Poker Rules @ Poker-Play.com
THE BUY-IN
1. If you
enter a game that is already in play, you must use a
'buy-in' to get in that specific poker game. A
'buy-in' entails that you place a wager for ten times
the amount of the previous high bet. Unless
otherwise indicated, this is the only way to join a
poker game in progress.
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 must transfer from one game to another game
with the same buy-in limit can do so with the same
amount of money that was being played on the game before
the 'buy-in'. However, the player must have
sufficient funds ahead of time in order to do so.
MISDEALS
1. The
following lists various causes of misdeals. The
hand can be saved so long as two consecutive players
have not played on their hands. If consecutive
play has been executed, the hand must be played until
its finish. If any of the following occurs, the
hand should be dealt again:
(a) The
first or second card of the hand has been dealt face-up
or accidentally exposed.
(b) Two or more cards have been dealt face-up or
accidentally exposed by the dealer.
(c) Two or more boxed cards (improperly faced or marked
cards) are found in the card deck.
(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. This can be fixed only if the player with
the incorrect number is the next player in the dealing
sequence.
(f) Any card has been dealt out of the proper dealing
sequence and has been dealt over with more cards (except
an exposed card may be replaced by the burn-card).
(g) The button was in the improper position.
(h) The first card was improperly dealt to the wrong
position.
(i) Cards have been dealt to an empty seat or a player
not permitted into the current hand.
(j) A player who is permitted to a hand, has been
mistakenly dealt out by the dealer. This player
must be present at the table or have posted a blind or
ante for this rule to insure them.
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
poker hand will be called out 'Dead' if any of the
following occurs:
(a) You
fold or announce that you are folding when confronted
with a bet or raise.
(b) You wave your hand, signaling the player behind you
to act on their hand. Even if you are not faced
with a bet, when the player behind you makes a move,
then your hand is dead.
(c) While playing stud, if you are confronted with a
bet, you lift your up-cards off the table, turn your
up-cards over, or, mix your up-cards with your
down-cards.
(d) The hand does not contain the right amount of cards
for that specific game.
(e) You use a joker as a hole-card in a game where
jokers are not permitted for use.
(f) If you are under the clock and exceed the time limit
when confronted with a bet or a raise.
2. Cards
that have been thrown into the muck may be ruled dead.
However, a hand that is absolutely recognizable may be
retrieved if doing so is in the best interest of the
current game. If a hand was folded due to incorrect
information imparted to the player, then the hand will
most likely be reacquired.
3. A card
is dead (face-up or face-down) if it has been placed
into another players hand.
IRREGULARITIES
1. In
button games, if it is found out that the button was
improperly placed on the previous hand, the button and
blinds will be fixed for the new hand in a way that
offers each player a single chance for each new
position on the round.
2. You,
the player, are responsible for protecting your own hand
at all times. You can protect your cards by placing your
hands, a chip etc. on top of them. If you did not
take any steps to cover your cards and they were
tampered with by the dealer, you are responsible for
it.
3. If a
stray card with a different color back or design from
the deck appears during the playing of the hand, all
previous action taken in the game is undone, and all
wagers are given back to their respected players.
If a stray card appears in the stub, then all previous
action still stands.
4. If two
identical cards of the same rank and suit are discovered
in the hand, all previous action is null and void, and
all wagers in the pot are returned to the respected
players.
5. If a
player knows that the deck is defective, they are
obliged to make it known. However, if the player
conceals this information and tries to take the pot,
they will lose their chance for a refund, and the chips
from their wager will go towards the next hand.
6. If
there is money carried over from the previous pot,
only players who were dealt a hand on the original pot
can play the new game.
7. A
face-up card discovered in the playing deck will be
deemed null and void. It will be taken from the
deck and replaced by the card immediately below it in
the dealer's card pile. If the face-up card was
not discovered until after the next card was dealt, then
the face-up card will be substituted with the very next
card in the deck after all the cards have been dealt.
8. In a
game where jokers have been designated, prior to the
hand, as non-playable, then the joker is replaced either
before the card after it is dealt, or after all cards in
the hand have been dealt. It is the players
responsibility to bring the dealers attention to a joker
that was dealt to him/her. If the joker is
discovered after the game has started, then the hand
with the joker is deemed a dead hand.
