Poker
Poker Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Poker is played from a standard pack of 52 cards. The cards are ranked (from high to low) Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. (Ace can be high or low, but is usually high).
There are four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs), but no suit is higher than another.
All poker hands contain five cards, the highest hand wins.
Hands are ranked as follows: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, Pair, Highest Card.
Hand Ranks in Poker
General Rule: When hands tie on the rank of a pair, three of a kind, etc, the cards outside break ties following the High Card rules.
Royal Flush
An Ace high straight-flush is called a Royal Flush and is the highest natural hand.
Straight Flush
A straight flush is the best natural hand. A straight flush is a straight (5 cards in order) that are all of the same suit. An ace may either be high low (5-4-3-2-1) but a straight may not "wraparound" such as e.g. K-A-2-3-4.
Four of a Kind
Four of a kind is simply four cards of the same rank.
Full House
A full house is a three of a kind and a pair. Ties are broken first by the three of a kind, then pair. So K-K-K-2-2 beats Q-Q-Q-A-A, which beats Q-Q-Q-J-J.
Flush
A flush is a hand where all of the cards are the same suit, such as J-8-5-3-2, all of spades. When flushes tie, follow the rules for High Card.
Straight
A straight is 5 cards in order, such as 4-5-6-7-8. An ace may either be high (A-K-Q-J-T) or low (5-4-3-2-1), but the straight may not "wraparound". When straights tie, the highest straight wins. If two straights have the same value (AKQJT vs AKQJT) they split the pot.
Three of a Kind
Three cards of any rank, matched with two cards that are not a pair. Again, highest three of a kind wins. If both are the same rank, then compare High Cards.
Two Pairs
This is two distinct pairs of cards. The highest pair wins ties. If both hands have the same high pair, the second pair wins. If both hands have the same pairs, the high card wins.
One Pair
One pair with three distinct cards. The highest pair wins and the high card breaks ties.
Highest Card
This is any hand which doesn't qualify as any one of the above hands. If multiple people tie for the highest card, they look at the second highest, then the third highest etc. High card is also used to break ties when the high hands both have the same type of hand (pair, flush, straight, etc).
Betting
Poker is a gambling game. Players bet into the pot in the middle; at the end, the highest hand (that hasn't folded) wins the pot.
Basically, when betting gets around to you (betting is done in clockwise order), you choose to do some actions:
Call
When you call, you bet enough to match what has been bet since the last time you bet (for instance, if you bet a dime last time, and someone else bet a quarter, you would owe fifteen cents).
If there has been a bet on the current round of poker play, a player may call.
The act of calling requires the player to match the current bet made by his or her opponent(s).
Raise
When you raise, you first bet enough to match what has been bet since the last time you bet, then you "raise" the bet another amount (up to you, but there is typically a limit).
If there has been a bet on the current betting round, a player may raise.
The act of raising requires the poker player to match the current bet, and then make a greater one.
All subsequent players are required to call the raise or raise again ("re-raise") to maintain interest in the pot.
Fold
When you fold, you drop out of the current hand. In other words, you give up the current hand because you don't think you can win.
A player who folds is not required to wager any further money during the current poker hand, but cannot win the pot either.
Bet
If there is not yet a wager on the current betting round a player may bet.
If a player bets, the player immediately clockwise from him or her (and any subsequent players) may fold, raise or call.
Check
If there is no wager on the current betting round a player may check. The act of checking passes the action to the next person, immediately clockwise from the player.
A check does not forfeit interest in the pot, only the current right to bet. If all active players check during a round of betting, the round is considered complete.
Betting continues until everyone calls or folds after a raise or initial bet. On each betting round, betting continues until every player has either matched the bets made or folded. If no bets are made, the round is complete when every player has checked. When the betting round is completed, the next dealing/betting round begins or the hand is complete.
If the last bet or raise on the final betting round is called, a "showdown" occurs. This is when it is determined who wins the pot, as players show their hands one-by-one.
It may be the case that there is no showdown. This occurs when a player bets or raises and no active players choose to call the player's bet. In other words, all players fold.
In this case, the player doing the betting or raising wins the full amount of the pot.
Texas Hold'em Poker Rules
Texas Hold'em is played on a single table with two to 10 players.
Each player is dealt two private cards (known as "hole cards") that belong to them alone.
Five community cards are dealt face-up, to form the "board".
A player may use these shared cards of the board in conjunction with their own hole cards to make their highest possible poker hand.
Game Play
The structure of Texas Hold'em can be broken up into three divisions:
- Setup
- Betting Rounds
- Showdown
The goal is simple: win as many chips as you can, one pot at a time. You win this pot by having the best hand or by having all other players fold before the showdown.
Setup & Button
Once you have your players sitting around the table, the first thing you need to have is chips.
The next step is to pick a player who will start with the "button" which shows who is the active dealer for the current game.
Texas Hold'em is played by a rotating dealer and the player on the button receives last action on all post-flop streets of play.
Once the hand completes, the player with the dealer button will pass it to the player to his or her left.
The Blinds (Blind Bets)
There are two blinds in Hold'em: a small blind and a big blind. The small blind is generally half the amount of the big blind, although it varies.
The player directly to the left of the button posts the small blind, and the player to his or her direct left posts the big blind.
The size of the blinds will dictate the stakes of the game you will play.
Without these blinds, the game would be very boring because no one would be required to put any money into the pot.
Once you have the blinds out, you're now ready to deal the first hand.
Betting Rounds
The player to the immediate left of the dealer button receives the first card and then the dealer pitches cards around the table clockwise until each player has received two starting cards.
Betting action proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player "under the gun" (immediately clockwise from the big blind).
Player Betting Options
The available actions are "fold", "call" or "raise".
Each poker player always has the option to fold (discard their cards) and give up any interest in the pot.
To call is to match the amount the previous player has bet.
To raise is to not only match the previous bet, but to also double the amount of the big blind.
Pre-flop
After seeing the hole cards, each player now has the option to play by calling or raising the big blind.
The action begins to the left of the big blind, which is considered a "live" bet on this round.
That player has the option to fold, call or raise. For example, if the big blind was $2, it would cost $2 to call, or at least $4 to raise. Action then proceeds clockwise around the table.
Betting continues on each betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in the pot.
The Flop
Now, three cards are dealt face-up on the board.
In Hold'em, the three cards on the flop are community cards, available to all players still in the hand.
Betting on the flop begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.
The betting options are similar to pre-flop with two exceptions:
- The first player to act is the next player left of the dealer.
- The first player to act can check or bet; as there has been no bet made, calling is free.
A bet on the flop is the amount of the big blind.
The Turn
When the betting round on the flop is completed, the dealer deals one card facedown followed by a single card face-up, also known as the turn. This is the fourth community card ("fourth street") and now a new betting round starts, beginning with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.
The River
When betting action is completed for the turn round, the "river" or "Fifth Street" is dealt face-up on the board.
The river is the fifth and final community card.
Betting again begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.
The Showdown
When there is more than one active player left, the last person to bet or raise shows their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round, in which case the player immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards first.
The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot.
In the event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands.
After the pot is awarded, a new hand is ready to be played and the button moves clockwise to the next player.