House Rules

 

Basic Etiquette:

In order to ensure the integrity of all games, no language in any form other than verbalized English may be used while gaming playing or observing play. We reserve the right to exclude anyone, whether a player or an observer, from the game or game area for violating this requirement.

• A player may not use any electronic devices while they are seated at table.

• Management will decide the limit of games and when to start or close a game.

• Cash is not permitted on the tables. All cash must be converted into chips prior to the start of a hand.

• One player per hand and one hand per player.

• Discussion regarding the hand in progress is not allowed by players or observers.

• The house has the right to prohibit any two players from playing at the same table.

 

Decision of Management is final.

 

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The Deal

Since in most poker games the dealer has a positional advantage, the first dealer is chosen at random. One of the players deals cards face up one at a time from a shuffled deck and the dealer is the first player who receives a Jack.

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When joining table, each player must contribute 1 chip to the leader board fund, and each time player deals.  Before each deal, some or all players must place an initial stake in the pot as agreed known as the ante.  The dealer then shuffles the cards thoroughly and offers them to the player to the right to cut if desired. If this player declines to cut, any other player may cut. When the cards are cut, each portion of the pack must contain at least five cards.

Note: The position of the dealer is often marked by a token called the dealer button which is passed to the left after each hand. In a formal game, for example in a casino or tournament, the house will normally provide a professional dealer who does not play, but shuffles and deals every hand on behalf of the player with the dealer button. In this case, often there is no cut. The dealer also looks after the pot and the discards, and generally makes sure that the game proceeds smoothly and the rules are observed. When poker is played on line, the virtual cards are of course shuffled and dealt by the server computer. In what follows, "dealer" means the player who currently has the dealer button, irrespective of who actually deals the cards.

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The cards are dealt as required by the rules of the particular variant being played. In casinos,

At various points during or after the deal there will be a betting round. The details of when these betting rounds occur depend on the variant being played, but the principles are always the same. During the betting round all dealing, exchange of cards, etc. is suspended, and the players have an opportunity to increase their bets. 

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Problems with the deal

Under strict rules, any error in the initial deal, such as giving too many or too few cards to any player, dealing an extra hand or missing out a player who should have been dealt a hand, omitting the shuffle or cut or exposing cards counts as a misdeal, provided that it is pointed out before there has been significant action. In this case the cards are thrown in, the shuffle and cut are repeated and the cards are redealt by the same dealer.

 

If a player misdeals more twice, the deal passes to the next player.

After significant action has taken place, the cards can no longer be redealt. Players should check at the start that they have the right number of cards. A player who has the wrong number of cards at the showdown cannot win the pot.

 

Hand protection

Players are responsible not only for making sure that they have the right number of cards, but also for ensuring that their concealed cards cannot be seen by any other player or observer, and that their cards are kept separate from any common table cards and especially from the discard pile or "muck". The strict rule is that any hand that touches the muck is dead and the owner can no longer win the pot. In fact "mucking" a hand by placing it in contact with the discard pile is a commonly used as a method of folding.

 

Exposed cards

Players must not deliberately expose cards that are meant to be concealed. Any card accidentally shown to any player (either from the deck or another player's hand) must immediately be shown to all players.

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The Showdown

In theory this is simple.

• If all players except one have folded there is no showdown. The single surviving player simply takes the pot without having to show any cards.

• If there is more than one active player at the end, they all show their cards to everyone, and the holder of the best hand (according to the hand ranking explained below) wins the whole pot.

• If two or more active players turn out to have equally good hands, beating all the others, they share the contents of the pot equally between them or all players are redealt and game continues according to game rules

 

Irregularities

In practice some complications can arise.

Some players are reluctant to be the first to show their cards: they would prefer to wait to see the other players' hands and then show their own cards only if they can win. To avoid a stalemate between such players, the rule is that the player who was the last to take positive action (bet or raise) in the final betting round must show first, followed by the other active players in clockwise order. If everyone checked in the last betting round, the first active player to the left of the dealer seat shows first. Despite this rule, to speed up the game, active players are encouraged to show their cards immediately rather than waiting for their turn.

In a showdown, players showing a hand must expose the whole of their hand. It is not sufficient to show just enough cards to prove that one has a good enough hand to win, and not just the five cards that are being used to make one's best hand. In the showdown, players must show all the cards they were dealt, all at once, so that everyone at the table can see what they have.

