Category:Poker Rules

Poker is the name given to a range of card games in which players’ hands are ranked by the cards available to them, whether held individually or shared by multiple players. Poker games may vary in the number of cards dealt, the hand rankings used, the number of hidden and shared cards available, the number of rounds of betting offered and the betting procedures followed. The winner of each hand of poker is the player that holds the best ranking hand when all cards are shown – this is known as “showdown” – or the player that makes the last uncalled bet, thus winning without needing to reach showdown.

Poker Game Types
HeroPoker offers Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. In Hold’em players each receive two (hidden) hole cards and need to make the best possible hand with any of their cards and the community cards dealt face up on the table as the betting rounds progress. In Omaha players are dealt four (hidden) hole cards and must use two of these cards with a combination of the community cards to make their best possible hand.

Rules of Poker
Poker games typically feature a forced bet, such as the Small Blind and Big Blind in Hold’em and Omaha. This forced bet makes up the starting pot in any given hand of poker, and is the first incentive players have to win the hand. Action arising from the subsequent rounds of betting further increases the size of the pot and the amount you can win.

Dealing Cards and Betting Rounds
After any initial cards are dealt, players are usually called upon to act in turn, moving clockwise around the table.

When it is their turn to act players have the following options: Additional community cards which are visible, may be dealt after each betting round has finished, changing the best poker hand that each player may make with the cards available to them.
 * Check – players can only check when there is no bet during the current round, and the act of checking passes the action clockwise to the next person in the hand. If all active players check, the round is considered complete.
 * Bet – players may bet if no other players have bet during the current round.
 * Fold – players who fold forfeit their cards and cannot win or act again during the current hand.
 * Cal – players can call if other players have bet during the current round; this requires the calling player to match the highest bet made.
 * Raise – players may raise if other players have bet during the current round; this requires the raising player to match the highest bet made, and make a subsequent bet.

Showdown
Once the last bet or raise has been called during the final round of betting, showdown occurs; the remaining active players must show or “declare” their hands, and the player(s) with the best ranking hand(s) win the pot.

Players often show their hands in order, rather than all at the same time. Multiple players can share a single pot, with the pot divided in different ways depending on the game rules and how each player’s hand ranks against their opponents.

Betting Limits
Betting limits refer to the amount players may open and raise. Typically, poker games are of the following limit types; no limit, pot limit and fixed limit.
 * No Limit – in poker games with a no limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise by any amount up to and including their full stack (the total number of chips they possess at any given time) in any betting round, whenever it is their turn to act.
 * Pot Limit – in poker games with a pot limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise by any amount up to and including the size of the total pot at that time.
 * Fixed Limit – in poker games with a fixed limit betting structure, each player can choose to call, bet or raise, but only by a fixed amount. The fixed amount for any given betting round is set in advance.