Poker Rules - Holdem | Omaha | Seven Card Stud

Poker Rules

The rules of Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Seven Card Stud and Razz poker games

Hand Ranks
Traditional poker hand ranks. The best hand is a straight flush with Ace high.

	Straight Flush: Five cards in sequence, of the same suit.
	Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank.
	Full House: Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank.
	Flush: Five cards of the same suit.
	Straight: Five cards in sequence. The hand A,2,3,4,5 is the lowest straight.
	Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards.
	Two Pair: Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a different matching rank.
	One Pair: Two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards.

Texas Hold'em
Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are known as the hole cards. A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. Players can call, raise, or fold when it's their turn. After the first betting round, the dealer flips three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the flop. In Online games this all happens smooth and automatically. After the flop, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the button. During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn. The dealer flips another card face up onto the table. The fourth card, is called the turn (or Fourth Street). The player to the left of the button begins the third round of betting. The dealer flips another card face up onto the table. This card is called the river (or Fifth Street). Players can now use any combination of seven cards - the five table cards and the two hole cards known only to them to form the best possible five card poker hand. The fourth and final round of betting starts with the player to the left of the button. After the final betting round, all players who remain in the game reveal their hands (showdown). The button is moved one place (seat) clockwise and another game can begin.

Texas Hold'em, split pots
If players have the same hand at showdown, the pot will be split. For instance, if the table cards form a straight and no one has the high end in their hand, all active players will split the pot. If the table cards reads AAAAK, everyone in the hand is going to split the pot because no one can beat quad aces with a king kicker. But, if the table shows AAAA2, then the player with the highest hole card will win the pot. If the board is TJQKA with no flush, everyone splits the pot. Even if you had JTo on the flop, you would have to split at the end. This is known as being counterfeited, when your hand becomes worthless since the table cards duplicated it and everyone has what you have.

Omaha High
Omaha High follows the same betting rules as Texas Holdem. In Omaha a player is dealt 4 cards face down. A player must use exactly two hole cards, and must use exactly three table cards to make the best possible five card poker hand. On the flop you may have two pair, but when the turn comes, you may use two other of your hole cards to make a straight. If you are dealt KKKK and the board is 88TJ2, you have two pair (not quads). If you have 3 of once suit, you can only use two cards of that suit to make a flush.

Omaha High/Low (8 or better)
Omaha High/Low follows the same betting rules as Texas Holdem. Players are dealt 4 cards face down and players must use 2 cards from their hole cards to make their high and/or low hand. In Omaha High/Low you can play for both the high and low hand. The best possible low hand is A2345 and the worse low hand is 87654. The pot will be split between the player with the best high hand and the player with the best low hand. Note, that if a player has both the best low and high hand, this player wins the entire pot. For this reason good starting hands consist of cards able to with both the high and low battle. Players can use 2 different cards (or the same 2 cards) to make their high and their low hand. For example, if a player gets A2TJ, he can use A2 for a low hand and play TJ for a high hand. You may also play A2 for both high and low. In order for a low hand to qualify there must be 3 different cards, eight or lower, out of the 5 table cards. The winning low hand goes to the player with the lowest high card, for example A2346 is better than A2347. When finding the winning low hand, if two or more players have the same high card (for the low hand), the player with the second lowest card (or third, fourth, ..) wins the low hand. An ace counts for both high and low. If there are not 3 different cards eight or lower on the table, there is only the high hand to be concerned with.

Seven Card Stud High
In seven card stud poker games, each player is dealt 7 cards; there are no cards on the board as in Holdem/Omaha games. Before a game can begin all players must ante a nominal amount. Each player is then dealt 2 hidden hole cards and 1 exposed card. The player with the lowest exposed card is the bring-in, and is forced to make another nominal bet or a full small bet. When determining who should bring-in, ties in card rank are broken by suit, with the order from highest to lowest being spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. The lowest suit must do the bring-in. Action then continues clockwise around the table until betting is complete for that round. Each player then receives a new exposed card, called fourth street. The first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. When betting is done, each player receives a new exposed card, called fifth street. Again, the first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. When the betting is complete, each player receives the last exposed card, called sixth street. Again, the first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. Finally, each player receives the seventh and final card, which is dealt face-down and known only to the player. The first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. In the event of identical poker hands, the pot will be split between the players with the best hand.

Seven Card Stud High/Low
Seven card stud high/low is identical to seven card stud high, with the exception that the high hand must split the pot with the low qualifying hand. To qualify for the low half of the pot, the low hand must be 8,7,6,5,4 or lower. A valid low hand is a unpaired five-card hand that consists of cards less than or equal to 8. If two or more players have the same high card for their low hand, the player with the second lowest card (or third, fourth, ..) wins the low hand. Ace plays both high and low. If no player can make a low hand, no low qualifies and the high hand win the entire pot. If a player has the best high hand as well as the best low hand, he/she wins the entire spot (scooping it all)

Razz
The game of Razz poker is similar to seven card stud poker. That is, all players get 7 cards with the first two cards face down, then 4 exposed cards and the final card face down. When a new game begins, the player with the highest first exposed card is the bring-in. The betting then follows the same structure as in seven card stud poker. For the purposes of determining the bring-in, ties in card rank are broken by suit, with the order from highest to lowest being spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. In the following rounds, the first player to act is the player with the strongest (lowest) exposed hand. By rule, this player may either check or bet. In Razz, the lowest hand (or the worst hand) wins the pot. Straight and flushes have no ranking. The best possible hand in Razz is 5432A (wheel). Aces are counted as low. Unlike Seven Card Stud High/Low or Omaha High/Low, there is no 'eight or better' requirement to win the pot in Razz. Any hand can win. For instance, the hand 22765 is better than KK432. Examples of least powerful hands to the nuts: 33322, KK542, AAT98, 98765, 9765A, 6532A and the nuts 5432A. If two or more hands have the same value, the pot is equally split among them. There is no precedence of suit for the purposes of awarding the pot.