not cause a misdeal. If the joker is
discovered before a player acts on his or her hand, it is replaced as in the
previous rule. If the player does not call attention to the joker before
acting, then the player has a dead hand.
9. If you play a hand without looking at all of your cards, you assume the liability
of having an irregular card or an improper joker.
10. One or more cards missing from the deck does not invalidate the results of a hand.
11. Before the first round of betting, if a dealer deals one additional card, it is
returned to the deck and used as the burncard.
12. Procedure for an exposed card varies with the poker
form, and is given in the section for each game. A card that is flashed by a
dealer is treated as an exposed card. A card that is flashed by a player will
play. To obtain a ruling on whether a card was exposed and should be replaced,
a player should announce that the card was flashed or exposed before looking at
it. A downcard dealt off the table is an exposed card.
13. If a card is exposed due to dealer error, a player does not have an option to take
or reject the card. The situation will be governed by the rules for the
particular game being played.
14. If you drop any cards out of your hand onto the floor, you must still play them.
15. If the dealer prematurely deals any cards before the betting is complete, those
cards will not play, even if a player who has not acted decides to fold.
16. If the dealer fails to burn a card or burns more than one card, the error should
be corrected if discovered before betting action has started for that round.
Once action has been taken on a boardcard, the card must stand. Whether the
error is able to be corrected or not, subsequent cards dealt should be those
that would have come if no error had occurred. For example, if two cards were
burned, one of the cards should be put back on the deck and used for the
burncard on the next round. On the last round, if there was no betting because
a player was all-in, the error should be corrected if discovered before the pot
has been awarded, provided the deck stub, boardcards, and burncards are all
sufficiently intact to determine the proper replacement card.
17. If the deck stub gets fouled for some reason, such as the dealer believing the
deal is over and dropping the deck, the deal must still be played out, and the
deck reconstituted in as fair a way as possible.
1. The smallest chip that may be wagered in a game is the smallest chip used in the
antes, blinds, rake, or collection. (Certain games may use a special rule that
does not allow chips used only in house revenue to play.) Smaller chips than
this do not play even in quantity, so a player wanting action on such chips
must change them up between deals. If betting is in dollar units or greater, a
fraction of a dollar does not play. A player going all-in must put all chips
that play into the pot.
2. Check-raise is permitted in all games, except in certain forms of lowball.
3. In no-limit and pot-limit games, unlimited raising is allowed.
4. In limit poker, for a pot involving three or more players who are not all-in,
these limits on raises apply:
(a) A game with three or more betting rounds allows a maximum of a bet and three raises.
(b) A game with two betting rounds (such as lowball or draw) allows a maximum of a
bet and four raises. [See “Section 16 - Explanations,” discussion #6, for more
information on this rule.]
5. Unlimited raising is allowed in heads-up play except in tournaments. This applies any
time the action becomes heads-up before the raising has been capped. Once the
raising is capped on a betting round, it cannot be uncapped by a subsequent
fold that leaves two players heads-up. (For
tournament play in limit events there will be a limit to raises even when
heads-up until the tournament is down to two players.)
6. Any wager not all-in must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise in that round.
7. In limit play, an all-in wager of less than half a bet does not reopen the betting
for any player who has already acted and is in the pot for all previous bets. A
player who has not yet acted (or had the betting reopened to him by another
player’s action), facing an all-in wager of less than half a bet, may fold,
call, or complete the wager. An all-in wager of a half a bet or more is treated
as a full bet, and a player may fold, call, or make a full raise. (An example
of a full raise on a $20 betting round is raising a $15 all-in bet to $35.) Multiple
all-in wagers, each of an amount too small to individually qualify as a raise,
still act as a raise and reopen the betting if the resulting wager size to a
player qualifies as a raise.
8. In limit poker, if you make a forward motion with chips and thus cause another
player to act, you may be forced to complete your action.
9. A verbal statement in turn denotes your action, is binding, and takes precedence
over a differing physical action.
10. Rapping the table with your hand is a pass.
11. Deliberately acting out of turn will not be tolerated. A player who checks out of turn may
not bet or raise on the next turn to act. A player who has called out of turn
may not change his wager to a raise on the next turn to act. An action or
verbal declaration out of turn is binding unless the action to that player is
subsequently changed by a bet or raise. If there is an intervening call, an
action may be ruled binding.
12. To retain the right to act, a player must stop the action by calling “time” (or an
equivalent word). Failure to stop the action before three or more players have
acted behind you may cause you to lose the right to act. You cannot forfeit
your right to act if any player in front of you has not acted, only if you fail
to act when it legally becomes your turn. Therefore, if you wait for someone
whose turn comes before you, and three or more players act behind you, this
still does not hinder your right to act.
13. A player who bets or calls by releasing chips into the pot is bound by that
action and must make the amount of the wager correct. (This also applies right
before the showdown when putting chips into the pot causes the opponent to show
the winning hand before the full amount needed to call has been put into the
pot.) However, if you are unaware that the pot has been raised, you may
withdraw that money and reconsider your action, provided that no one else has
acted after you. At pot-limit or no-limit betting, if there is a gross
misunderstanding concerning the amount of the wager, see Section 14, Rule 8.
14. String raises are not allowed. The dealer should enforce obvious infractions to this
string-raise law without being asked. To protect your right to raise, you
should either declare your intention verbally or place the proper amount of
chips into the pot. Putting a full bet plus a half-bet or more into the pot is
considered to be the same as announcing a raise, and the raise must be
completed. (This does not apply in the use of a single chip of greater value.)
15. If you put a single chip in the pot that is larger than the bet, but do not
announce a raise, you are assumed to have only called. Example: In a $3-$6
game, when a player bets $6 and the next player puts a $25 chip in the pot
without saying anything, that player has merely called the $6 bet.
16. All wagers and calls of an improperly low amount must be brought up to proper size
if the error is discovered before the betting round has been completed. This
includes actions such as betting a lower amount than the minimum bring-in
(other than going all-in) and betting the lower limit on an upper limit betting
round. If a wager is supposed to be made in a rounded off amount, is not, and
must be corrected, it shall be changed to the proper amount nearest in size. No
one who has acted may change a call to a raise because the wager size has been changed.
1. To win any part of a pot, a player must show all of his cards faceup on the table,
whether they were used in the final hand played or not.
2. Cards speak (cards read for themselves). The dealer assists in reading hands, but
players are responsible for holding onto their cards until the winner is
declared. Although verbal declarations as to the contents of a hand are not
binding, deliberately miscalling a hand with the intent of causing another
player to discard a winning hand is unethical and may result in forfeiture of
the pot. (For more information on miscalling a hand see “Section 11 - Lowball,”
Rule 15 and Rule 16.)
3. Any player, dealer, or floorperson who sees an incorrect amount of chips put into
the pot, or an error about to be made in awarding a pot, has an ethical
obligation to point out the error. Please help keep mistakes of this nature to a minimum.
4. All losing hands will be killed by the dealer before a pot is awarded.
5. Any player who has been dealt in may request to see any hand that was eligible to
participate in the showdown, even if the opponent's hand or the winning hand
has been mucked. However, this is a privilege that may be revoked if abused. If
a player other than the pot winner asks to see a hand that has been folded,
that hand is dead. If the winning player asks to see a losing player’s hand,
both hands are live, and the best hand wins.
6. Show one, show all. Players are entitled to receive equal access to information
about the contents of another player’s hand. After a deal, if cards are shown
to another player, every player at the table has a right to see those cards.
During a deal, cards that were shown to an active player who might have a further
wagering decision on that betting round must immediately be shown to all the
other players. If the player who saw the cards is not involved in the deal, or
cannot use the information in wagering, the information should be withheld
until the betting is over, so it does not affect the normal outcome of the
deal. Cards shown to a person who has no more wagering decisions on that
betting round, but might use the information on a later betting round, should
be shown to the other players at the conclusion of that betting round. If only
a portion of the hand has been shown, there is no requirement to show any of
the unseen cards. The shown cards are treated as given in the preceding part of this rule.
7. If there is a side pot, the winner of that pot should be decided before the main
pot is awarded. If there are multiple side pots, they are decided and awarded
by having the pot with the players starting the deal with the greatest number
of chips settled first, and so forth.
8. If everyone checks (or is all-in) on the final betting round, the player who acted
first is the first to show the hand. If there is wagering on the final betting
round, the last player to take aggressive action by a bet or raise is the first
to show the hand. In order to speed up the game, a player holding a probable
winner is encouraged to show the hand without delay. If there are one or more
side pots (because someone is all-in), players are asked to aid in determining
the pot winner by not showing their cards until a pot they are in is being
settled. A player may opt to throw his hand away after all the betting for the
deal is over, rather than compete to win the pot. However, the other players do
not lose the right to request the hand be shown if he does so.
