Poker rules

There are many different kinds of poker games with different rules. While the goal usually is to get the best hand, rules for how the cards are dealt and bets placed can vary strongly. Some of the most played poker games are Five-Card Draw, Texas hold’em, Omaha and Seven-Card Stud.

Five-Card Draw
This is the most basic form of poker. Each player receives five cards that are hidden to the other players, and can then choose to replace any number of cards, the draw. Sometimes more than one draw takes place. The player with the best hand then wins.

Betting can be done in different ways. Sometimes an ante is placed by all players before the cards are dealt. Each player can then choose to pass or bet. It can also be played with blinds, like in Texas hold’em or Omaha (see below). Each player then chooses to call (match the bet), fold (discard one’s hand) or raise (increase the size of the bet).

Texas hold’em
Texas hold’em is played with two cards in the player’s hand, hole cards, and community cards on the table. The players combine his cards with the cards on the table in any way he want, in order to create the best five card hand. At first there are three cards on the table (flop), the second a fourth card is added (turn) and finally a fifth (river).

The game is played in a sequence of hands, and in each hand there are four betting rounds: before the flop, at the flop, at the turn and at the river. The first bets are placed by the blinds, the two players to the left of the dealer (or the button at internet or a casino). The first places the small blind and the second the big blind, which is twice as big. This is to raise the stakes in the game before the cards are dealt.

The player after the big blind can then choose to call, raise or fold, and the betting continues clockwise. When the big blind has done this the flop is placed on the table, and the second betting round starts. This is repeated at the turn and at the river. After that, the player with the best hand wins the pot. The dealer or button is then moved to the left, and the next hand starts.

Bets can be placed in different ways. In a fixed limit game, the size of the bet is fixed, with small bets in the first two rounds, and large bet, twice as big, in the second. In a no limit game, bets can be any amount above the big blind. Finally, in pot-limit, the players can bet up to the size of the pot.

Omaha
Like Texas hold’em, Omaha is a game with community cards and four betting rounds. The players however have four hole cards instead of two, and all hands have to be made up of two hole cards and three community cards. The betting rounds are the same as in Texas hold’em, and betting is done in the same way.

Omaha hi-lo is a variant of Omaha where the pot is split equally between the winning high hand and the winning low hand. The high hand is the same winning hand as in Omaha. The low hand, however, is only made up of cards below eight, the lower the better, and cannot contain any pairs. This is only possible if there are three cards below eight at the table.

Seven card stud
Unlike Texas hold’em or Omaha, Seven card stud is a poker game that is played without community cards. The player starts with two hole cards, hidden to the other players, and one upcard that is shown. In each round, the player receives another up card. There are five rounds (third to seventh street), so in the end each player has seven cards. The player with the best five card hand wins.

Betting is also done differently. Before the game starts each player bet an ante. In the first round, the player with the lowest upcard has to bet first the so called bring-in. Betting then continues clockwise, and the players can choose to call, fold or raise. When all players have placed their bets, the next upcard is dealt. This time it is the player with the best upcards that bets first. The rest of the rounds are played the same way.

Usually Seven card stud is played with fixed amounts. The first two rounds are played with small bets, and last three with large bet, twice as big as the small. If a player’s upcards are a pair in the second round, he can choose between a large and a small bet that round. The game can also be played pot limit.

Hand rankings
Winnings hands are generally ranked this way:

• Royal Straight Flush
• Straight Flush
• Four of a Kind
• Full house
• Flush
• Straight
• Three of a Kind
• Two-pair
• Pair
• High-card