Poker Rules

5016 players are online now!
POKER CASINO GAMES
English

How To Play Promotions Tournaments VIP Program Site Info Player Zone Blog Support

Poker Rules
Choose your game:
Poker Heaven
Texas Hold’em
How To Play Omaha
Omaha Hi/Lo
News 5 Card Stud
7 Card Stud
Promotions
SOKO
Site Info
5 Card Draw
5 Card Draw 7-A
Support Betting structures
Ring games – Missed blinds rules
The Player Zone Multi table tournaments
Sit ‘n’ go tournaments
Tournaments
Texas Hold’em rules
VIP Program
This game is also referred to as “Hold’em” and is one of the most popular games in North America and Europe. The game
proceeds as follows:
A dealer button is placed to determine a nominal dealer. The player next to the dealer button on a clockwise rotation pays
a compulsory bet called the small blind. Next player in line posts the big blind, which is normally double the small blind.
Each player is then dealt two hole cards, also referred to as pocket cards, which are only visible to the player. Starting
with the player to the left of the big blind, who is referred to as being “under the gun” may fold (muck his hand and take
no further action in the pot), call (put in an amount equal to the big blind) or raise (put in an amount twice the big blind).
Play continues in this manner around the table until all players have matched the current bet amount or folded. The blinds
posted at the start of the hand are considered live and contribute to the players’ bet – if no one raises before action gets
round to the big blind, he has the option of checking and seeing a flop, or raising and re-opening the betting.
As betting completes after the cards have been dealt, three community cards, which are cards placed in the middle of the
table face up and visible to all players, are dealt (this is called the flop). Another round of betting takes place, now starting
with the first player left of the dealer button who remains in the hand. A fourth card is dealt (called the turn). Again, a
betting round is completed before the last card is dealt (called the river). Each player who is still in the game will now
need to take part in a final round of bets, where his or her hand is always comprised of the best possible five card
combination of pocket and community cards. Check out our hand rankings page for the definitive poker hand guide.

In fixed limit games, there is a maximum of one bet and three raises allowed in each betting round. The exception to this
rule is if there are only two players left on the pot, in which case there is no limit to the number of raises that can be
made.

For additional information, please view our Texas Hold’em rules page.

Omaha poker rules
Omaha is a game derived from Texas Hold’em. The only difference is that in Omaha players are dealt four pocket cards,
and their final hand needs to be comprised of two out of those four pocket cards, and three community cards, regardless
if a better hand could be achieved using more or fewer pocket or community cards.
Each player is then dealt four hole cards, also referred to as pocket cards, which are only visible to the player.
table face up and visible to all players, are dealt (this is called the flop). Another round of betting takes place, and a fourth
card is dealt (called the turn). Again, a betting round is completed before the last card is dealt (called the river). Each
player who is still in the game will now need to take part in a final round of bets, where his or her hand is always
comprised of the best possible combination of two pocket cards and three community cards.

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

For additional information, please view our Omaha rules page.

Omaha Hi/Lo rules

This game has grown very popular due to its frequently large pots. The game is played in the exact same manner as
Omaha with one exception. In addition to being able to win a pot for the highest ranking hand, a pot is also offered for a
low ranking hand. This means that you will be playing two hands at the same time. For a hand to qualify as a low hand,
it’s highest card cannot be more than 8, and the hand comprised of the lowest high card below and including 8 will win the
low pot. For example, a hand comprised of A, 3, 4, 5, 6 will beat a hand comprised of, A, 2, 4, 5, 7.
Each player is then dealt four hole cards, also referred to as pocket cards, which are only visible to the player.
table face up and visible to all players, are dealt (this is called the flop). Another round of betting takes place, and a fourth
card is dealt (called the turn). Again, a betting round is completed before the last card is dealt (called the river). Each
player who is still in the game will now need to take part in a final round of bets, where his or her hand is always
comprised of the best possible combination of two pocket cards and three community cards for each of the low and high
hand alternatives.
A player can win the entire pot amount by either holding the best high and low hand or if there is no possible low
combination (there are not 3 community cards lower than a 9). If 2 players hold the same low or high hand, this section of
the pot is split between the winning players.
For additional information, please view our Omaha Hi/Lo rules page.
5 Card Stud poker rules
This is the original form of stud poker, and is still played by many poker players despite 7 card stud being a more popular
form today.
The game proceeds as explained below.