1. The ranking of suits from highest to lowest is spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs. Suits
never break a tie for winning a pot. Suits are used to break a tie between
cards of the same rank (no redeal or redraw).
2. Dealing a card to each player is used to determine things like who moves to another
table. If the cards are dealt, the order is clockwise starting with the first
player on the dealer’s left (the button position is irrelevant). Drawing a card
is used to determine things like who gets the button in a new game, or seating
order coming from a broken game.
3. An odd chip will be broken down to the smallest unit used in the game.
4. No player may receive more than one odd chip.
5. If two or more hands tie, an odd chip will be awarded as follows:
(a) In a button game, the first hand clockwise from the button gets the odd chip.
(b) In a stud game, the odd chip will be given to the highest card by suit in all
high games, and to the lowest card by suit in all low games. (When making this
determination, all cards are used, not just the five cards that constitute the player's hand.)
(c) In high-low split games, the high hand receives the odd chip in a split between
the high and the low hands. The odd chip between tied high hands is awarded as
in a high game of that poker form, and the odd chip between tied low hands is
awarded as in a low game of that poker form. If two players have identical
hands, the pot will be split as evenly as possible.
(d) All side pots and the main pot will be split as separate pots, not mixed together.
In button games, a non-playing dealer normally does the actual dealing.
A round disk called the button is used to indicate which player has the dealer
position. The player with the button is last to receive cards on the initial
deal and has the right of last action on all but the first betting round. The
button moves one seat clockwise after a deal ends to rotate the advantage of
last action. One or more blind bets are usually used to stimulate action and
initiate play. Blinds are posted before the players look at their cards. Blinds
are part of a player’s bet (unless a certain structure or situation specifies
otherwise). A blind other than the big blind may be treated as dead (not part
of the poster’s bet) in some structures, as when a special additional "dead
blind" for the collection is specified by a cardroom. With two blinds, the
small blind is posted by the first player clockwise from the button and the big
blind is posted by the second player clockwise from the button. With more than
two blinds, the smallest blind is normally left of the button (not on it). On
the initial betting round, action starts with the first player to the left of
the blinds. On all subsequent betting rounds, the action starts with the first
active player to the left of the button.
1. The minimum bring-in and allowable raise sizes for the opener are specified by the
poker form used and blind amounts set for a game. They remain the same even
when the player in the blind does not have enough chips to post the full amount.
2. Each round every player must get an opportunity for
the button, and meet the total amount of the blind obligations. Either of the
following methods of button and blind placement may be designated to do this:
(a) Moving button –
The button always moves forward to the next player and the blinds adjust
accordingly. There may be more than one big blind.
(b) Dead button –
The big blind is posted by the player due for it, and the small blind and
button are positioned accordingly, even if this means the small blind or the
button is placed in front of an empty seat, giving the same player the
privilege of last action on consecutive hands. [See “Section 16 –
Explanations,” discussion #1, for more information on this rule.]
3. In heads-up play with two blinds, the small blind is on the button. When play
becomes heads-up, the player who had the big blind the most recently is given
the button, and his opponent is given the big blind.
4. A new player entering the game has the following options:
(a) Wait for the big blind.
(b) Post an amount equal to the big blind and immediately be dealt a hand. (In lowball,
a new player must either post an amount double the big blind or wait for the big blind.)
5. A new player who elects to let the button go by once without posting is not
treated as a player in the game who has missed a blind, and needs to post only
the big blind when entering the game.
6. A person playing over is considered to be a new player, and must post the amount
of the big blind or wait for the big blind.
7. A new player cannot be dealt in between the big
blind and the button. Blinds may not be made up between the big blind and the
button. You must wait until the button passes. [See “Section 16 –
Explanations,” discussion #5, for more information on this rule.]
8. Chips posted by the big blind are treated as a bet.
9. A player posting a blind in the game’s regular structure has the option of
raising the pot at the first turn to act. This option to raise is retained if
someone goes all-in with a wager of less than the minimum raise.
10. A player who misses any or all blinds can resume play
by either posting all the blinds missed or waiting for the big blind. If you
choose to post the total amount of the blinds, an amount up to the size of the
minimum opening bet is live. The remainder is taken by the dealer to the center
of the pot and is not part of your bet. When it is your next turn to act, you
have the option to raise.
11. If a player who owes a blind (as a result of a missed
blind) is dealt in without posting, the hand is dead if the player looks at it
before putting up the required chips, and has not yet acted. If the player acts
on the hand and plays it, putting chips into the pot before the error is
discovered, the hand is live, and the player is required to post on the next deal.
12. A player who goes all-in and loses is obligated to make
up the blinds if they are missed before a rebuy is made. (The person is not
treated as a new player when reentering.)
13. These rules about blinds apply to a newly started game:
(a) Any player who drew for the button is considered active in the game and is
required to make up any missed blinds.
(b) A new player will not be required to post a blind until the button has made one
complete revolution around the table, provided a blind has not yet passed that seat.
(c) A player may change seats without penalty, provided a blind has not yet passed the new seat.
14. If you move closer to the big blind, you can be dealt in without any penalty.
15. In all multiple-blind games, a player who changes seats will be dealt in on the
first available hand in the same relative position. Example: If you move two
active positions away from the big blind, you must wait two hands before being
dealt in again. If you do not wish to wait and have not yet missed a blind,
then you can post an amount equal to the big blind and receive a hand.
(Exception: At lowball you must kill the pot, wait for the same relative
position, or wait for the big blind; see “Section 11 – Lowball,” rule #7.)
16. A player who "deals off" (by playing the button and then immediately
getting up to change seats) can allow the blinds to pass the new seat one time
and reenter the game behind the button without having to post a blind.
17. A live “straddle bet" is not allowed at limit poker except in specified games.
In holdem, players receive two downcards as their personal hand (holecards), after which there is
a round of betting. Three boardcards are turned simultaneously (called the
“flop”) and another round of betting occurs. The next two boardcards are turned
one at a time, with a round of betting after each card. The boardcards are common
cards used by all players, and a player may use any five-card combination from
among the board and personal cards. A player may even use all of the boardcards
and no personal cards to form a hand (play the board). A dealer button is used.
The usual structure is to use two blinds, but it is possible to play the game
with one blind, multiple blinds, an ante, or combination of blinds plus an ante.
These rules deal only with irregularities. See the previous chapter, “Button and Blind
Use,” for rules on that subject.
1. If the initial holecard dealt to the first or second player is exposed, a misdeal
results. The dealer will retrieve the card, reshuffle, and recut the cards. If
any other holecard is exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues. The
exposed card may 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 holecard is exposed, this is a misdeal and there
must be a redeal.
2. If the dealer mistakenly deals the first player an extra card (after all players
have received their starting hands), the card will be returned to the deck and
used for the burncard. If the dealer mistakenly deals more than one extra card,
it is a misdeal.
3. If the flop contains too many cards, it must be redealt. (This applies even if it
were possible to know which card was the extra one.)
4. If the dealer failed to burn a card before dealing the flop, or burned two cards,
the error should be rectified by using the proper burncard and flop, if no
boardcards were exposed. The deck must be reshuffled if any boardcards were
exposed.
5. If the dealer burns and turns before a betting round is complete, the card(s) may
not be used, even if all subsequent players elect to fold. Nobody has an option
of accepting or rejecting the card. The betting is then completed, and the
error rectified in the prescribed manner for that situation.
6. If the dealer fails to burn a card or burns more than one card, the error should
be corrected if discovered before betting action has started for that round.
Once action has been taken on a boardcard by any player, the card must stand.
Whether the error is able to be corrected or not, subsequent cards dealt should
be those that would have come if no error had occurred. For example, if two
cards were burned, one of the cards should be put back on the deck and used for
the burncard on the next round. If there was no betting on a round because a
player was all-in, the error should be corrected if discovered before the pot
has been awarded.
7. If the flop needs to be redealt for any reason, the boardcards are mixed with the
remainder of the deck. The burncard remains on the table. After shuffling, the
dealer cuts the deck and deals a new flop without burning a card. [See “Section
16 – Explanations,” discussion #4, for more information on this rule.]
8. A dealing error for the fourth boardcard is rectified in a manner to least influence
the identity of the boardcards that would have been used without the error. The
dealer burns and deals 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 burncards or
discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and deals 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 “Section 16 – Explanations,”
discussion #4, for more information on this rule.]
