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ROBERT’S RULES OF POKER
VERSION 4
“Robert’s Rules Of Poker” is authored by Robert Ciaffone, better known
in the poker world as Bob Ciaffone, a leading authority on card room
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 card rooms 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
card rooms. 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 card room. 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 card room
can use it who so desires. The purpose is the betterment of poker.
The author has strongly supported uniform poker rules, and applauds
the work done in this direction by the Tournament Director’s
Association (TDA). 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.
~o~
THIS IS THE OFFICIAL RULEBOOK FOR OUR CARD ROOM
Welcome to our card room. 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.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(1) PROPER BEHAVIOR
Conduct Code
Poker Etiquette
Tobacco Use
(2) HOUSE POLICIES
Decision-Making
Procedures
Seating
(3) GENERAL POKER RULES
The Buy-In
Misdeals
Dead Hands
Irregularities
Betting and Raising
The Showdown
Ties
(4) BUTTON AND BLIND USE
Rules for using blinds
(5) HOLD’EM
(6) OMAHA
(7) OMAHA HIGH-LOW
(8) SEVEN-CARD STUD
(9) RAZZ (SEVEN-CARD STUD LOW)
(10) SEVEN-CARD STUD HIGH-LOW
(11) LOWBALL
Ace-to-five Lowball
Deuce-to-seven Lowball
No-limit and Pot-limit Lowball
(12) DRAW HIGH
Jacks-or-Better
The Joker
(13) KILL POTS
(14) NO-LIMIT AND POT-LIMIT
No-limit
Pot-limit
(15) TOURNAMENTS
(16) EXPLANATIONS
Glossary
1 - PROPER BEHAVIOR
CONDUCT CODE
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 card room to anyone who violates it. The following is 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.
POKER ETIQUETTE
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.
Reading a hand for another player at the showdown before it has been
placed face-up on the table.
Telling anyone to turn a hand face-up at the showdown.
Revealing the contents of a live hand in a multi-handed pot before the
betting is complete.
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.
TOBACCO USE
(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 card room.
Smoking by a guest or spectator is not allowed.
2 - HOUSE POLICIES
DECISION-MAKING
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 an error or irregularity 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, but the time limit for a ruling request given in
the previous rule has been complied with, 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 for a short period. The
delay could be needed to check the overhead camera tape, get the shift
supervisor to give the ruling, or some other good reason. In such
circumstances, a pot or portion thereof 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.
PROCEDURES
1. Management will decide when to start or close any game.
2. 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 the first hand. 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.
3. Cash is not permitted on the table. All cash should be changed into
chips in order to play. If a player appears unaware of this rule and
attempts 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 establishment are not permitted on the table, do not play in
the game, and if discovered will be treated similarly to unnoticed
cash. [See Section 16 – “Explanations,” discussion #5, for more
information on this rule.]
4. 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.
5. All games are table stakes (except “playing behind” as given in the
next rule). All chips and money must be kept in plain view. Chips may
be removed for security purposes when leaving the table, but must be
fully restored upon return. 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.
6. "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.
7. Playing out of a rack is not allowed.
8. Only one person may play a hand.
9. No one is allowed to play another player’s chips.
10. Permission is required before taking a seat in a game.
11. Playing over without permission from the floorperson is not
allowed. A playover box is required. Permission from the absent player
is not necessary.
12. Pushing bets (“saving” or “potting out”) is not allowed.
13. Pushing an ante or posting for another person is not allowed.
14. 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.
15. Insurance propositions are not allowed. Dealing twice (or three
times) when all-in is permitted at big-bet poker.
16. The game's betting limit will not be changed if two or more
players object. Raising the limit is subject to management approval.
17. 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.
18. Any player is entitled to a clear view of an opponent’s chips.
Higher denomination chips should be easily visible.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. Looking through the discards or deck stub is not allowed.
23. After a deal ends, dealers are asked to not show what card would
have been dealt.
24. 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.
25. A non-player may not sit at the table.
26. 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.
27. Speaking a foreign language during a deal is not allowed.
SEATING
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. 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, as to assist in ease of reading
the board for a person with a vision problem, or some other good
reason.
8. To avoid a seating dispute, a supervisor may decide to start the
game with one extra player over the normal number participating. If
so, a seat will be removed as soon as someone quits the game.
9. In order 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 may not play in the must-move game or get on
that list for one hour.
10. You must play in a new game or must-move game to retain your place
on the list, if by your playing there would be three or fewer empty
seats.
11. 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.
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.
3 - GENERAL POKER RULES
THE BUY-IN
1. When you enter a game, you must make a full buy-in for that
particular game. A full buy-in at limit poker 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 who is forced to transfer 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.