9. It is
the players responsibility to look at all their cards
before play commences. Any defective card found
later on, will cause the hand to be dead, and all wages
will be forfeited.
10. If
cards are discovered missing from the playing deck, the
results of the previous hands still stand as they were,
and a new deck will be used henceforth.
11. If
the dealer accidentally deals an extra card - and the
first round of wages has not commenced yet - then the
extra card is thrown back into the deck to serve as a
burn-card.
12. Any
card that is flashed by the dealer, whether it was in
view of a player or not, is deemed an exposed card and
will not be dealt into the hand. If a card is
flashed by a player, regardless if another player saw it
or not, that card will still be played. In order
to call out a flashed card, the player must declare that
the dealt card was exposed before the player looks at
the card. If a card is dealt off of the table by the
dealer, regardless if it stays face-down, it is deemed
an exposed card and treated as such.
13. A
player does not have the choice of keeping or replacing
an exposed card dealt to them because of dealer error.
14. The
player is responsible for safeguarding their hand.
If the players cards are physically revealed (dropping
cards, turning out the hand holding cards, etc.)
the player must still play the hand.
15. If
cards are dealt before all the first bets have been
made, those cards will be deemed unplayable, and will be
replaced by new cards when all wages have been
finished.
BETTING AND RAISING
1.
Check-raise is allowed in all poker games, except in
specific forms of lowball.
2. In
no-limit and pot-limit poker games, unbarred raising is
permitted.
3. In a
game of limit poker, with a pot in which three or more
players are not in, the following 'raise' restrictions
apply:
(a) In a game with three or
more betting rounds, a maximum bet and three raises are
permitted.
(b) In a game with two betting rounds, a maximum bet and
four raises are permitted.
4. During
heads-up play, unbarred raising is permitted. Only
when the raising has been capped prior to the
action being heads-up, does this rule apply. When
the raising is capped, it cannot be uncapped by future
folds leaving two players in heads-up status.
5. In
limit play poker games, an all-in wager that is less
than half a bet does not reopen the wagering for another
player who has already put into the pot for all prior
bets. A player confronted with less than
half a bet may fold, call, or finish the wager until it
is adequate. An all-in-wager of a half a bet or more is
deemed a full bet. In this case, a player may
fold, call, or make a full raise on the current pot.
6. Any
wager must be, at a minimum, the amount of the previous
bet or raise in the pot, unless the player is
going all-in on the hand.
7. The
smallest chip that is permitted to be wagered in a hand
is equivalent to the smallest chip used in the antes,
blinds, rake, or collection. Smaller chips than
this amount do not play even in quantity, so a player
wanting action on chips such as these must change them
up between card deals. If betting is in the amount of
single dollars or greater, a portion of a dollar does
not play. A player going all-in must place all chips
that play into the pot.
8. A
verbal statement, pertaining to action, holds that
player to their word. In other words, if a player
verbally proclaims that they are folding, raising, etc.
then that player is bound by their word and is obligated
to act as they have spoken.
9. A pass
is executed by tapping ones hand on the playing table.
10. If a
player deliberately moves out of turn, and acts ahead of
another player, they will not be allowed to raise the
pot on their next turn to act. A verbal
declaration that is out of turn will be dismissed and no
penalties will be infringed on the player responsible.
11. To
keep the right to act, a player must stop the current
action by declaring “time” (or an equivalent word).
Failure to do this prior to the actions of three or more
players may forfeit your right to act. You cannot
forfeit your right to act if there are players in front
of you who have not acted at the current time.
Therefore, if someone before you has not acted, but,
there are three or more players who have acted behind
you, your right to act is still live and active.
12. When
a player throws chips into the pot, they are not
permitted to undo that action. One condition
allows a player to take their chips back from the pot:
When the player is unaware that a raise has been made on
the pot, then that player can take back their bet and
act in another fashion - Provided that the player behind
has not acted yet.
13. In a
game of limit poker, if a player makes a forward motion,
but hesitate to place their chips, he/she will be forced
to take their action if the player behind them executes
their action.
14.