9. You must declare that you are playing the board before you throw your cards away. Otherwise,
you relinquish all claim to the pot. (The rule for tournament play is you must
retain your hand and show it if asked, in order to win part of the pot.)
Omaha is similar to hold’em in using a three-card flop on the board, a
fourth boardcard, and then a fifth boardcard. Each player is dealt four
holecards (instead of two) at the start. In order to make a valid hand, a
player must use precisely two holecards with three boardcards. The betting is
the same as in holdem, using a preflop, flop, turn, and river betting rounds.
At the showdown, the entire four-card hand should be shown to receive the pot.
1. All the rules of holdem 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).
Omaha is often played high-low split. The player may use any combination of two holecards
and three boardcards for the high hand and another (or the same) combination of
two holecards and three boardcards for the low hand.
The rules governing kill pots are listed in “Section 13 – Kill Pots.”
1. All the rules of Omaha apply to Omaha high-low split except as below.
2. A qualifier of 8-or-better for low is used. This means to win the low half of the pot, a
player’s hand at the showdown must have five cards of different ranks that are
an eight or lower in rank. (An ace is the highest card and also the lowest
card.) If there is no qualifying hand for low, the best high hand wins the whole pot.
3. Straights and flushes do not impair the low value of a hand.
Seven-card stud is played with a starting hand of two downcards and one
upcard dealt before the first betting round. There are then three more upcards
and a final downcard, with a betting round after each, for a total of five
betting rounds on a deal played to the showdown. The best five-card poker hand
wins the pot. In all fixed-limit games, the smaller bet is wagered for the
first two betting rounds, and the larger bet is wagered for the last three
betting rounds (on the fifth, sixth, and seventh cards). If there is an open
pair on the fourth card, any player has the option of making the smaller or
larger bet. Deliberately changing the order of your upcards in a stud game is
improper because it unfairly misleads the other players.
1. If your first or second holecard is accidentally turned up by the dealer, then
your third card will be dealt down. If both holecards 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 faceup, a misdeal is called.)
2. 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).
3. The player with the forced bet has the option of opening for a full bet.
4. If the player with the lowcard is all-in for the ante (or any player designated to
start the action on a round of betting is all-in), betting action proceeds to
the first active player to the left of the all-in player. If the player with
the lowcard has only enough chips for a portion of the forced bet, the wager is
made. All other players must enter for at least the normal amount in that structure.
5. When the wrong person is designated as low and bets, if the next player has not yet
acted, the action will be corrected to the real lowcard, who now must bet. The
incorrect lowcard takes back the wager. If the next hand has acted after the
incorrect lowcard wager, the wager stands, action continues from there, and the
real lowcard has no obligations.
6. 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.
7. 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 may 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.
8. If you are not present at the table when it is your turn to act, you forfeit your
ante and your forced bet, if any. If you have not returned to the table in time
to act, the hand will be killed when the betting reaches your seat. (In
tournament play, the dealer is instructed to kill the hand of any absent player
as soon as everyone has received their entire starting hand.)
9. If a hand is folded when there is no wager, that seat will continue to receive
cards until the hand is killed as a result of a bet (so the fold does not
affect who gets the cards to come).
10. When facing a wager, picking up your upcards without calling is a fold. This act has
no significance at the showdown because betting is over; the hand is live until discarded.
11. A card dealt off the table is treated as an exposed card.
12. 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).
13. If the dealer burns two cards for one round or fails to burn a card, the cards
will be 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.
14. If the dealer burns and deals one or more cards before a round of betting has been
completed, the card(s) 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).
15. 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 burncards (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 will burn a card and turn one card faceup
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.
16. An all-in player should receive holecards dealt facedown, but if the final
holecard to such a player is dealt faceup, the card must be kept, and the other
players receive their normal card.
17. 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:
(a) If there are more than two players, all remaining players receive their last card
facedown. A player whose last card is faceup has the option of declaring all-in
before betting action starts, meaning that the player does not put any more
chips into the pot and subsequent betting by the other active players will be on the side.
(b) If there are only two players remaining and the first player's final downcard
is dealt faceup, the second player's final downcard will also be dealt faceup,
and the betting proceeds as normal. In the event the first player's final card
is dealt facedown and the opponent's final card is dealt faceup, the player
with the faceup final card has the option of declaring all-in (before betting action starts).
18. A hand with more than seven cards is dead. A hand with less than seven cards at the
showdown is dead, except any player missing a seventh card may have the hand
ruled live. [See “Section 16 – Explanations,” discussion #2, for more
information on this rule.]
19. A player who calls a bet even though beaten by an opponent’s upcards is not
entitled to a refund. (The caller receives information about the opponent that
is not available for free.)
The lowest-ranking hand wins the pot. Aces are low only, and two aces
are the lowest pair. The high card (aces are low) is required to make the
forced bet on the first round; the low hand acts first on all subsequent
rounds. Straights and flushes have no adverse effect on the low value of a hand,
so the best possible hand is 5-4-3-2-A. An open pair does not affect the betting limit.
1. All seven-card stud rules apply in razz except as otherwise noted.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The dealer announces all pairs the first time they occur, except pairs of
facecards, which are never announced.
A qualifier of 8-or-better for low applies to all high-low split games.
To win for low, a player’s hand at the showdown must have five cards of
different ranks that are an eight or lower. If there is no qualifier for low,
the best high hand wins the whole pot. Any five cards may be used to make the
best high hand, and the same or any other five cards to make the best low hand.
1. All rules for seven-card stud apply to seven-card stud high-low split, except as noted.
2. A player may 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.
3. An ace is the highest card and also the lowest card.
4. The low card by suit initiates the action on the first round, with an ace counting
as a high card for this purpose. On subsequent rounds, the high hand initiates
the action. If the high hand is tied, the first player in the tie clockwise
from the dealer acts first. If the high hand is all-in, action proceeds
clockwise as if that person had checked.
5. Straights and flushes do not affect the value of a low hand.
6. 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.
7. Splitting pots is determined only by the cards, and not by agreement among players.
8. 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.
9. 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.
Lowball is draw poker with the lowest hand winning the pot. Each player
is dealt five cards facedown, after which there is a betting round. Players are
required to open with a bet or fold. The players who remain in the pot after
the first betting round now have an option to improve their hand by replacing
cards in their hands with new ones. This is the draw. The game is normally
played with one or more blinds, sometimes with an ante added. Some betting
structures allow the big blind to be called; other structures require the
minimum open to be double the big blind. In limit poker, the usual structure
has the limit double after the draw (Northern California is an exception). The
most popular forms of lowball are ace-to-five lowball (also known as California lowball),
and deuce-to-seven lowball (also known as Kansas City lowball).
Ace-to-five lowball gets its name because the best hand at that form is
5-4-3-2-A. Deuce-to-seven lowball gets its name because the best hand at that
form is 7-5-4-3-2 (not of the same suit). For a further description of the
forms of lowball, please see the individual section for each game. All rules
governing kill pots are listed in “Section 13 – Kill Pots.”
1. The rules governing misdeals for holdem and other button games will be used for
lowball. [See “Section 16 – 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:
(a) The first or second card of the hand has been exposed by a dealer error.
(b) Two or more cards have been exposed by the dealer.
(c) Two or more extra cards have been dealt in the starting hands of a game.
(d) An incorrect number of cards has been dealt to a player, except the button may
receive one more card to complete a starting hand.
(e) The button was out of position.
(f) The first card was dealt to the wrong position.
(g) Cards have been dealt out of the proper sequence.
(h) Cards have been dealt to an empty seat or a player not entitled to a hand.
(i) 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.”
2. In limit play, a bet and four raises are allowed in multihanded pots. [See
“Section 16 – Explanations,” discussion #6, for more information on this rule.]
3. As a new player, you have two options:
(a) To wait for the big blind.
(b) To kill the pot for double the amount of the big blind.
4. In a single-blind game, a player who has less than half a blind may receive a
hand. However, the next player is obligated to take the blind. If the all-in
player wins the pot or buys in again, that player will then be obligated to
either take the blind on the next deal or sit out until due for the big blind.
5. In single-blind games, half a blind or more constitutes a full blind.
6. In single-blind games, if you fail to take the blind, you may only be dealt in on the blind.
7. In multiple-blind games, if the big blind passes your seat, you may either wait
for the big blind or kill the pot in order to receive a hand. This does not
apply if you have taken all of your blinds and changed seats. In this
situation, you may be dealt in as soon as your position relative to the blinds
entitles you to a hand (the button may go by you once without penalty).