MISDEALS
1. The following circumstances cause a misdeal, provided attention is
called to the error before two players have acted on their hands. (If
two players have acted in turn, the deal must be played to conclusion,
as explained in rule #2)
(a) The first or second card of the hand has been dealt face-up or
exposed through 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.
2. Action is considered to occur in stud games when two players after
the forced bet have acted on their hands. In button games, action is
considered to occur when two players after the blinds have acted on
their hands. Once action occurs, a misdeal can no longer be declared.
The hand will be played to conclusion and no money will be returned to
any player whose hand is fouled.
DEAD HANDS
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 at management’s discretion if
doing so is in the best interest of the game. We will make an extra
effort to rule a hand retrievable if it was folded as a result of
false information given to the player.
3. Cards thrown into another player’s hand are dead, whether they are
face-up or facedown.
IRREGULARITIES
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 face-up 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
face-up 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 a card on the floor out of your hand, you must still
play that card.
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.
BETTING AND RAISING
1. Check-raise is permitted in all games, except in certain forms of
lowball.
2. In no-limit and pot-limit games, unlimited raising is allowed.
3. 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.]
4. Unlimited raising is allowed in heads-up play. 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.
5. 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 facing 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 is on a $20 betting round,
raising a $15 all-in bet to $35).
6. Any wager must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise in
that round, unless a player is going all-in.
7. 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.
8. A verbal statement denotes your action and is binding. If in turn
you verbally declare a fold, check, bet, call, or raise, you are
forced to take that action.
9. Rapping the table with your hand is a pass.
10. 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.
An action or verbal declaration out of turn may be ruled binding if
there is no bet, call, or raise by an intervening player acting after
the infraction has been committed.
11. 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.
12. A player who bets or calls by releasing chips into the pot is
bound by that action. 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.
13. 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.
14. String raises are not allowed. 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.
THE SHOWDOWN
1. A player must show all cards in the hand face-up on the table to
win any part of the pot.
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 us
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
has been called, 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. If you show cards to an active player during a deal, any player at
the table has the right to see those exposed cards. Cards shown during
or after a deal to a player not in the pot should be shown to all
players when the deal is finished.
7. 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 is a side pot,
players involved in the side pot should show their hands before anyone
who is all-in for only the main pot.
TIES
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.
4 - BUTTON AND BLIND USE
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
after the first betting round. The button moves 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 the structure of a game or the situation requires
part or all of a particular blind to be “dead.” Dead chips are not
part of a player’s bet. With two blinds, the small blind is posted by
the player immediately clockwise from the button, and the big blind is
posted by the player two positions clockwise from the button. With
more than two blinds, the little blind is normally left of the button
(not on it). Action is initiated on the first betting round by the
first player to the left of the blinds. On all subsequent betting
rounds, the action begins with the first active player to the left of
the button.
RULES FOR USING BLINDS
1. 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.]
2. A player who posts a blind has the option of raising the pot at the
first turn to act. (This does not apply when a "dead blind" for the
collection is used in a game and has been posted).
3. In heads-up play with two blinds, the small blind is on the button.
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 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 #3, for more information on this rule.]
8. When you post the big blind, it serves as your opening bet. When it
is your next turn to act, you have the option to raise.
9. 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 centre of the pot and is not part of your bet. When it
is your next turn to act, you have the option to raise.
10. 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.
11. 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.)
12. 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.
13. 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 move closer to
the big blind, you can be dealt in without any penalty. 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.)
14. 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.
15. A live “straddle bet" is not allowed at limit poker except in
specified games.
5 - HOLD’EM
In hold’em, 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 community cards, 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.
RULES
These rules deal only with irregularities. See the previous chapter,
“Button and Blind Use,” for rules on that subject.
1. If the first or second holecard dealt 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 flop contains too many cards, it must be redealt. (This
applies even if it were possible to know which card was the extra
one.)
3. If the flop needs to be redealt because the cards were prematurely
flopped before the betting was complete, or the flop contained too
many cards, the 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 #2, for more information on this rule.]
4. 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 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 #2, for more
information on this rule.]
5. 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.
6. You must declare that you are playing the board before you throw
your cards away; otherwise you relinquish all claim to the pot.
6 - OMAHA
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 hand,
a player must use precisely two holecards with three boardcards. The
betting is the same as in hold'em. At the showdown, the entire
four-card hand should be shown to receive the pot.
RULES OF OMAHA
1. All the rules of hold’em apply to Omaha except the rule on playing
the board, which is not possible in Omaha (because you must use two
cards from your hand and three cards from the board).