To begin a round, each player pays the ante which will be a fraction of the smaller bet (bets could for example be at
$10/$20, and the ante could then be $1). Next, all players are dealt one card face down, and one card face up. The player
with the lowest card facing up begins betting by making a bring-in bet. This bet will be half the smaller bet (in our
example $5). If two players have the same value as the lowest card, the rank will be ordered by suit going from clubs as
the lowest through diamonds, hearts and spades as the highest. Betting proceeds and players may bet up to the smaller
bet ($10 in our case).

In the second round, players are dealt another card face up. The player with the highest combination of cards facing up
begins betting, this will be the player nearest the dealer’s left in case of a tie. Bets will normally be a smaller bet ($10),
but can be a high bet ($20) if one or more players have a pair in their cards facing up.
The third round is equal to the second, except that all bets must be done at the high level ($20).
In the fourth and last round, players are dealt a card face up, and with one card face down and the remaining four face
up, the final betting round takes place, again at the higher bet amount. The winner will be the player with the strongest
five card poker hand.
For additional information, please view our 5 Card Stud rules page.
7 Card Stud rules

This game is played with a maximum of 8 players.

The first two cards (hole cards) are dealt face down, and the other players can’t see them. The next cards to be dealt are
called Streets (3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Street), and they are dealt face up. The last card, the river, is dealt face down.

At the start of the round, the players must place antes. The ante is a fraction of the low bet limit and serves the same
purpose as the blinds in Hold’em games.
After the 3rd street has been dealt, the player with the lowest face-up card starts the betting. If two players are showing
cards of the same value, the order is determined according to their suits. The suit order is, in ascending rank: Clubs
(lowest), Diamonds, Hearts and Spades (highest).
The starting player can either place a complete bet, or place a bring-in. This is smaller than the complete bet, and again
like the blinds in other varieties, the player only needs to add the difference if the bet is completed and he decides to call.
The other players can fold, call, complete the bet, or raise.

Once the bets have been placed, the 4th street is dealt. This time the player with the highest card or combination shown
starts the betting, and there is no bring-in. At this stage, any player can bet at the high limit, which will be applied to all
subsequent bets.
The same cycle is used for the 5th and 6th streets, and the river, except that the high limit is now applied regardless of
whether it was used for the 4th street or not. After the river bets are placed, the highest five-card poker hand is formed
from each player’s cards. The highest ranking hand wins.


For additional information, please view our 7 Card Stud rules page.

SOKO poker rules
Soko is played exactly like 5 card stud, except a 4 flush and a 4 straight counts as a hand. In other words, a hand such as
4567Q is not queen high, but is a 4 straight. A 4 straight and a 4 flush beat a pair, but lose to a two pair or better (4
flushes beat 4 straights). So the new rank of hands would be as shown below.
Hand ranking:
1. Straight flush
2. Four of a kind
3. Full house
4. Flush
5. Straight
6. Three of a kind
7. Two pair
8. Four flush
9. Four Straight
10. Pair
11. High card
5 Card Draw rules
Five Card Draw is one of the first games which a lot of new players learn, due to its simple poker rules and popularity at
home games. There are two betting rounds, one before the draw and one after the draw.
The size of the blinds is determined by the table’s betting limits – the small blind is equal to half the lower bet amount,
and the big blind is equal to the lower bet amount. For example – in a $2/$4 Fixed Limit Five Card Draw game, the small
blind (SB) would be $1 and the big blind (BB) would be $2. At the start of a hand, the player to the left of the dealer
button posts the small blind, and the player to his left posts the big blind. Then, starting with the small blind, five cards are
dealt face down to each player, and the action begins with the player to the left of the big blind, who is referred to as
being “under the gun”. He may fold (muck his hand and take no further action in the pot), call (put in an amount equal to
the big blind) or raise (put in an amount twice the big blind). Play continues in this manner around the table until all
players have matched the current bet amount or folded. The blinds posted at the start of the hand are considered live and
contribute to the players’ bet – if no one raises before action gets round to the big blind, he has the option of checking and
proceeding to the draw phase, or raising and re-opening the betting.
Once all betting is complete, the draw phase begins. Starting from the left of the button, each player selects however
many cards he wishes to replace and discards them. Each player is then in turn dealt the same number of cards they
discarded. Players can draw any number of cards from 0 (Stand Pat) to 5.