8. Before the draw, whether an exposed card must be taken depends on the form of lowball
being played; see that form. (The player never has an option.)
9. On the draw, an exposed card cannot be taken. The draw is completed to each player
in order, and then the exposed card is replaced.
10. A player may 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
“Section 16 – Explanations,” discussion #9, for more information about this rule.]
11. You may change the number of cards you wish to draw, provided:
(a) No card has been dealt off the deck in response to your request (including the burncard).
(b) 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.
12. Five cards constitute a playing hand; more or fewer than five cards after the draw
constitutes a fouled hand. Before the draw, if you have fewer than five cards
in your hand, you may receive additional cards, provided no action has been
taken by the first player to act (unless that action occurs before the deal is
completed). However, the dealer position may still receive a missing fifth card,
even if action has taken place. If action has been taken, you are entitled on
the draw to receive the number of cards necessary to complete a five-card hand.
13. If you are asked how many cards you drew by another active player, you are
obligated to respond until there has been action after the draw, and the dealer
is also obligated to respond. Once there is any action after the draw, you are
no longer obliged to respond and the dealer cannot respond.
14. Rapping the table in turn constitutes either a pass or the declaration of a pat hand
that does not want to draw any cards, depending on the situation.
15. Cards speak (cards read for themselves). However, you
are not allowed to claim a better hand than you hold. (Example: If a player
calls an "8", that player must produce at least an "8" low
or better to win. But if a player erroneously calls the second card
incorrectly, such as “8-6” when actually holding an 8-7, no penalty applies.)
If you miscall your hand and cause another player to foul his or her hand, your
hand is dead. If both hands remain intact, the best hand wins. If a miscalled
hand occurs in a multihanded pot, the miscalled hand is dead, and the best
remaining hand wins the pot. For your own protection, always hold your hand
until you see your opponent’s cards.
16. Any player spreading a hand with a pair in it must announce "pair" or
risk losing the pot if it causes any other player to foul a hand. If two or
more hands remain intact, the best hand wins the pot.
In ace-to-five lowball, the best hand is any 5-4-3-2-A. An ace is the lowest-ranking card. For
hands with a pair, A-A beats 2-2. Straights and flushes do not count against your hand.
1. If a joker is used, it becomes the lowest card not present in your hand. The joker
is assumed to be in use unless the contrary is posted.
2. In limit play, check-raise is not permitted (unless the players are alerted that it is allowed).
3. In limit ace-to-five lowball, before the draw, an exposed card of seven or under
must be taken, and an exposed card higher than a seven must be replaced after
the deal has been completed. This first exposed card is used as the burncard.
[See “Section 16 – Explanations,” discussion #8, for more information on this rule.]
4. In limit play, the “sevens rule” is assumed to be in use (the players should be
alerted if it is not). If you check a seven or better and it is the best hand,
all action after the draw is void, and you cannot win any money on any
subsequent bets. You are still eligible to win whatever existed in the pot
before the draw if you have the best hand. If you check a seven or better and
the hand is beaten, you lose the pot and any additional calls you make. If
there is an all-in bet after the draw that is less than half a bet, a seven or
better may 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.
In deuce-to-seven lowball (sometimes known as Kansas City lowball), in most
respects, the worst conventional poker hand wins. Straights and flushes count
against you, crippling the value of a hand. The ace is used only as a high
card. Therefore, the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2, not all of the same suit. The hand
5‑4‑3‑2‑A is not considered to be a straight, but an
ace-5 high, so it beats other ace-high hands and pairs, but loses to king-high.
A pair of aces is the highest pair, so it loses to any other pair.
The rules for deuce-to-seven lowball are the same as those for ace-to-five lowball, except
for the following differences:
1. The best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of at least two different suits. Straights and flushes
count against you, and aces are considered high only.
2. 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).
3. Check-raise is allowed on any hand after the draw.
4. After the draw, a seven or better is not required to bet.
1. All the rules for no-limit and pot-limit poker (see Section 14 - No-limit and
Pot-limit) apply to no-limit and pot-limit lowball. All other lowball rules apply, except as noted.
2. A player is not entitled to know that an opponent does not hold the best possible hand,
so these rules for exposed cards before the draw apply:
(a) 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.
(b) 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.
3. After the draw, any exposed card must be replaced.
4. After the draw, a player may check any hand without penalty (The sevens rule is not used).
5. Check-raise is allowed.
There are two betting rounds, one before the draw and one after the
draw. The game is played with a button and an ante. Players in turn may check,
open for the minimum, or open with a raise. After the first betting round the
players have the opportunity to draw new cards to replace the ones they
discard. Action after the draw starts with the opener, or next player
proceeding clockwise if the opener has folded. The betting limit after the draw
is twice the amount of the betting limit before the draw. Some draw high games
allow a player to open on anything; others require the opener to have a pair of
jacks or better.
1. A maximum of a bet and four raises is permitted in multihanded pots. [See
“Section 16 – Explanations,” discussion #6, for more information on this rule.]
2. Check-raise is permitted both before and after the draw.
3. The rules governing misdeals for hold’em and other button games will be used for draw.
4. Any card that is exposed by the dealer before the draw must be kept.
5. Five cards constitute a playing hand. Less 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 may receive the fifth card
even if action has taken place. More or fewer than five cards after the draw
constitutes a fouled hand.
6. A player may 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 “Section 16 – Explanations,” discussion #9, for more information about this rule.]
7. You may change the number of cards you wish to draw, provided:
(a) No cards have been dealt off the deck in response to your request (including the burncard).
(b) 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.
8. On the draw, an exposed card cannot be taken. The draw is completed to each player in
order, and then the exposed card is replaced.
9. If you are asked how many cards you drew by another active player, you are
obligated to respond until there has been action after the draw, and the dealer
is also obligated to respond. Once there is any action after the draw, you are
no longer obliged to respond and the dealer cannot respond.
10. Rapping the table in turn constitutes either a pass or the declaration of a pat hand
that does not want to draw any cards, depending on the situation. A player who
indicates a pat hand by rapping the table, not knowing the pot has been raised,
may still play his or her hand.
11. You may not change your seat between hands when there are multiple antes or
forfeited money in the pot.
12. You have the right to pay the ante (whether single or multiple) at any time and
receive a hand, unless there is any additional money in the pot that has been
forfeited during a hand in which you were not involved.
13. If the pot has been declared open by an all-in player playing for just the antes,
all callers must come in for the full opening bet.
14. If you have only a full ante and no other chips on the table, you may play for
just the antes. If no one opens and there is another ante, you may still play
for that part of the antes that you have matched, without putting in any more money.
1. The players will be alerted as to whether the joker is in use.
2. The joker may be used only as an ace, or to complete a straight, flush, or straight
flush. (Thus it is not a completely wild card.)
3. If the joker is used to make a flush, it will be the highest card of the flush not present in the hand.
4. Five aces is the best possible hand (four aces and joker).
To kill a pot means to post an overblind that increases the betting
limit. A full kill is double the amount of the big blind, and doubles the
betting limits. A half kill is one-and-a-half times the big blind, and
increases the betting limits by that amount. A kill may be optional in a game,
and is often used at lowball when a player wants to be dealt in right away
instead of waiting to take the big blind. A kill may be required in a game for
any time a specified event takes place. In high-low split games using a
required kill, a player who scoops a pot bigger than a set size must kill the
next pot. In other games using a required kill, a player who wins two
consecutive pots must kill the next pot. In this type of kill game, a marker
called a “kill button” indicates which player has won the pot, and the winner
keeps this marker until the next hand is completed. If the player who has the
kill button wins a second consecutive pot and it qualifies monetarily, that
player must kill the next pot.
1. The kill button is neutral (belonging to no player) if:
(a) It is the first hand of a new game.
(b) The winner of the previous pot has quit the game.
(c) The previous pot was split and neither player had the kill button.
2. In a kill pot, the killer acts in proper turn (after the person on the immediate right).
3. There is no pot-size requirement for the first pot or "leg" of a kill. For
the second "leg" to qualify for a kill, you must win at least one
full bet for whatever limit you are playing, and it cannot be any part of the blind structure.
4. If a player with one "leg up" splits the next pot, that player still has
a "leg up" for the next hand. If the player who split the pot was the
kill in the previous hand, then that player must also kill the next pot.
5. A person who leaves the table with a “leg up” toward a kill still has a “leg up”
upon returning to the game.
6. A player who is required to post a kill must do so that same hand even if wishing
to quit or be dealt out. A player who fails to post a required kill blind will
not be allowed to participate in any game until the kill money is posted.