7 - OMAHA HIGH-LOW
Omaha is often played high-low split, 8-or-better. 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.”
RULES OF OMAHA HIGH-LOW
1. All the rules of Omaha apply to Omaha high-low split except as
below.
2. A qualifier of 8-or-better for low applies to all high-low split
games, unless a specific posting to the contrary is displayed. If
there is no qualifying hand for low, the best high hand wins the whole
pot.
8 - SEVEN-CARD STUD
Seven-card stud is played with two downcards and one upcard dealt
before the first betting round, followed by three more upcards (with a
betting round after each card). After the last downcard is dealt,
there is a final round of betting. The best five-card poker hand wins
the pot. In all fixed-limit games, the smaller bet is wagered on the
first two betting rounds, and the larger bet is wagered after the
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.
RULES OF SEVEN-CARD STUD
1. 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).
2. The player with the forced bet has the option of opening for a full
bet.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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 face-up would have been the lowcard, action starts
with the first hand to that player’s left. That player may fold, open
for the forced bet, or open for a full bet. (In tournament play, if a
downcard is dealt face-up, a misdeal is called.)
6. If you are not present at the table when it is your turn to act on
your hand, you forfeit your ante and your forced bet, if any. If you
have not returned to the table in time to act, the hand 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 all the
players have received their entire starting hands.)
7. 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.
8. If you are all in for the ante and have the lowcard, the player to
your left acts first. That player may fold, open for the forced bet,
or open for a full bet.
9. If the wrong person is designated as low and that person bets, the
action will be corrected to the true lowcard if the next player has
not yet acted. The incorrect lowcard takes back the wager and the true
lowcard must bet. If the next hand has acted after the incorrect
lowcard wager, the wager stands, action continues from there, and the
true lowcard has no obligations.
10. If you pick up your upcards without calling when facing a wager,
this is a fold and your hand is dead. 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. In all games, the dealer announces the lowcard, the high hand, all
raises, and all pairs. Dealers do not announce possible straights or
flushes (except for specified low-stakes games).
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 face-up in the center of the table
as a common card that plays in everyone’s hand. The player who is now
high using the common card initiates the action for the last round.
16. An all-in player should receive holecards dealt facedown, but if
the final holecard to such a player is dealt face-up, the card must be
kept, and the other players receive their normal card.
17. If the dealer turns the last card face-up 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 face-up has the
option of declaring all-in (before betting action starts).
(b) If there are only two players remaining and the first player's
final downcard is dealt face-up, the second player's final downcard
will also be dealt face-up, 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 face-up, the player with the face-up
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 #4, 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 player is receiving
information about an opponent’s hand that is not available for free.)
9 - RAZZ (SEVEN-CARD
STUD LOW)
The lowest hand wins the pot. The format is similar to seven-card stud
high, except the high card (aces are low) is required to make the
forced bet on the first round, and the low hand acts first on all
subsequent rounds. Straights and flushes have no ranking, so the best
possible hand is 5-4-3-2-A (a wheel). An open pair does not affect the
betting limit.
RULES OF RAZZ
1. All seven-card stud rules apply in razz except as otherwise noted.
2. The lowest hand wins the pot. Aces are low, and straights and
flushes have no effect on the low value of a hand. The best possible
hand is 5-4-3-2-A.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. The dealer announces all pairs the first time they occur, except
pairs of facecards, which are never announced.
10 - SEVEN-CARD STUD
HIGH-LOW
Seven-card stud high-low split is a stud game which is played both
high and low. A qualifier of 8-or-better for low applies to all
high-low split games, unless a specific posting to the contrary is
displayed. The low card 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 clockwise from the dealer acts first. Fixed-limit games
use the lower limit on third and fourth street and the upper limit on
subsequent betting rounds, and an open pair does not affect the limit.
Aces may be used for high or low. Straights and flushes do not affect
the low value of a hand. A player may use any five cards to make the
best high hand, and the same or any other grouping of five cards to
make the best low hand.
RULES OF SEVEN-CARD STUD HIGH-LOW
1. All rules for seven-card stud apply to seven-card stud high-low
split, except as otherwise noted.
2. A qualifier of 8-or-better for low applies to all high-low split
games, unless a specific posting to the contrary is displayed. If
there is no qualifying hand for low, the best high hand wins the whole
pot.
3. 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.
4. The low card by suit initiates the action on the first round, with
an ace counting as a high card for this purpose.
5. An ace may be used for high or low.
6. Straights and flushes do not affect the value of a low hand.
7. 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.
8. Splitting pots is only determined by the cards and not by agreement
among players.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11 - LOWBALL
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.”