Players who expose their hands quite often also announce what type of hand they have, but in some cases a player may overlook some combination and announce a weaker hand than he or she really has. This would be unlikely to happen in a straightforward game with five-card hands, but in variants where players select the best hand from seven or more cards, or where wild cards are involved, it is not uncommon for some better possibility to be missed. In formal poker games the usual rule is that "the cards speak for themselves". This means that when a player's hand is exposed at the showdown, it counts as the best five-card hand that can be made from it, even if the owner of the hand does not find it.

It is the duty of the dealer or any other player who notices, to point out what the best hand is, and it is treated as such, irrespective of how the owner described it. It is ultimately the player’s responsibility to know the hand ranking of their cards.  Once pot has been distributed, know recall of hand rank.  In some private games, however, the reverse rule is used: that players must declare what their hand is, and provided that the hand they declare can be made from the cards shown, that is how it is treated even if a better hand was available.

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Some players prefer to muck (discard) their cards without showing them when they can see that they are beaten. This is normal practice, but the traditional rule is that any player who was dealt a hand, even a player who has folded, has the right to see the hand of any player who was involved in the showdown. The purpose of the rule is primarily to enable collusion between players to be exposed, and it is considered poor etiquette to insist on the right to see a discarded hand without good reason. In particular a player should not continually demand to see another player's hand so as to analyse that player's style of play or simply to irritate the player, and the winner of the pot should not ask to see a loser's hand. Formal poker games often have the rule that the right to see discarded hands at showdown can be revoked if overused by a player

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No set of rules for poker covers every possible irregularity. Most try to cover the most common mishaps, and leave it to the house, or the dealer in a home game, to resolve other problems as fairly as possible with the minimum disruption to the game. Here are some general principles.

 

Significant Action

"Action" is a pass, bet, check, raise or fold by any player. If two or more players have acted, that constitutes "significant action". Once the initial cards have been dealt and significant action has taken place, the play must continue.

 

Action out of turn

Players must be careful not to indicate what their action (check, raise, fold, etc.) will be before their turn. If any player accidentally does this, then they are committed to take that action when their proper turn comes.

 

Cheating and collusion

Players must not advise one another, and non-players are not allowed to help the players in any way. Each player must play alone, in his or her own interest only. Playing in such a way as to help another player is known as collusion. It is considered a form of cheating and would be grounds for being expelled from a formal game.

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Betting

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In most variants the first betting round is begun by the player to the left of the dealer if all the players have placed an equal ante in the pot. If only some of the players have put chips in the pot - for example in a game played with blinds - then the round is begun by the player to the left of the player(s) who have already put in a stake. The second and subsequent betting rounds may, according to the variant, be begun by the nearest active player to the left of the dealer seat, or by a player determined by the action in the previous betting round. In variants where some cards are dealt face up, each betting round may begin with the player who has the best (or worst) hand showing.

The players act in clockwise order around the table, continuing for as many circuits as are necessary, missing any players who have dropped out, until all active players have had a turn and the stakes of all the active players are equal.

If no one has bet so far in the current betting round, and the value of chips contributed by all active players is equal, you have two options at your turn:

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Check

You do not wish to bet more chips at the moment, but you remain active and reserve the right to take part in future betting. In the first betting round, when all players have contributed an equal ante, players often say pass rather than check.

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Bet

You bet some more chips by pushing them towards the pot. The amount must be between the minimum and maximum limits currently in force. The player who bets first in the first betting round is said to open the betting.

If you have fewer chips in the pot than some other player, either because there has been a bet in the current betting round, or in the first round when some of the players placed blinds, you have three options:

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Fold

You drop out of the hand, discarding your cards face down onto a discard pile, which is known as the muck. No player is allowed to see the cards you discarded. You will take no further part until the next deal, and any chips you have placed in the pot are lost to the eventual winner of the pot.

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Call

In order to remain active, you match the latest bet or raise, but you do not try to increase it further. You push towards the pot enough chips so that your total contribution to the pot equals that of the player who last bet or raised.

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Raise

You increase the bet by pushing towards the pot the amount that you would need to call plus the value of your raise. The value of your raise must be between the minimum and maximum limits.

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The betting round ends when either all the active players check, or all the other active players call the last bet or raise, or there is only one active player remaining.

• If only one active player remains, this player immediately wins the pot, and does not have to show his or her cards (except in a few variants that have a minimum hand requirement to win the pot). The deal is over, the cards are collected, and if the session is to continue the players ante for a new deal.

