The Rules Of Poker - Foreword

Although the more obscure rules of poker can be very complex, the basic rules are quite easy to understand. There-in lies one of the attractions of poker ...

It's easy to confidently play the game with just a few hours of practise, but it takes a life-time to master it.

For that reason, I have decided to split this page down into two sets of rules.

The first set is a quick start guide, which 99% of players will find useful. It deals with the setup of the game, and the actions which can take place during each hand.

The second set is a very detailed and widely respected document known as "Robert's Rules of Poker". It is the work of Robert Ciaffone, a writer and an experienced authority on the rules of poker. Despite this, it should be noted that since there is no single owner or governing body of poker, this rule book is still wholly unofficial. It is however, used by tournament directors, and card rooms all over the world. In general I would recommend that you first read the simple game rules below, because whilst "Robert's Rules of Poker" is certainly a great piece of work, most players will find it overly exhaustive when trying to learn the basic 'workings' of the game.

That said, you may wish to read "Robert's Rules of Poker" as a reference should you come across a contentious play, and not know which is the right decision to take.

"AceCards Simple Rules of No-Limit Texas Holdem"

General Information
Texas Holdem Poker is a card game which can be played with a minimum of 2, and a maximum of 10 players per table. The game uses the full deck of 52 cards (no jokers are used). Each round of poker, from the first card being dealt, to the chips being awarded to the winning player, is known as a hand. The cards that you have are also known as your hand.

Actions
The actions available in poker are fold, call, check, raise, re-raise, or all-in.

• Fold
This action is used when a player decides that the cards he has been dealt are not worth continuing with. He gives his cards to the dealer, face down, without disclosing the value of them to any other player. A player is only allowed to show the value of cards which are being folded, when he is folding to the last remaining player in the hand. A player can fold on any round of betting.

• Call
If the player decides to call, (and no one else has raised) he must place down the minimum bet in front of him. If a player before him has already bet, and the current player wishes to call that bet, he must match the value of that bet.

• Check
If the current player has already put forward the minimum bet, and no one else has raised, then he can decide to check. During the first round of betting, the big blind can decide to check (or in effect call for free) as he has already put forward the minimum bet with his big blind.

• Raise
In No-limit Texas Holdem, if a player decides to bet, he can put forward any amount in front of him. This bet must then be matched by any other players that wish to continue this hand. If the remaining players wish to call this bet, but cannot match the amount which has been put forward, the pot is split into a main pot, and a side pot. The main pot consists of the entire pot before the unmatchable bet, plus the amount which the calling player can put forward, and that same amount matched by the player who originally put forward the unmatchable bet. The remaining chips from the unmatchable bet are put to the side, and this becomes the side pot. The calling player can only contest for the main pot. Other players who have still not decided to bet or fold, in this round of betting, can still contest for both the main pot and the side pot, so long as they can match those bets.

• Re-Raise
If a player before you has bet, and you wish to re-raise the bet which he has put forward, you can increase the level of that bet by putting more chips forward. This action can only be done after a raise.

• All-In
When a player wishes to put forward a maximum bet, he can put all of his chips forward on the table. This is known as going “all-in”, and is the most attacking move (if not always the correct move) available in poker. This move normally results in one or more players being removed from the game, since they lose all of their chips to the winning player.

Setup
In order to determine the dealer of the first hand, one player must shuffle the cards, and then deal one card face up to each of the players in the game, starting with himself and then moving around the table to his left. The person who gets the highest card becomes the dealer of the first hand. A small disc, or other marker which is commonly known as the button, is placed in front of the dealer.

The Blinds
In each hand of Texas Holdem, the two players to the left of the dealer are forced to place a bet. These forced bets are known as “blinds”, since those players are being made to bet without knowing what their cards will be. The player to the immediate left of the dealer is known as the small blind. The person on the left of the small blind, is known as the big blind. The big blind must place down a bet which is equal to half of the minimum bet, and the small blind must put down a bet which is equal to the minimum bet. For example, if you decide that the minimum bet for your games should be £0.10, then the small blind would be £0.05, and the big blind would be £0.10. Once both players have put the blinds in front of them, the blinds are said to have been “posted”.

Pre-Flop
The dealer must then shuffle the deck of cards, and deal one card (face down) to each player, starting with the player on his left. When he has gone around the table of players, he then deals a second card (face down) to each player, starting with the player on his left. These cards are called your pocket cards, or your hole cards.

First Round Of Betting
Each player now looks at the cards which they have been dealt, being careful not to show the cards to anyone other players. There then follows a round of betting in which each player can make a decision to fold, call, or raise. These decisions start from the player who is to the left of the big blind.

The Flop
The dealer now discards the top card of the deck, which is also referred to as the burn card. This is a historical custom which builds trust and chance into the game, as it prevents cheating, in case an unscrupulous player has seen the next card to be dealt. After the burn card has been removed, the next three cards in the deck are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These three cards are known as the flop, and become the first three cards in the maximum of five ‘community cards’ which are dealt for all players to use. A player can use any of the community cards to make the best five card hand possible to him. On some occasions, the community cards, also known as ‘the board’, are the strongest hand which is available to all players. On those occasions the pot is split between all players who are still playing in the hand.

Second Round Of Betting
The next round of betting now takes place. Once again each player can make a decision to fold, call, or raise (should they not have already gone all-in). These decisions start from the player who is the closest to the left of the dealer.

The Turn
The dealer now discards the top card of the deck again, and deals a fourth community card face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the turn. Players may now find that this card improves the five card hand that they can make, as they now have six cards to choose from (their own two hole cards, and four community cards).

Third Round Of Betting
The next round of betting now takes place. Once again each player can make a decision to fold, call, or raise (should they not have already gone all-in). These decisions start from the player who is the closest to the left of the dealer.

The River
The dealer now discards the top card of the deck again, and deals the fifth and final community card face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the river. Players may now find that this card improves the five card hand that they can make, as they now have seven cards to choose from (their own two hole cards, and five community cards).

The Final Round Of Betting
The final round of betting now takes place. Once again each player can make a decision to fold, call, or raise (should they not have already gone all-in). These decisions start from the player who is the closest to the left of the dealer.

The Showdown
Starting with the player to the left of the last player to call, each player still contesting this hand now turns over their cards. This point of the game, where the pot winner is decided, is known as the showdown.

The Decision
The winner of the hand is the player with the highest value five card hand, which they can make from the seven cards available. Should both players have the same value of hand, the next highest card, or kicker, is then used to decide the winner. For example if both players have a pair of jacks, and a pair of sevens, then the highest fifth card will become the winner. When the rank of the hands, and the five highest cards are the same, the pot is split between however many players have those same value of cards.

The Change Of Dealer
The cards are now collected up, and handed to the player sitting to the left of the dealer of the hand which has just been contested. The button also moves one player to the left, to visually show the new dealer for the next hand. Repeat the game steps from the “The Blinds”.

"Robert's Rules of Poker"

Robert's Rules of Poker - Version 7