After all players have drawn cards, a second round of betting ensues. All players still left in the hand at this stage now
turn their cards over. Each player uses all five cards in their hand to form their final five card hand using standard poker
rules. The best hand at the showdown wins the pot, and if there are two or more hands of the same value, then the pot is
split up into equal parts.
For additional information, please view our 5 Card Draw rules page.
5 Card Draw low 7-A poker rules

The game is played by 2 to 5 players. This is a strip-deck game; this means that cards 2,3,4,5 and 6 have been removed.
The deck contains cards from 7 to Ace. If there are five active players at the start of the hand the sixes should also be in
the deck. The game is played with a dealer button, a small blind and a big blind just like Texas Hold’em. The player to the
left of the dealer posts a small blind and the player to the left of the small blind posts a big blind before the cards are
dealt. Five cards are dealt face down to each player.
After the deal, the first betting round starts. At the end of the first betting round, each player may discard and draw up to
five cards. If there are not enough cards left in the deck, the discarded cards are shuffled and used again. A second round
of betting ensues, followed by the showdown.
The winner of the hand is the player who holds the highest hand according to standard strip-deck poker hand rankings.
Ace can also be used as the lowest (wild) card in a straight, i.e. A-7-8-9-10 (A-6-7-8-9 in case of the 6’s being used). If
the 10 high straight is suited with an ace as the lowest card, it qualifies as a straight flush. This also applies to the 9 high
suited straight in case of the 6’s being used.

Hand ranking:
1. Royal flush
2. Straight flush
3. Four of a kind
4. Flush
5. Full house
6. Straight
7. Three of a kind
8. Two pair
9. One Pair
10. High Card


For additional information, please view our 5 Card Draw 7-A rules page.

Betting structures

Fixed limit: Fixed limit means that the amount you can bet is set. These games will be called $3/$6 or $1/$2 games or
similar. In Hold’em, the amount that can be bet pre-flop or on the flop is the first number. In a $0.50/$1 game, you will be
able to bet $0.50 at a time. On the turn and river, the second number is the only amount that can be bet. In that same
$0.50/$1 game, players bet $1 at a time after the turn card is dealt.
There is a limit of four bets per player per betting round.
No limit: No Limit is only offered in Hold’em. No limit Hold’em offers no betting structure. You can bet as little or as much
as you like at anytime, with a minimum of the corresponding big blind value or when raising, at least the same amount as
has been bet. Anytime, from your first two cards all the way to the river, you can say those two magic words, “all in”.
Pot limit: Pot Limit is a structure where the maximum bet is based on the size of the pot. The “pot” is defined as the
amount of money in the pot plus all bets currently on the table (these are the bets of all players who bet prior to you in
the hand).
Ring games – Missed blinds rules
Missed big blind: If a player misses the big blind for any reason, then that player may not play in any hands until the sum
of all blinds are made up. The game will place an “ML” button in that seat to declare the missed big blind. The game will
ask the next active player to the left to post the big blind for the hand. If the missed player returns to the game before the
big blind comes back to his/her seat, the player is required to make up the sum of all blinds, “Post all.” The small blind
portion is dead and must be put into the pot before the hand is dealt. However, a player may avoid posting dead by
waiting for the big blind to arrive at his/her seat naturally.
Missed small blind: If a player misses the small blind for any reason, then that player may not play in any hands until the
small blind is made up. The game will place an “MS” button in that seat to declare the missed small blind. The game will
ask the next active player to the left of the big blind to post a big blind for the hand as well. The original big blind player
will “catch a break” and get the button on the next hand. The player who had missed the small blind cannot return until
after the button has passed. If the missed player returns to the game before the big blind comes back to his/her seat, the
player is required make up the small blind. The small blind is dead and must be put into the pot before the hand is dealt.
However, a player may avoid posting dead by waiting for the big blind to arrive at his/her seat naturally.
Multi table tournaments
A tournament is a format of which you play until one final player stands as the winner. All players enter a tournament for
the same amount of money, called the buy-in. All players start out with an equal amount of chips and, as the tournament
progresses, the stakes are typically raised every 5-15 minutes. As players go broke they are eliminated (unless it is a re-
buy tournament, where a player has the option of buying in again during a specified time period). The tournament ends
when one player has all the chips and are announced the winner.