• If more than one active player remains the game continues to the next stage - a continuation of the deal, an opportunity to exchange cards, or a showdown, according to the variant.

 

House Betting Standards

 

To open the game, each player antes 25 points/1 chip into the pot, 1st betting round starts as high as 25 points/1 chip but can go up as high as 100 points/4 chips in increments of no higher than 25 points/1 chip and can be raised a maximum of 3 times that begins with the player to Dealer's left. If everyone checks (passes) in this opening round of betting, the pot does not change. Otherwise, the pot increases by the sum of the bets for the round.

 

 Example A                   ante 25 points/1chip

                        1st round of betting                               

                                    1st player bets 25

                                    2nd player calls 25 raises 25 total 50

                                     3rd player calls 50 raises 25 total 75

                                    4th player calls 75 raises 25 total 100

                        No more raises allowed

                                    1st player calls 100 and puts in an additional 75

                                    2nd player calls 100 and puts in an additional 50

                                    3rd player calls 100 and puts in an additional 25

                        Total points each active player has in pot is 125 including ante

 

A second round of betting will open beginning with the first active player to Dealer's left. The betting minimum and maximum allowed in the second betting round are double the amounts that were allowed in the opening round of betting.  2nd betting round starts as high as 50 points/2 chips but can go up as high as 200 points/8 chips in increments of no higher than 50 points/2 chips and can be raised a maximum of 3 times. 

 

                        2nd round of betting

                                    1st player bets 50 points/2 chips

                                    2nd player calls 50 points/2 chips - raises 50 points/2 chips - totaling 100 points/4 chips

                                    3rd player calls 100 points/4 chips - raises 50 points/2 chips - totaling 150 points/6 chips

                                    4th player calls 150 points/6 chips - raises 50 points/2 chips - totaling 200 points/8 chips

                        No more raises allowed

                                    1st player calls 200 points and puts in an additional 150 points/6 chips

                                    2nd player calls 200 points and puts in an additional 100 points/4 chips

                                    3rd player calls 200 points and puts in an additional 50 points/2 chips

                        Total points each active player has in pot is 325 points/13 chips including ante

 

Example B                    ante 25 points/1 chip

                        1st round of betting       

                                    1st player bets 25 points/1 chip

                                    2nd player calls 25 points/1 chip - raises 25 points/1 chip - totaling 50 points/2 chips

                                     3rd player calls 50 points/2 chips - raises 25 points/1 chip - total 75 points/3 chips

                                    4th player calls 75 points/3 chips - raises 25 points/1 chip - totaling 100 points/4 chips

                        No more raises allowed

                                    1st player calls 100 points and puts in an additional 75 points/3 chips

                                    2nd player calls 100 points and puts in an additional 50 points/2 chips

                                    3rd player calls 100 points and puts in an additional 25 points/1 chips

                        Total points each active player has in pot is 125 points/5 chips including ante

 

                        2nd betting round          

                                    1st player has folded

                                    2nd player checks

                                    3rd player bets 50 points/2 chips

                                    4th player calls 50 points/2 chips

                                    5th player calls 50 points/2 chips -  raises 25 points/1 chip -  totaling 75 points/3chips

                                    6th player calls 75 points/3 chips -  raises 50 points/2 chips - totaling 125 points/5 chips

                                    2nd player calls 125 points/5 chips - raises 50 points - totaling 175 points/7 chips

                        No more raises allowed

                                    3rd player folds

                                    4th player calls 175 points and puts in an additional 125 points/5 chips

                                    5th player calls 175 points and puts in an additional 100 points/4 chips

                                    6th player calls 175 points and puts in an additional 50 points/2 chips

                        Total points each active player has in pot 300 points/12 chips including ante

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In practice, most betting rounds are much less eventful than this. Not infrequently one player will bet, all the others will fold, and that player will collect the pot, winning no more than the other players' antes.

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It is important that at their turn players clearly state what they are doing, by saying "call", "raise", etc. or by making an unambiguous gesture of pushing chips towards the pot or discarding their cards. Having indicated what you are going to do you are not allowed to change your mind. In particular you must not make what is known as a "string raise": match the previous bet as though calling, pause to observe the reactions of the other players, and then add a raise.

