Rules of Poker

• General Rules of Various Poker Games
  • CHECK
  • BET
  • FOLD
  • CALL
  • RAISE
• Advance-Action Buttons
• Table Stakes, All-In, Disconnection Protection
• Limits
• Fixed Limit
• Pot Limit
• Minimum raise
• Maximum raise
• Hot to Play Example
• No Limit
• Minimum raise
• Maximum raise
• Hand Rankings
  • Royal Flush
  • Straight Flush
  • Four of a Kind
  • Full House
  • Flush
  • Straight
  • Three of a Kind
  • Two Pairs
  • Pair
  • High Card
• Rake Structure
  • Fixed Limit
  • Pot Limit & No Limit

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General Rules of Poker For Various Games

In standard poker rules, players bet their chips into a communal "pot" consisting of all participating players' combined wagers. In a typical game of poker, the pot is awarded to the player who either holds the highest ranking hand or makes a wager which goes unmatched by his or her opponents.

We offer the most popular of all poker games "Texas Hold'em" poker which is played as a high hand game, and Seven Card Stud and Omaha games, which are played in both "high-only" and "high-low split" form. In these high-low poker games, the best five-card poker hand for high wins half the pot, and the best qualifying five-card hand for low wins the other half. These poker games are also available in One on One games as well as short-handed 5 or 6 player games.

Every poker game begins with some forced wager over which players compete. In Seven Card Stud, the rules of poker prompt two forced wagers: a small ante and a bring-in. In Texas Hold'em and Omaha poker games, the forced wagers are a small blind and a big blind. Once the initial forced bets are made, the first round of cards is dealt and on the following betting rounds, the players will have the following five choices:

• CHECK – Poker rule, If there is no wager on the current betting round, a player may check. The act of checking passes the action to the next player immediately clockwise from him or her. A check does not forfeit interest in the pot, only the current right to bet. If all players check during a round of betting, the round is considered complete.
• BET – Poker rule, If there is no wager on the current betting round, a player may bet. If a player bets, the player immediately clockwise from him or her (and any subsequent players) may fold, raise, or call.
• FOLD – Poker rule, The act of folding forfeits all interest in the pot. A player who folds is not allowed to wager any further money for the current game.
• CALL – Poker rule, If there has been a wager on the current betting round, a player may call. The act of calling requires the player to match the current bet made by his or her opponent(s).
• RAISE – Poker rule, If there has been a wager on the current betting round, a player may raise. The act of raising requires the player to match the current bet, and make a greater one. All subsequent players are required to call the raise or raise again ("re-raise") to maintain interest in the pot.

With standard rules of poker games, betting continues on each round until every person has placed the same amount of money on that round with the exception of "all-in." "All-in" players can only win the appropriate portion of the pot that they participated in before they ran out of chips.

After the final betting round is completed, the "showdown" occurs. This is when the winner of the pot is determined, as players either show or muck their hands face-down one-by-one. It may be the case that there is no showdown. If a player bets or raises, and no active players choose to call the player's bet (in other words, all players fold) then there is no showdown. In this case, the player doing the betting or raising wins the full amount of the pot.

Advance-Action Buttons Poker Rules

In most cases, each betting decision is represented in the card room software by what we call "action buttons." To speed up the poker game and make it more exciting, you will, when appropriate, have a choice of using advance action buttons. These buttons appear before your turn when you can make a decision in advance. Once you make the desired selection with an advance action button, the decision is carried out by the software automatically once play progresses to your turn.

Table Stakes, All-In, Disconnection Protection Poker Rules

Poker is typically played with "table stakes", meaning only the chips in play at the beginning of each hand may be used throughout the hand. Players may bring the additional money to the table only between hands, and never during a hand.

According to the rules, if a player does not have enough chips to call a bet he/she can go "All-In". This player is eligible for the portion of the pot to the point of his final wager. All further action involving other players takes place in a "side pot", which is ineligible to the all-in player. We offer 2 "Disconnection Protections" per 24-hour period that enable a player who is disconnected in the middle of a hand to win the portion of the pot that they participated in before getting disconnected.

Limits Poker Rules

There are three types of poker game limits available in our online poker room: fixed limits, pot limits and no limits.

1. Fixed Limit Poker Rule
   Fixed limits are the predetermined limits for a particular game type, consisting of a lower limit and higher limit. At the beginning of betting rounds, lower limit applies and final rounds are played with higher limits. Please check the game rules of the individual games to learn the details.
2. Pot Limit Poker Rule
   Once you know how to play our games, the rules for Pot Limits are very easy to learn. The difference between Fixed Limit games and Pot limit games is in the amount of money a player is allowed to bet on each round.

   Minimum raise:
   The minimum raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. For example, if the first player to act bets $10 then the second player must raise a minimum of $10 (total bet of $20).

   Maximum raise:
   The maximum raise is equivalent to the size of the Pot. The size of the pot is defined as the total of the Pot in the middle plus all bets on the table plus the amount the active player must first call before raising.

   How to Play Example:
   Poker Pot is $10
   First player to act bets $10
   Second player to act calls $10
   Third player has a maximum available raise of $50 - this includes $10 call and $40 raise. The $40 maximum raise portion is equal to the Pot of $10 + first player bet of $10, second player call of $10, third player call of $10.
   In pot limit games there are no caps on the number of raises permitted.

3. No Limit Poker Game Rule
   The difference between Fixed Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit games is in the amount of money a player is allowed to bet on each round.

   Minimum raise:
   The minimum raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. For example, if the first player to act bets $10, then the second player must raise a minimum of $10 (total bet of $20).

   Maximum raise:
   All of the chips you have at the table!
   To ensure a fair gaming environment, each player is limited on how much money he can bring to the table. This provides for competitive games where players with smaller bankrolls would normally have a disadvantage when competing against players with large bankrolls. Please visit our Lobby to find the game that suits your bankroll conditions.

Hand Rankings

Below are images of poker hands, listed in order from highest to lowest.

Rake Structure

Fixed Limit
$.02/$.04 to $1.00/$2.00

$2/$4 to $100/$200

$200/$400

Pot Limit & No Limit
$.01/$.02 to $25.00/$50.00