7. Kill blinds are considered part of the pot. If a player with a required kill wins
again, then that player must kill it again (for the same amount as the previous hand).
8. When a player wins both the high and the low pot
(“scoops”) in a split-pot game with a kill provision, the next hand will be
killed only if the pot is at least five times the size of the upper limit of the game.
9. If you are unaware that the pot has been killed and put in a lesser amount, If it
is a required kill pot with the kill button faceup, you must put in the correct
amount. If not, you may withdraw the chips and reconsider your action.
10. In lowball, an optional rule is allowing players to
look at their first two cards and then opt whether to kill the pot. The pot may
no longer be killed if any player in the game has received a third card. In
order to kill the pot voluntarily, you must have at least four times the amount
of the kill blind in your stack. For example: If the big blind is two chips,
and the kill blind is four chips, the voluntary killer must have at least 16
chips prior to posting the kill. If this rule is used, it is in conjunction
with having the killer act last on the first betting round rather than in proper order.
11. Only one kill is allowed per deal.
12. A new player is not entitled to play in a killed pot,
but may do so by agreeing to kill the next pot.
13. Broken game status is allowed only for players of the
same limit and game type. For this purpose, a game with a required kill is
considered a different type of game than an otherwise similar game without a required kill.
A no-limit or pot-limit betting structure for a game gives it a
different character from limit poker, requiring a separate set of rules in many
situations. All the rules for limit games apply to no-limit and pot-limit
games, except as noted in this section. No-limit means that the amount of a
wager is limited only by the table stakes rule, so any part or all of a
player’s chips may be wagered. The rules of no-limit play also apply to
pot-limit play, except that a bet may not exceed the pot size. The player is
responsible for determining the pot size at no-limit, not the dealer. The
dealer is responsible for determining the pot size at pot-limit, and should enforce
the pot-size cap on wagers without waiting to be asked to do so by a player. For
those rules that apply only to no-limit and pot-limit lowball, see the
sub-section at the end of “Section 11 – Lowball.”
1. The number of raises in any betting round is unlimited.
2. The minimum bet size is the amount of the minimum bring-in, unless the player is
going all-in. The minimum bring-in is the size of the big blind unless the
structure of the game is preset by the house to some other amount (such as
double the big blind). The minimum bet remains the same amount on all betting
rounds. If the big blind does not have sufficient chips to post the required
amount, a player who enters the pot on the initial betting round is still required
to enter for at least the minimum bet (unless going all-in for a lesser sum)
and a preflop raiser must at least double the size of the big blind. At all
other times, when someone goes all-in for less than the minimum bet, a player
has the option of just calling the all-in amount. If a player goes all-in for
an amount that is less than the minimum bet, a player who wishes to raise must
raise at least the amount of the minimum bet. For example, if the minimum bet
is $100, and a player goes all-in on the flop for $20, a player may fold, call
$20, or raise to at least a total of $120.
3. All raises must be equal to or greater than the size of the previous bet or raise
on that betting round, except for an all-in wager. Example: Player A bets 100
and player B raises to 200. Player C wishing to raise must raise at least 100
more, making the total bet at least 300. A player who has already acted and is
not facing a fullsize wager may not subsequently raise an all-in bet that is
less than the minimum bet or less than the full size of the last bet or raise.
(The half-the-size rule for reopening the betting is for limit poker only.)
4. Multiple all-in wagers, each of an amount too small to qualify as a raise, still act as
a raise and reopen the betting if the resulting wager size to a player
qualifies as a raise. Example: Player A bets $100 and Player B raises $100
more, making the total bet $200. If Player C goes all in for less than $300
total (not a full $100 raise), and Player A calls, then Player B has no option
to raise again, because he wasn’t fully raised. (Player A could have raised,
because Player B raised.)
5. “Completing the bet” is a limit poker wager type only, and not used at big-bet poker.
6. At non-tournament play, a player who says "raise" is allowed to continue
putting chips into the pot with more than one move; the wager is assumed
complete when the player’s hands come to rest outside the pot area. (This rule
is used because no-limit play may require a large number of chips be put into
the pot.) In tournament play, the TDA rules require that the player either use
a verbal statement giving the amount of the raise or put the chips into the pot
in a single motion, to avoid making a string-bet.
7. A wager is not binding until the chips are actually released into the pot, unless
the player has made a verbal statement of action.
8. If there is a discrepancy between a player's verbal statement and the amount put
into the pot, the bet will be corrected to the verbal statement.
9. If a call is short due to a counting error, the amount must be corrected, even if
the bettor has shown down a superior hand.
10. A bet of a single chip or bill without comment is considered to be the full
amount of the chip or bill allowed. However, a player acting on a previous bet
with a larger denomination chip or bill is calling the previous bet unless this
player makes a verbal declaration to raise the pot. (This includes acting on
the forced bet of the big blind.)
11. If a player tries to bet or raise less than the legal minimum and has more chips,
the wager must be increased to the proper size (but no greater). This does not
apply to a player who has unintentionally put too much in to call.
12. Because the amount of a wager at big-bet poker has such a wide range, a player who has
taken action based on a gross misunderstanding of the amount wagered may
receive some protection by the decision-maker. A "call" or “raise” may
be ruled not binding if it is obvious that the player grossly misunderstood the
amount wagered, provided no damage has been caused by that action. Example:
Player A bets $300, player B reraises to $1200, and Player C puts $300 into the
pot and says, “call.” It is obvious that player C believes the bet to be only
$300 and he should be allowed to withdraw his $300 and reconsider his wager. A
bettor should not show down a hand until the amount put into the pot for a call
seems reasonably correct, or it is obvious that the caller understands the
amount wagered. The decision-maker is allowed considerable discretion in ruling
on this type of situation. A possible rule-of-thumb is to disallow any claim of
not understanding the amount wagered if the caller has put eighty percent or
more of that amount into the pot.
Example: On the end, a player puts a $500 chip into the pot and says softly, “Four hundred.” The
opponent puts a $100 chip into the pot and says, “Call.” The bettor immediately
shows the hand. The dealer says, “He bet four hundred.” The caller says, “Oh, I
thought he bet a hundred.” In this case, the recommended ruling normally is
that the bettor had an obligation to not show the hand when the amount put into
the pot was obviously short, and the “call” can be retracted. Note that the
character of each player can be a factor. (Unfortunately, situations can arise
at big-bet poker that are not so clear-cut as this.)
13. All wagers may be required to be in the same denomination of chip (or larger) used
for the minimum bring-in, even if smaller chips are used in the blind
structure. If this is done, the smaller chips do not play except in quantity,
even when going all-in.
14. Since all a player’s chips may be put at risk on a hand, the house has the right to
set a maximum amount for the buy-in to help control the effective size of a game.
15. In non-tournament games, one optional live straddle is allowed. The player who
posts the straddle has last action for the first round of betting and is
allowed to raise. To straddle, a player must be on the immediate left of the
big blind, and must post an amount twice the size of the big blind. A straddle
bet sets a new minimum bring-in; it is not treated as a raise.
16. In all no-limit and pot-limit games, the house has the right to place a maximum
time limit for taking action on your hand. The clock may be put on someone by
the dealer as directed by a floorperson, if a player requests it. If the clock
is put on you when you are facing a bet, you will have one additional minute to
act on your hand. You will have a ten-second warning, after which your hand is
dead if you have not acted.
17. The cardroom does not condone "insurance" or any other “proposition”
wagers. The management declines to make decisions in such matters, and the pot
will be awarded to the best hand. Players are asked to refrain from instigating
proposition wagers in any form. The players are allowed to agree to deal twice
(or three times) when someone is all-in. “Dealing twice” means the pot is
divided in two, with each portion being dealt for separately.
A bet may not exceed the pot size. The maximum amount a player can
raise is the amount in the pot after the call is made. Therefore, if a pot is
$100, and someone makes a $50 bet, the next player can call $50 and raise the
pot $200, for a total wager of $250.
1. If a wager is made that exceeds the pot size, the
surplus will be given back to the bettor as soon as possible, and the amount
will be reduced to the maximum allowable.
2. The dealer or any player in the game can and should
call attention to a wager that appears to exceed the pot size (this also
applies to heads-up pots). The oversize wager may be corrected at any point
until all players have acted on it.
3. If an oversize wager has stood for a length of time
with someone considering what action to take, that person has had to act on a
wager that was thought to be a certain size. If the player then decides to call
or raise, and attention is called at this late point to whether this is an
allowable amount, the floorperson may rule that the oversize amount must stand
(especially if the person now trying to reduce the amount is the person that made the wager).