RULES OF LOWBALL
1. The rules governing misdeals for hold’em 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 dealt face-up or
exposed through 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 multi-handed
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 for any reason 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. 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.
12. 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.
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 multi-handed 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.
ACE-TO-FIVE LOWBALL
In ace-to-five lowball, the best hand is any 5-4-3-2-A. 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
fulfils all obligations.
DEUCE-TO-SEVEN LOWBALL
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, and a seven or
better is not required to bet.
NO-LIMIT AND POT-LIMIT LOWBALL
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.
12 - DRAW HIGH
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.
RULES OF DRAW HIGH
1. A maximum of a bet and four raises is permitted in multi-handed
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. Any card that is exposed by the dealer before the draw must be
kept.
4. 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.
5. 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.]
6. 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.
7. 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.
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. 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.
10. You may not change your seat between hands when there are multiple
antes or forfeited money in the pot.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
JACKS-OR-BETTER
1. A pair of jacks or better is required to open the pot. If no player
opens the pot, the button moves forward and each player must ante
again, unless the limit of antes has been reached for that particular
game. (Most games allow three consecutive deals before anteing stops.)
2. If the opener should show false openers before the draw, any other
active player has the opportunity to declare the pot opened. However,
any player who originally passed openers is not eligible to declare
the pot open. The false opener has a dead hand and the opening bet
stays in the pot. Any other bet placed in the pot by the opener may be
withdrawn, provided the action before the draw is not completed. If no
other player declares the pot open, all bets are returned except the
opener’s first bet. The first bet and antes will remain in the pot,
and all players who were involved in that hand are entitled to play
the next hand after anteing again.
3. Any player who has legally declared the pot opened must prove
openers in order to win the pot.
4. In all cases, the pot will play (even if the opener shows or
declares a fouled hand) if there has been a raise, two or more players
call the opening bet, or all action is completed before the draw.
5. Even if you are all in for just the ante (or part of the ante), you
may declare the pot open if you have openers. If you are all in and
falsely declare the pot open, you will lose the ante money and may not
continue to play on any subsequent deals until a winner is determined.
Even if you buy in again, you must wait until the pot has been legally
opened and someone else has won it before you can resume playing.
6. Once action has been completed before the draw, the opener may not
withdraw any bets, whether or not the hand contains openers.
7. An opener may be allowed to retrieve a discarded hand to prove
openers, at management’s discretion.
8. Any player may request that the opener retain the opening hand and
show it after the winner of the pot has been determined.
9. You may split openers, but you must declare that you are splitting
and place all discards under a chip to be exposed by the dealer after
the completion of the hand. If you declare that you are splitting
openers, but it is determined that you could not possibly have had
openers when your final hand is compared with your discards, you will
lose the pot.
10. You are not splitting openers if you retain openers. If you begin
with the ace, joker, king, queen of spades, and the ten of clubs, you
are not splitting if you throw the ten of clubs away. You are breaking
a straight to draw to a royal flush, and in doing so, you have
retained openers (ace-joker for two aces).
11. After the draw, if you call the opener’s bet and cannot beat
openers, you will not get your bet back. (You have received
information about opener’s hand that is not free.)
THE JOKER
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).
13 - KILL POTS
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.
RULES OF KILL POTS
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 face-up, 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.
14 - NO LIMIT AND POT-LIMIT
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. For those rules that apply only to
no-limit and pot-limit lowball, see the sub-section at the end of
“Section 11 – Lowball.”
NO-LIMIT RULES
1. The number of raises in any betting round is unlimited.
2. All bets must be at least equal to the minimum bring-in, unless the
player is going all-in. (A straddle bet sets a new minimum bring-in,
and is not treated as a raise.)
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. A player who has already checked or called may not subsequently
raise an all-in bet that is 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.)
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.)
4. 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.
5. A wager is not binding until the chips are actually released into
the pot, unless the player has made a verbal statement of action.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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 needs some protection. 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.)
9. 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.)
10. 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. (This
does not apply to a player who has unintentionally put too much in to
call.) The wager is brought up to the sufficient amount only, no
greater size.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. The card room does not condone "insurance" or any other
“proposition” wagers. The management will decline 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.
POT-LIMIT RULES
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. 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.
5. 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.
6. In pot-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha, 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.
7. In pot-limit, if a chip or a bill larger than the pot size is put
into the pot without comment, it is considered to be a bet of the pot
size.
15 - TOURNAMENTS
By participating in any 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.
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
face-up so the earlier entrants can pick their seat, since the button
is assigned randomly.)
3. 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. Absent players will be dealt in, and all
chips necessary for antes and blinds will be put into the pot.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Limits and blinds are raised at regularly scheduled intervals.