Tournament table and lobby: After double-clicking on a tournament you’ll be able to see the tournament lobby, where
additional information will be displayed. You can also select the tournament in the main lobby and press the “tournament
info” button to open the tournament lobby. In the tournament lobby, you can get more detailed information about the
tournament, such as prize info (once registration has closed), tournament structure, registered participants and a
description. The tournament lobby is also where you register to enter the tournament.

You can sign up for the tournament by clicking the “register” button in the tournament lobby. Note that this button will only
be available after the tournament opens and registration has begun. Clicking the “register” button brings up the
tournament buy-in dialog. You will be asked to confirm you wish to buy in to the tournament. Should you be unable to play
a tournament you may click ‘unregister’ in the tournament lobby and your buy-in and fee will be refunded to your poker
account. You can only unregister as long as registration is open.

Once the tournament begins, a tournament table window will automatically open with you seated at the table. When the
action begins in a blind game, the button is placed randomly at one of the seats, and everyone is dealt in. If it is your turn
to post a blind, the software automatically posts the blind for you. If you need to leave your computer for any reason and
do not want to get timed out, click “sit out next hand”. On the table you can find information about current blind level,
when the blind level will increase and how long it is until the next break. Blinds will increase in ‘levels’, these are set
periods of time throughout the tournament in which the compulsory bets will increase according to the set tournament
blind structure. Play continues until one player is remaining with all the chips and is crowned the tournament champion!

Guarantee tournaments: A guarantee tournament works in the same way as normal tournament, except that a certain
prize pool amount is guaranteed! No matter how many players register, as long as there are enough for the tournament to
run, the prize pool will always contain at least the guaranteed amount. The prize pool can of course exceed the
guaranteed amount at any point.
Satellites: Satellite tournaments are tournaments wherein the prize pool awards the top players with a seat into a larger
poker tournament or event. Satellites can be located in the ‘multi tourney’ tab using the ‘satellites’ tab. Satellite
tournaments are a great way of qualifying for tournaments with a chance of winning great prizes by spending just a few
Euros! The prize pool is decided by the number of buy-ins. For example, a satellite to a €300+20 tournament would have
1 seat awarded for every €320 in the prize pool. If 100 players register to a €10 satellite, the total prize pool would be
€1000. 3 €320 seats would be awarded and the remaining €40 in the prize pool would be distributed in cash for the
runner ups.


Freerolls: If you would like to try one of our multi-table tournaments to improve your poker skills without risking your own
money to start with, freeroll tournaments are ideal for you. The tournaments are free to enter and offer real cash prizes
for the top finishers.

You can find a list of all available freeroll tournaments by using the ‘multi tourney’ tab and selecting the ‘freeroll’ filter.
Sit ‘n’ go tournaments

Sit ‘n’ go tournaments can be found under the ‘Sit & Go’ tab in the lobby. Sit ‘n’ go tournament will not commence until the
designated number of participants have registered, this differs from multi tourneys in that the tournament will begin as
soon as the sit ‘n’ go is full and not at a specific time/date. As with multi table tournaments play continues until there is
one player remaining with all the chips. Blinds are again increased after set time periods and according to the set blind
structure. A sit ‘n’ go tournament can be played with 2 – 30 players and can be played at different speeds. Choose
between normal blind structures (10 minutes), speed structure (5 minutes) a turbo structure (3 minutes).

InTouch Poker Limited (company registration number C44236) and InTouch Casino Limited (company registration number C44237) are two limited liability companies registered in Malta, a member of the EU since
May 2004.
InTouch Poker Ltd is fully licensed and regulated by the Malta Lotteries & Gaming A uthority and operates under license number LGA/CL3/412/2007, issued on 21st January 2010. InTouch Casino Ltd is fully
licensed and regulated by the Malta Lotteries & Gaming Authority and operates under license number LGA/CL1/617/2009, issued on 21st January 2010.
PokerHeaven.com and BlackjackHeaven.com are powered by Boss Media Malta Poker Ltd software (LGA/CL4/206/2005) and Boss Media Malta Casino Ltd software (LGA/CL4/315/2007), also regulated by the said
Authority.
Our services are not available to residents of the United States, US Virgin Islands, US Minor Outlying Areas or Turkey or any other jurisdiction that legally prohibits its citizens from engaging in online gaming.


Poker Rules

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (17)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Poker Rules