4. In pot-limit play, it is advisable in many structures to round off the pot size
upward to produce a faster pace of play. This is done by treating any odd
amount as the next larger size. For example, if the pot size was being kept
track of with $25 units, then a pot size of $80 would be treated as a pot size of $100.
5. In pot-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha money games, many structures treat the
little blind as if it were the same size of the big blind in computing pot
size. In such a structure, a player can open for a maximum of four times the
size of the big blind. For example, if the blinds are $5 and $10, a player may
open with a raise to $40. (The range of options is to either open with a call of
$10, or raise in increments of five dollars to any amount from $20 to $40.)
Subsequent players also treat the $5 as if it were $10 in computing the pot
size, until the big blind is through acting on the first betting round. This
rule of treating the little blind as if it were the size of the big blind is
especially desirable in a structure where the little blind uses a
lower-denomination chip than the big blind, as in using blinds of $10 and $25
(two $5 chips and a $25 chip). At tournament play, strict pot-limit rules are
normally used, so there the maximum opening wager is 3.5 times the size of the big blind.
6. In pot-limit, a player who puts a chip or a bill larger than the pot size into the
pot without comment is considered to be making a bet of the pot size (unless he
is facing a bet).
By participating in a tournament, you agree to abide by the rules and
behave in a courteous manner. A violator may be verbally warned, suspended from
play for a specified length of time, or disqualified from the tournament. Chips
from a disqualified participant will be removed from play. Players, whether in the hand or not, may not discuss the
hands until the action is complete. Players are obligated to protect the other
players in the tournament at all times. Discussing cards discarded or hand
possibilities is not allowed. A penalty may be given for discussion of hands during the play.
1. Whenever possible, all rules are the same as those that apply to live games.
2. Initial seating is determined by random draw or assignment. (For a one-table satellite
event, cards to determine seating may be left faceup so the earlier entrants
can pick their seat, since the button is assigned randomly.)
3. A change of seat is not allowed after play starts, except as assigned by the director.
4. The appropriate starting amount of chips will be placed on the table for each paid
entrant at the beginning of the event, whether the person is present or not.
5. If a paid entrant is absent at the start of an event, at some point an effort will
be made to locate and contact the player. If the player requests the chips be
left in place until arrival, the request will be honored. If the player is
unable to be contacted, the chips may be removed from play at the discretion of
the director anytime after a new betting level is begun or a half-hour has
elapsed, whichever occurs first.
6. A starting stack of chips may be placed in a seat to accommodate late entrants
(so all antes and blinds have been appropriately paid). An unsold seat will
have such a stack removed at a time left to the discretion of the director.
7. A no-show or absent player is always dealt a hand. That player’s stack will post
chips for blinds and antes, and have the forced lowcard bet put into the pot at stud.
8. In all tournament games using a dealer button, the starting position of the button
is determined by the players drawing for the high card.
9. Limits and blinds are raised at regularly scheduled intervals.
10. If there is a signal designating the end of a betting level, the new limits apply
on the next deal. (A deal begins with the first riffle of the shuffle.)
11. The lowest denomination of chip in play will be removed from the table when it is
no longer needed in the blind or ante structure. All lower-denomination chips
that are of sufficient quantity for a new chip will be changed up directly. The
method for removal of odd chips is to deal one card to a player for each odd
chip possessed. Cards are dealt clockwise starting with the 1-seat, with each player
receiving all cards before any cards are dealt to the next player. A player may
not be eliminated from the event by the chip-change process. If a player has no
chips after the race has been held, he will be given a chip of the higher
denomination before anyone else is awarded a chip. Next, the player with the
highest card by suit gets enough odd chips to exchange for one new chip, the
second-highest card gets to exchange for the next chip, and so forth, until all
the lower-denomination chips are exchanged. If an odd number of
lower-denomination chips are left after this process, the player with the
highest card remaining will receive a new chip if he has half or more of the
quantity of lower-denomination chips needed, otherwise nothing.
12. A player must be present at the table to stop the action by calling “time.”
13. A player must be at the table by the time all players have their complete
starting hands in order to have a live hand for that deal. (The dealer has been
instructed to kill the hands of all absent players immediately after dealing
each player a starting hand.)
14. As players are eliminated, tables are broken in a pre-set order, with players from
the broken tables assigned to empty seats at other tables.
15. In button games, if a player is needed to move from a table to balance tables, the
player due for the big blind will be automatically selected to move, and will
be given the earliest seat due for the big blind if more than one seat is open.
16. New players to a table as a result of balancing tables are dealt in immediately
unless they are in the small blind or button position, where they must wait
until the button has passed to the player on their left.
17. The number of players at each
table will be kept reasonably balanced by the transfer of a player as needed.
With more than six tables, table size will be kept within two players. With six
tables or less, table size will be kept within one player.
18. In all events, there is a redraw for seating when the field is reduced to three
tables, two tables, and one table. (Redrawing at three tables is not mandatory
in small tournaments with only four or five starting tables.)
19. If a player lacks sufficient chips for a blind or a forced bet, the player is
entitled to get action on whatever amount of money is left in his stack. A
player who posts a short blind and wins does not need to make up the blind.
20. A player who declares all in and loses the pot, then discovers that one or more
chips were hidden, is not entitled to benefit from this. That player is
eliminated from the tournament if the opponent had sufficient chips to cover
the hidden ones (A rebuy is okay if allowable by the rules of that event). If
another deal has not yet started, the director may rule the chips belong to the
opponent who won that pot, if that obviously would have happened with the chips
out in plain view. If the next deal has started, the discovered chips are
removed from the tournament.
21. All players must leave their seat immediately after being eliminated from an event.
22. Showing cards from a live hand during the action injures the rights of other players
still competing in an event, who wish to see contestants eliminated. A player in
a multihanded pot may not show any cards during a deal. Heads-up, a player may
not show any cards unless the event has only two remaining players, or is
winner-take-all. If a player deliberately shows a card, the player may be
penalized (but his hand will not be ruled dead). Verbally stating one’s hand
during the play may be penalized.
23. The limitation on the number of raises at limit poker is also applied to heads-up
situations (except the last two players in a tournament are exempted from a
limitation on raises).
24. At pot-limit and no-limit play, the player must either use a verbal statement
giving the amount of the raise or put chips into the pot in a single motion.
Otherwise, it is a string bet.
25. Non-tournament chips are not allowed on the table.
26. Higher-denomination chips must be placed where they are easily visible to all other players.
27. All tournament chips must remain visible on the table throughout the event. Chips
taken off the table will be removed from the event, and a player doing this may
be disqualified.
28. Inappropriate behavior like throwing cards that go off the table may be punished with a
penalty such as being dealt out for a length of time or number of hands. A
severe infraction such as abusive or disruptive behavior may be punished by
eviction from the tournament.
29. The decks is changed only when dealers change, unless a card is damaged.
30. The dealer button remains in position until the appropriate blinds are taken.
Players must post all blinds every round. Because of this, last action may be
given to the same player for two consecutive hands by the use of a “dead
button.” [See “Section 16 – Explanations,” discussion #1, for more information
on this rule.]
31. In heads-up play with two blinds, the small blind is on the button. When play
becomes heads-up, the player who had the big blind the most recently is given
the button, and his opponent is given the big blind.
32. At stud, if a downcard on the initial hand is dealt faceup, a misdeal is called.
33. If a player announces the intent to rebuy before cards are dealt, that player is
playing behind and is obligated to make the rebuy.
34. All hands will be turned faceup whenever a player is all-in and betting action is complete.
35. If multiple players go broke on the same hand, the player starting the hand with the
larger amount of chips finishes in the higher place for prize money and any
other award. Players eliminated on the same deal who start their final hand
with an equal amount of chips receive equal prize money, with the best hand on
that deal receiving any non-divisible award.
36. Management is not required to rule on any private deals, side bets, or redistribution of
the prize pool among finalists.
37. Private agreements by remaining players in an event regarding distribution of the prize
pool are not condoned. (However, if such an agreement is made, the director has
the option of ensuring that it is carried out by paying those amounts.) Any
private agreement that does not include one or more active competitors is improper by definition.
38. A tournament event is expected to be played until completion. A private agreement
that removes all prize money from being at stake in the competition is unethical.
39. Management retains the right to cancel any event, or alter it in a manner fair to the players.
1. The only place in this set of rules that an alternative is mentioned other than in this
section is in the method of button and blind placement. That rule (the first
rule in “Section 4 – Button and Blind Use”) is repeated in an abbreviated
version below for convenience.