7. 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.)
8. 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. 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. 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. 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.
9. An absent player is always dealt a hand, and will be put up for
blinds, antes, and the forced bet if low.
10. A player must be present at the table to stop the action by
calling “time.”
11. 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.)
12. 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.
13. A change of seat is not allowed after play starts, except as
assigned by the director.
14. 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.
15. New players are dealt in immediately and take over the obligations
of that position, including the small blind or button position.
16. 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.
17. 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.)
18. 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.
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
remains. A player who posts a short blind and wins does not need to
make up the blind.
20. All players must leave their seat immediately after being
eliminated from an event.
21. 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 may not show any cards during a deal
(unless the event has only two remaining players). 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.
22. The limit on raises is also applied to heads-up situations (except
the last two players in a tournament are exempted from a limitation on
raises).
23. At pot-limit and no-limit play, the player must either use a
verbal statement giving the amount of the raise or put the chips into
the pot in a single motion. Otherwise, it is a string bet.
24. Non-tournament chips are not allowed on the table.
25. Higher-denomination chips must be placed where they are easily
visible to all other players at the table.
26. All tournament chips must remain visible on the table throughout
the event. Chips taken off the table or pocketed will be removed from
the event, and a player who is caught doing this may be disqualified.
27. 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. A severe infraction such as abusive or disruptive behavior may
be punished by eviction from the tournament.
28. The deck is not changed on request. Decks change when the dealers
change, unless there is a damaged card.
29. In all tournament games using a dealer button, the starting
position of the button is determined by the players drawing for the
high card.
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.
32. At stud, if a downcard on the initial hand is dealt face-up, 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 face-up whenever a player is all-in and
betting action is complete.
35. If two (or more) players go broke during the same hand, the player
starting the hand with the larger amount of money finishes in the
higher tournament place for prize money and any other 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
excludes 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.
16 - EXPLANATIONS
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 below for convenience.
“Each round all participating players 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.”
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 card room 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. The rules given for rectifying a hold’em 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. But at some point it would be good for
poker for some major card rooms to get together and agree to use the
better rule, or a gaming commission to require the better rule be
used. Here is the rules in question (the third rule and fourth rule in
“Section 5 – Hold’em”).
“If the cards are prematurely 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 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.)”
The portion of this rule saying the dealer does not burn a card on the
redeal is misguided. It is much harder for the dealer to control the
card to be dealt if a burn is required. The applicable sentence in the
rule should read, “The dealer then cuts the deck, burns a card, and
turns the final card.”
3. 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.
4. 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.”
5. This rulebook requires all cash to be changed into chips. In some
card rooms this can be a bit impractical for various reasons. If the
card room chooses to allow cash, only $100 bills should be permitted.
6. Most poker rulebooks follow the usual California practice in
multi-handed 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 reckon with the
possibility 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.”
GLOSSARY
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: The act of placing a wager in turn into the pot on any betting
round, or the chips put into the pot.
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 face-up 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 face-up 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 face-up 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 individually.
COMMUNITY CARDS: The cards dealt face-up 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.
DECK: 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, any betting structure in which the amount
of the bet on each particular 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 hold’em (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 requirement 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 “partially wild card” in high draw poker and
ace-to-five lowball. In high, it is used for aces, straights, and
flushes. In lowball, the joker 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 at lowball and other games, 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 where players are allowed 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 BETS: Side bets between players that are 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 or others play. 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 both the high and the low portions of a pot in a
split-pot game.
SCRAMBLE: A facedown mixing of the cards.
SETUP: Two suited decks, each with different colored backs, to replace
the current decks in a game.
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 final act of determining the winner of the pot after all
betting has been completed.
SHUFFLE: The act of mixing the cards before a hand.
SMALL BLIND: In a game with multiple blind bets, the smallest blind.
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. Example: You open
the pot with a pair of aces. One of your aces is a spade, as are the
three other cards in the hand. If you throw away the non-spade ace to
go for the flush, you announce to the table, “Splitting openers.”
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 bet made in more than one motion, without the
declaration of a raise (not allowed).
STUB: The portion of the deck which has not been dealt.
SUPERVISOR: A card room employee qualified to make rulings, such as a
floorperson, shift supervisor, or the card room manager.
TABLE STAKES: (1) The amount of money you have on the table. This is
the maximum amount that you can lose or that anyone can win from you
on any one 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.
TOURNAMENT: A poker competition, normally with an entry fee and
prizes.
TURNCARD: The fourth street card in hold'em or Omaha.
UPCARDS: Cards that are dealt face-up 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 CARD ROOM
Here are the amendments, additions, and clarifications to these rules
made by our card room.
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