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Online Poker General Rules
THE BUY-IN
1. When you enter a game, you must make a full buy-in for that 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 faceup 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 burn card).
(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 up cards off the table, turn your
up cards facedown, or mix your up cards and down cards 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 hole card 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 down
cards. 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 burn card.
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 down card 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, 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 head-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.
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 another player during or after a deal, any player at the
table has the right to see those exposed cards. Cards shown during a deal to a
player not in the pot should only 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
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 re-deal 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.
(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 center 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.
(For Sections 5 through 12, see links to individual game rule pages at the top
of this page.)
(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 faceup, 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.
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. A wager is not binding until the chips are actually released into the pot,
unless the player has made a verbal statement of action.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.)
8. 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.)
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 betting round 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 cardroom 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 holdem 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 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.
(For Section 15, see link to Tournament Rules page at the top of this page.)
(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 cardroom 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 holdem 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 cardrooms 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 cardrooms
this can be a bit impractical for various reasons. If the cardroom chooses to
allow cash, only $100 bills should be permitted.
6. Most poker rulebooks follow the usual California practice in multihanded 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."
10. In tournament play, there are two ways the hand of an absent player may be
treated. Rule #11 in "Section 15 - Tournaments," is: "If you are not present
when it becomes your turn to act, your hand is dead. This includes situations in
which a live blind is not present to act, since an absent player cannot exercise
the option to raise." This speeds up play, and also prevents a player from
facing situations like thinking he is moving all-in heads-up against a short
stack and an absent player comes back to the table to enter the pot. The
alternative is: "If a player is absent, the hand shall not be killed until that
seat faces a wager. An absent player's hand is dead at the showdown." This rule
gives the absent player the maximum time to return and be able to play the hand.