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When playing with table stakes it sometimes happens that a player wishing to call has insufficient chips to match the latest bet or raise. In such a case the player can call by putting in all his or her remaining chips. The player is then "all-in", and is entitled to take part in the showdown without contributing any further chips, but the amount that can be won from each opponent is limited to the value of chips that the "all in" player has contributed to the pot. To achieve this, the pot is split into two. The main pot consists of the chips contributed by each player, up to the amount put in by the "all-in" player. All excess chips form a side pot, from which the "all-in" player is excluded. If there is more than one active player who is not "all-in", they can continue placing bets in this side pot. If other players also go "all-in", further side pots will be created in the same way.  For our purposes, all bets must be covered and no split pots allowed.  Game will be paused to accommodate buying more chips.  

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Hand Ranking

 

There are 52 cards in the deck, and the ranking of the individual cards, from high to low, is ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. In standard poker game as normally played in North America - there is no ranking between the suits for the purpose of comparing hands - so for example the king of hearts and the king of spades are equal.

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A poker hand consists of five cards. The categories of hand, from highest to lowest, are listed below. Any hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower category (so for example any three of a kind beats any two pairs). Between hands in the same category the rank of the individual cards decides which is better, as described in more detail below.

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In games where a player has more than five cards and selects five to form a poker hand, the remaining cards do not play any part in the ranking. Poker ranks are always based on five cards only, and if these cards are equal the hands are equal, irrespective of the ranks of any unused cards.

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Some players may wonder why one would ever need to compare (say) two threes of a kind of equal rank. This obviously cannot arise in basic draw poker, but such comparisons are needed in poker games using shared (community) cards, such as Texas Hold'em, in poker games with wild cards, and in other card games using poker combinations.

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5 Card Poker Hand Ranking

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5 of a kind – possible when wild cards are in play

When playing with wild cards, five of a kind becomes the highest type of hand, beating a royal flush. Between fives of a kind, the higher beats the lower, five aces being highest of all.

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Straight Flush

If there are no wild cards, this is the highest type of poker hand: five cards of the same suit in sequence - such as J-10-9-8-7. Between two straight flushes, the one containing the higher top card is higher. An ace can be counted as low, so 5-4-3-2-A is a straight flush, but its top card is the five, not the ace, so it is the lowest type of straight flush. The highest type of straight flush, A-K-Q-J-10 of a suit, is known as a Royal Flush. The cards in a straight flush cannot "turn the corner": 4-3-2-A-K is not valid.

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Four of a kind

Four cards of the same rank - such as four queens. The fifth card, known as the kicker, can be anything.  Between two fours of a kind, the one with the higher set of four cards is higher - so 3-3-3-3-A is beaten by 4-4-4-4-2. If two or more players have four of a kind of the same rank, the rank of the kicker decides. For example in Texas Hold'em with J-J-J-J-9 on the table (available to all players), a player holding K-7 beats a player holding Q-10 since the king beats the queen. If one player holds 8-2 and another holds 6-5 they split the pot, since the 9 kicker makes the best hand for both of them. If one player holds A-2 and another holds A-K they also split the pot because both have an ace kicker.

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Full House

This combination, sometimes known as a boat, consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank - for example three sevens and two tens (colloquially known as "sevens full of tens" or "sevens on tens"). When comparing full houses, the rank of the three cards determines which is higher. For example 9-9-9-4-4 beats 8-8-8-A-A. If the threes of a kind are equal, the rank of the pairs decides.

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Flush

Five cards of the same suit. When comparing two flushes, the highest card determines which is higher. If the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared; if those are equal too, then the third highest card, and so on. For example K-J-9-3-2 beats K-J-7-6-5 because the nine beats the seven. If all five cards are equal, the flushes are equal.

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Straight

Five cards of mixed suits in sequence - for example Q-J-10-9-8. When comparing two sequences, the one with the higher ranking top card is better. Ace can count high or low in a straight, but not both at once, so A-K-Q-J-10 and 5-4-3-2-A are valid straights, but 2-A-K-Q-J is not. 5-4-3-2-A, known as a wheel, is the lowest kind of straight, the top card being the five.

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Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same rank plus two unequal cards. This combination is also known as Triplets or Trips. When comparing two threes of a kind the rank of the three equal cards determines which is higher. If the sets of three are of equal rank, then the higher of the two remaining cards in each hand are compared, and if those are equal, the lower odd card is compared. So for example 5-5-5-3-2 beats 4-4-4-K-5, which beats 4-4-4-Q-9, which beats 4-4-4-Q-8.