“Each round all players must get the button, and meet the
total amount of the blind obligations. Either of the following methods of
button and blind placement may be used:
(a) Moving button – The button always moves forward to the next player and the
blinds adjust accordingly. There may be more than one big blind.
(b) Dead button – The big blind is posted by the player due for it, and the small
blind and button are positioned accordingly, even if this means the small blind
or the button is placed in front of an empty seat, giving a player last action
on consecutive hands.”
Poker tradition has a lot to do with the fact that both of these methods are in widespread use, but
neither method is superior in all situations. The moving button makes sure no
player gets the advantage of last action twice on a round (a big advantage at
no-limit or pot-limit play). On the other hand, a player may get to post a
blind when on the button, which is more advantageous than posting in front of
the button. The moving button creates a situation where two big blinds may be
posted on a deal, which speeds up the action. At tournament play this speed-up
can be undesirable, as when dealing is being done hand-for-hand to balance the
pace of play between two remaining tables. A cardroom may either decide for the
sake of simplicity to use only one method, or decide to tailor the method to
the game and situation.
2. Most poker rule sets say you have a dead hand at the
showdown if you do not have the proper number of cards for that game. At stud,
this rule is too strict. An inexperienced player sometimes does not pay
sufficient attention to the final card when holding a big hand like a flush or
full house (where improvement is neither likely to happen nor be needed), and
fails to protect that card. If the dealer erroneously puts that final card into
the muck after the player fails to take it in, the rules should give the
decision-maker an option to rule such a hand live. Rule 18 in “Section 8 –
Seven-card Stud” reads as below:
“A hand with more than seven cards is dead. A hand with less than seven cards at the
showdown is dead, except any player missing a seventh card may have the hand ruled live.”
3. This rulebook requires all cash to be changed into chips. In some cardrooms this may be impractical. If
the cardroom chooses to allow cash, only $100 bills should be permitted.
4. The rules given for rectifying a holdem situation where the dealer has dealt the flop or another
boardcard before all the betting action on a round are inferior, because the
dealer is told to not burn a card on a redeal. Since the “no burn” rule is so
common, there was no choice but to use it here. It would be better for poker if
the rule were changed to always burning a card. Here are these rules (the third
rule and fourth rule in “Section 5 – Holdem”).
“If the cards are flopped before the betting is complete,
or if the flop contains too many cards, the boardcards are mixed with the
remainder of the deck. The burncard 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 burncards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns up
the final card without burning a card.
The portion of this rule saying the dealer does not burn a card on the redeal is inferior. It is
harder for the dealer to control the card to be dealt if a burn is required.
The sentence in the rule should read, “The dealer then cuts the deck, burns a
card, and turns the final card.”
The present method for handling a premature dealing on the turn is used to have what would have been
the last board-card used on the turn, and not reshuffling the deck until just
before the last card is dealt. This method has four-fifths of the boardcards
remaining the same, albeit in a different order. It would be better to reshuffle
before the turn, preserving the chance of receiving the prematurely dealt card on
either of the last two cards, as opposed to cutting that chance in half. The
superiority of reshuffling right away is illustrated if the prematurely dealt
card makes a gutshot straight-flush for a player.
5. Rule seven in “Section 4 – Button and Blind Use”
says, “A new player cannot be dealt in between the big blind and the button.
Blinds may not be made up between the big blind and the button. You must wait
until the button passes.” This rule is standard practice, but allowing a new
player or player making up blinds to come in between the blinds is better (if
dealers are trained how to handle the resulting situations), because it gets
players eager to join or rejoin the game into action faster.
6. Most poker rulebooks follow the usual California practice in multihanded pots at
limit poker of allowing a bet and six raises for
lowball and draw high. The number of allowable raises for those games is given
in this rulebook as a bet and four raises because this cuts down on the effect
of collusion between players, and more raises than four are hardly ever needed
to define the strength of two hands when another player is calling.
7. Lowball has historically had less stringent demands on the order of cards or
acceptability of exposed cards than in most other poker forms. This rulebook
follows the modern trend at lowball regarding misdeals of requiring the cards
to be dealt facedown and in proper order.
8. At ace-to-five limit lowball, an exposed card rule used less often, but probably a superior rule, is
to not let a player take an exposed six or seven (the rule for no-limit
ace-to-five lowball). If a player gets to keep only a card that might make a
perfect hand, having a card exposed is less advantageous, and the opponent must
consider the chance of a perfect hand.
9. At lowball and draw high, some rule sets allow a player to draw five consecutive
cards. The rule used here disallowing this makes cheating more difficult. Our
rule #10 in lowball and rule #5 in draw high says, “A player may 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.”
ACTION: A fold, check, call, bet, or raise. For certain
situations, doing something formally connected with the game that conveys
information about your hand may also be considered as having taken action.
Examples would be showing your cards at the end of the hand, or indicating the
number of cards you are taking at draw.
AGGRESSIVE ACTION: A wager that could enable a player to win a
pot without a showdown; a bet or raise.
ALL-IN: When you have put all of your playable money and chips
into the pot during the course of a hand, you are said to be all-in.
ANTE: A prescribed amount posted before the start of a hand by all players.
BET: (1) The act of making a wager before anyone else on a
betting round. (2)The chips used by a player to bet, call, or raise.
BIG BLIND: The largest regular blind in a game.
BLIND: A required bet made before any cards are dealt.
BLIND GAME: A game which utilizes a blind.
BOARD: (1) The board on which a waiting list is kept for players
wanting seats in specific games. (2) Cards faceup on the table common to each of the hands.
BOARDCARD: A community card in the center of the table, as in hold’em or Omaha.
BOXED CARD: A card that appears faceup in the deck where all
other cards are facedown.
BROKEN GAME: A game no longer in action.
BURNCARD: After the initial round of cards is dealt, the first
card off the deck in each round that is placed under a chip in the pot, for
security purposes. To do so is to burn the card; the card itself is called the burncard.
BUTTON: A player who is in the designated dealer position. See dealer button.
BUTTON GAMES: Games in which a dealer button is used.
BUY-IN: The minimum amount of money required to enter any game.
CALIFORNIA LOWBALL: Ace-to-five lowball with a joker.
CARDS SPEAK: The face value of a hand in a showdown is the true
value of the hand, regardless of a verbal announcement.
CAPPED: Describes the situation in limit poker in which the
maximum number of raises on the betting round have been reached.
CHECK: To waive the right to initiate the betting in a round,
but to retain the right to act if another player initiates the betting.
CHECK-RAISE: To waive the right to bet until a bet has been made
by an opponent, and then to increase the bet by at least an equal amount when
it is your turn to act.
COLLECTION: The fee charged in a game (taken either out of the pot or from each player).
COLLECTION DROP: A fee charged for each hand dealt.
COLOR CHANGE: A request to change the chips from one denomination to another.
COMMON CARD: A card dealt faceup to be used by all players at
the showdown in the games of stud poker whenever there are insufficient cards
left in the deck to deal each player a card.
COMMUNITY CARDS: The cards dealt faceup in the center of the
table that can be used by all players to form their best hand in the games of
hold’em and Omaha.
COMPLETE THE BET: To increase an all-in bet or forced bet to a full bet in limit poker.
CUT: To divide the deck into two sections in such a manner as to change the order of the cards.
CUT-CARD: Another term for the card used to shield the bottom of the deck.
DEAD CARD: A card that is not legally playable.
DEAD COLLECTION BLIND: A fee posted by the player having the dealer button, used
in some games as an alternative method of seat rental.
DEAD HAND: A hand that is not legally playable.
DEAD MONEY: Chips that are taken into the center of the pot
because they are not considered part of a particular player’s bet.
DEAL: To give each player cards, or put cards on the board. As
used in these rules, each deal refers to the entire process from the shuffling
and dealing of cards until the pot is awarded to the winner.
DEALER BUTTON: A flat disk that indicates the player who would
be in the dealing position for that hand (if there were not a house dealer).
Normally just called “the button.”
DEAL OFF: To take all the blinds and the button before changing
seats or leaving the table. That is, participate through all the blind
positions and the dealer position.
DEAL TWICE: When there is no more betting, agreeing to have the
rest of the cards to come determine only half the pot, removing those cards,
and dealing again for the other half of the pot.
A set of playing-cards. In these games, the deck consists of either:
(1) 52 cards in seven-card stud, hold’em, and Omaha.
(2) 53 cards (including the joker), often used in ace-to-five lowball and draw high.
DISCARD(S): In a draw game, to throw cards out of your hand to
make room for replacements, or the card(s) thrown away; the muck.
DOWNCARDS: Cards that are dealt facedown in a stud game.