String raises are not permitted. In order for a player
to reserve their right to raise the pot, they must
either verbally announce their desire, or throw the
required amount of chips into the pot. By placing a full
bet plus a half bet or more into the pot at one time,
the player is, in essence, declaring a raise, and
must be execute the entire action.
15. If a
single chip is placed into the pot, and is larger than
the bet, the player must verbally declare a raise.
If the player does not announce a raise, they are
assumed to have only called.
16. All
wagers and calls of improper amounts are required to be
brought up to proper size if the discrepancy is
discovered before the betting round has been finished.
This pertains to actions such as betting a smaller
amount than the minimum bring-in, and betting the lower
limit on an upper limit betting round. If a wager is
supposed to be placed in a rounded off dollar amount,
but is not, then it must be corrected and changed to the
right amount closest in size. A player who has
previously acted may not change a call into a raise if
the wager amount is altered.
THE SHOWDOWN
1. In
order to take home any portion of the pot, a player must
reveal their hand, face-up on the poker table.
2.
Although the dealer helps in analyzing the players'
hands, it is each players obligation to keep their own
hand in their possession while the dealer declares a
winner. Verbal proclamations pertaining to the
contents of a players hand do not hold fast when
determining a winner; However, it is deemed unethical
for a player to intentionally miscall their hand in
hopes of causing another player to fold or alter their
own hand. If this happens, the player responsible
for the deception may be obligated to return their
winnings to the pot, and not be permitted to play
henceforth.
3. All
persons associated with a game, I.e. players, dealer,
floor manager, are obligated by ethical gambling
standards to report any errors that may take place
during the game, such as the incorrect dispersion of
winnings from the pot and incorrect chip offerings into
the pot.
4. Before
the pot is awarded to the winner/winners, all losing
hands will be declared dead and killed by the dealer.
5. If a
player has been called-in during a game, that player has
the right to view any hands that have been 'called'
prior to calling-in. This is a bonus and a
privilege however, and if it is misused in any way, the
dealer has the right to bar a player from using it
again. Remember that a hand is dead if it has been
folded, and is requested to be seen by any other player
than the pot winner. If two remaining players ask
to see each others hands, then both hands are deemed
live, and a winner will be declared.
6. If
cards are revealed to another player, then the same
cards must be revealed to all other players at the
table, even if the players did not see them when they
were first exposed. If a card/cards are exposed
during the deal to player who is not in the current pot,
then those cards do not have to be revealed to the other
players until the deal is complete.
7. Of all
the players who are all-in on the final betting round of
the hand, the player who acted first during that round
is required to reveal their final hand before the other
players do so. If any players made wagers on the final
betting round, the last player to do so is obligated to
reveal their final hand first. If a player is
deemed to be a probable winner, they are urged to reveal
their hand first so that the next game can commence
sooner. In games with side-pots, those players who
have interest in that pot must reveal their final hands
before any other player who is all-in just for the
primary pot.
TIES
1. The
ranking of suits is implemented in poker games, but, is
only used to break ties when there are two cards of the
same rank. Suits are never used in determining a
winner for the pot. (The pot will be divided accordingly
if such is the case) The order of suits from
lowest to highest rank is as follows: Clubs,
Diamonds, Hearts, Spades.
2. If
there are too many players at a table, the dealer will
deal a card to each potential player, starting from the
dealers left. The player/players dealt the lowest
cards will be obligated to move to another table, or
stand down. When determining the receiver of the
button, or seating order, the practice of card drawing
is implemented.
3. An odd
chip will be reduced down to the smallest unit played in
the game.
4. No
player may be given more than one odd chip.
5. If two
or more hands are tied, an odd chip will be awarded
according to the following:
(a) In a
button game, the first hand from the left of the button
receives the odd chip.
(b) In a stud game, the highest card according to suit
in high games, and the lowest card according to suit in
low games, will receive the odd chip. All cards are
factored into this determination - Not just the five
cards of the hand.
(c) In high-low split games, the high hand is given the
odd chip in a split between the high and the low hands.
The odd chip between tied high hands is given in the
manner as in a high game of that poker form, while the
odd chip between tied low hands is awarded as in the
manner of a low game of that poker form.
(d) All side pots and the main pot will remain
independent and will always be split as separate pots.
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