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Two Pair

A pair consists of two cards of equal rank. In a hand with two pairs, the two pairs are of different ranks (otherwise you would have four of a kind), and there is an odd card to make the hand up to five cards. When comparing hands with two pairs, the hand with the highest pair wins, irrespective of the rank of the other cards - so J-J-2-2-4 beats 10-10-9-9-8 because the jacks beat the tens. If the higher pairs are equal, the lower pairs are compared, so that for example 8-8-6-6-3 beats 8-8-5-5-K. Finally, if both pairs are the same, the odd cards are compared, so Q-Q-5-5-8 beats Q-Q-5-5-4.

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Pair

A hand with two cards of equal rank and three cards which are different from these and from each other. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher pair is better - so for example 6-6-4-3-2 beats 5-5-A-K-Q. If the pairs are equal, compare the highest ranking odd cards from each hand; if these are equal compare the second highest odd card, and if these are equal too compare the lowest odd cards. So J-J-A-9-3 beats J-J-A-8-7 because the 9 beats the 8.

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High Card

Five cards which do not form any of the combinations listed above. This combination is often called High Card and sometimes No Pair. T cards must all be of different ranks, not consecutive, and contain at least two different suits. When comparing two such hands, the one with the better highest card wins. If the highest cards are equal the second cards are compared; if they are equal too the third cards are compared, and so on. So A-J-9-5-3 beats A-10-9-6-4 because the jack beats the ten.

3 Card Poker Hand Ranking

Below is the ranking of hands as used in the casino table game of Three Card Poker. Here are a few quick notes on the game:

• Cards are drawn from a standard 52 card deck.

• Rankings are listed from highest to lowest.

• When a hand qualifies for two ranks the highest is used.

• Suits are not used to break ties.

 

Straight Flush

Three cards in sequence of the same suit.
An Ace can count as either high or low - e.g. A K Q or 3 2 A
Ties are broken by the highest ranked card in the hand except 3 is used for a 3, 2, Ace straight flush.

 

Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same rank.
Ties are broken by the rank of the three cards.

 

Straight

Three cards in sequence.
Ties are broken by the highest ranked card in the hand except 3 is used for a 3, 2, Ace straight.

 

Flush

Three cards of the same suit.
Ties are broken by rank of the highest card, if still tied by the rank of the second highest card and if still tied by rank of the third highest card.

 

 Pair

Two cards of the same rank and a third card of different rank.
Ties are broken by rank of the paired cards and if still tied by rank of the unpaired card.

 

High Hand

Three cards of different rank and suit, not in sequence - i.e. not any of the above ranked hands.
Ties are broken by rank of the highest card, if still tied by the rank of the second highest card and if still tied by rank of the third highest card.

 

Incomplete Hands

In some poker variants, such as No Peek, it is necessary to compare hands that have fewer than five cards. With fewer than five cards, you cannot have a straight, flush or full house. You can make a four of a kind or two pairs with only four cards, triplets with three cards, a pair with two cards and a "high card" hand with just one card.

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The process of comparing first the combination and then the kickers in descending order is the same as when comparing five-card hands. In hands with unequal numbers of cards any kicker that is present in the hand beats a missing kicker. So for example 8-8-K beats 8-8-6-2 because the king beats the 6, but 8-8-6-2 beats 8-8-6 because a 2 is better than a missing fourth card. Similarly a 10 by itself beats 9-5, which beats 9-3-2, which beats 9-3, which beats a 9 by itself.

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The ranking order of poker hands corresponds to their probability of occurring in straight poker, where five cards are dealt from a 52-card deck, with no wild cards and no opportunity to use extra cards to improve a hand. The rarer a hand the higher it ranks.

This is neither an essential nor an original feature of poker, and it ceases to be true when wild cards are introduced. In fact, with a large number of wild cards, it is almost inevitable that the higher hand types will be the commoner, not rarer, since wild cards will be used to help make the most valuable type of hand from the available cards.

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Observer

 

In order to ensure the integrity of all games, no language in any form other than verbalized English may be used while game playing or observing play. We reserves the right to exclude anyone, whether a player or an observer, from the game or game area for violating this requirement.

• Observers may not disclose, in any manner, any cards or hands being played

• All seating and seat changes must go through us.

• One player per hand.

• Discussion regarding the hand in progress is not allowed.  If questions, player may request a Playing of a Cause rep to help

• Decision of Management is final.