DRAW: (1) The poker form where players are given the opportunity
to replace cards in the hand. In some places like California, the word “draw”
is used referring to draw high, and draw low is called “lowball.” (2) The act
of replacing cards in the hand. (3) The point in the deal where replacing is
done is called “the draw.”
FACECARD: A king, queen, or jack.
FIXED LIMIT: In limit poker, a betting structure where the bet
size on each round is pre-set.
FLASHED CARD: A card that is partially exposed.
FLOORPERSON: A casino employee who seats players and makes decisions.
FLOP: In hold’em or Omaha, the three community cards that are
turned simultaneously after the first round of betting is complete.
FLUSH: A poker hand consisting of five cards of the same suit.
FOLD: To throw a hand away and relinquish all interest in a pot.
FOURTH STREET: The second upcard in seven-card stud or
the first boardcard after the flop in holdem (also called the turn card).
FOULED HAND: A dead hand.
FORCED BET: A required wager to start the action on the first
betting round (the normal way action begins in a stud game).
FREEROLL: A chance to win something at no risk or cost.
FULL BUY: A buy-in of at least the minimum amount of chips needed for a particular game.
FULL HOUSE: A hand consisting of three of a kind and a pair.
HAND: (1) All a player’s personal cards. (2) The five cards
determining the poker ranking. (3) A single poker deal.
HEADS-UP PLAY: Only two players involved in play.
HOLECARDS: The cards dealt facedown to a player.
INSURANCE: A side agreement when someone is all-in for a player
in a pot to put up money that guarantees a payoff of a set amount in case the
opponent wins the pot.
JOKER: The joker is a “partly wild card” in high draw poker and
ace-to-five lowball. In high, it is used for aces, straights, and flushes. In
lowball, it is the lowest unmatched rank in a hand.
KANSAS CITY LOWBALL: A form of draw poker low also known
as deuce-to-seven, in which the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 and straights and
flushes count against you.
KICKER: The highest unpaired card that helps determine the
value of a five-card poker hand.
KILL (OR KILL BLIND): An oversize blind, usually twice the size
of the big blind and doubling the limit. Sometimes a “half-kill” increasing the
blind and limits by fifty percent is used. A kill can be either voluntary or
mandatory. The most common requirements of a mandatory kill are for winning two
pots in a row, or for scooping a pot in high-low split.
KILL BUTTON: A button used in a lowball game to indicate a
player who has won two pots in a row and is required to kill the pot.
KILL POT: A pot with a forced kill by the winner of the two previous pots, or the winner
of an entire pot of sufficient size in a high-low split game. (Some pots can be voluntarily killed.)
LEG UP: Being in a situation equivalent to having won the
previous pot, and thus liable to have to kill the following pot if you win the current pot.
LIVE BLIND: A blind bet giving a player the option of raising if no one else has raised.
LIST: The ordered roster of players waiting for a game.
LOCK-UP: A chip marker that holds a seat for a player.
LOWBALL: A draw game where the lowest hand wins.
LOWCARD: At seven-card stud, the lowest upcard, which is required to bet.
MISCALL: An incorrect verbal declaration of the ranking of a hand.
MISDEAL: A mistake on the dealing of a hand which causes the
cards to be reshuffled and a new hand to be dealt.
MISSED BLIND: A required bet that is not posted when it is your turn to do so.
MUCK: (1) The pile of discards gathered facedown in the center of the table by the dealer. (2) To
discard a hand.
MUST-MOVE: In order to protect the main game, a situation where
the players of a second game must move into the first game as openings occur.
NO-LIMIT: A betting structure allowing players to wager any or all of their chips in one bet.
OPENER: The player who made the first voluntary bet.
OPENER BUTTON: A button used to indicate who opened a particular pot in a draw game.
OPENERS: In jacks-or-better draw, the cards held by the player
who opens the pot that show the hand qualifies to be opened. Example: You are
first to bet and have a pair of kings; the kings are called your openers.
OPTION: The choice to raise a bet given to a player with a blind.
OVERBLIND: Also called oversize blind. A blind used in some pots
that is bigger than the regular big blind, and usually increases the stakes proportionally.
PASS: (1) Decline to bet. In a pass-and-out game, this differs
from a check, because a player who passes must fold. (2) Decline to call a
wager, at which point you must discard your hand and have no further interest in the pot.
PAT: Not drawing any cards in a draw game.
PLAY BEHIND: Have chips in play that are not in front of you
(allowed only when waiting for chips that are already purchased). This differs from table stakes.
PLAY THE BOARD: Using all five community cards for your hand in hold’em.
PLAY OVER: To play in a seat when the occupant is absent.
PLAYOVER BOX: A clear plastic box used to cover and protect the
chips of an absent player when someone plays over that seat.
POSITION: (1) The relation of a player’s seat to the blinds or
the button. (2) The order of acting on a betting round or deal.
POT-LIMIT: The betting structure of a game in which you are
allowed to bet up to the amount of the pot.
POTTING OUT: Agreeing with another player to take money out of a
pot, often to buy food, cigarettes, or drinks, or to make side bets.
PROPOSITION BET: A side bet not related to the outcome of the hand.
PROTECTED HAND: A hand of cards that the player is physically
holding, or has topped with a chip or some other object to prevent a fouled hand.
PUSH: When a new dealer replaces an existing dealer at a particular table.
PUSHING BETS: The situation in which two (or more) players make
an agreement to return bets to each other when one of them wins a pot in which
the other plays. Also called saving bets.
RACK: (1) A container in which chips are stored while being
transported. (2) A tray in front of the dealer, used to hold chips and cards.
RAISE: To increase the amount of a previous wager. This increase must meet certain
specifications, depending on the game, to reopen the betting and count toward a
limit on the number of raises allowed.
RERAISE: To raise someone’s raise.
SAVING BETS: Same as pushing bets.
SCOOP: To win the entire pot in a high-low split game by a wager or showdown.
SCRAMBLE: A facedown mixing of the cards.
SETUP: Two new decks, each with different colored backs, to replace the current decks.
SIDE POT: A separate pot formed when one or more players are all in.
SHORT BUY: A buy-in that is less than the required minimum buy-in.
SHOWDOWN: The showing of cards to determine the pot-winner after all the betting is over.
SHUFFLE: The act of mixing the cards before a hand.
SMALL BLIND: In a game with multiple blind bets, the smallest blind.
SOFTPLAY: To show favoritism to a particular opponent by checking throughout a deal whenever
heads-up. This refusal to bet with a good hand or bluff with a bad hand when
facing a certain person, however motivated, is still improper poker
behavior. Softplaying is actually a form of collusion, and may be penalized as such.
SPLIT POT: A pot that is divided among players, either because of a tie for the best hand or by agreement
prior to the showdown.
SPLITTING BLINDS: When no one else has entered the pot, an agreement between the big blind and small blind to
each take back their blind bets instead of playing the deal (chopping).
SPLITTING OPENERS: In high draw jacks-or-better poker, dividing
openers in hopes of making a different type of hand (such as breaking aces to draw at a flush).
STACK: Chips in front of a player.
STRADDLE: An additional blind bet placed after the forced
blinds, usually double the big blind in size or in lowball, a multiple blind game.
STRAIGHT: Five cards in consecutive rank.
STRAIGHT FLUSH: Five cards in consecutive rank of the same suit.
STREET: Cards dealt on a particular round in stud games. For
instance, the fourth card in a player’s hand is often known as fourth street, the sixth card as sixth street, and so on.
STRING RAISE: A wager made in more than one motion, without announcing
a raise before going back to your stack for more chips (not allowed).
STUB: The portion of the deck which has not been dealt.
SUPERVISOR: A cardroom employee qualified to make rulings, such
as a floorperson, shift supervisor, or the cardroom manager.
TABLE STAKES: (1) The amount of money you have on the table.
This is the maximum amount that you can win or lose on a hand. (2) The
requirement that players can wager only the money in front of them at the start
of a hand, and can only buy more chips between hands.
“TIME”: An expression used to stop the action on a hand. Equivalent to “Hold it.”
TIME COLLECTION: A fee for a seat rental, paid in advance.
TURNCARD: The fourth board-card in hold'em or Omaha.
UPCARDS: Cards that are dealt faceup for opponents to see in stud games.
WAGER: (1) To bet or raise. (2) The chips used for betting or raising.
CHANGES MADE BY THIS CARDROOM
Here are the amendments, additions, and clarifications to these rules made by our cardroom.
May 2007 by HomePokerTourney.com - Placed the Table of Contents at the
beginning of the document rather than on page 2 of the document.
