Rules

Poker Variations

The games listed below (Holdem, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo) are the most commonly played poker games today. These games are usually played with a limit structure, meaning the betting and raising levels are predetermined and those bets can never be exceeded.

Holdem

Holdem is a game in which each player receives two “hole” cards as their initial hand. Each player uses their two hole cards along with the five community cards to form the best five-card poker hand.

Step by Step

Two cards are dealt face down, and the first round of betting takes place
The first three community cards are opened simultaneously followed by the second round of betting. The fourth and fifth community cards are then dealt one at a time followed by the fourth and final betting rounds
Players make their five card poker hand using any combination of their two hole cards and the five community cards
At the showdown, the winning hand is the highest ranking five-card poker hand

Blind and Betting Structure

In order to start the betting action, Holdem uses what are called blind bets (blinds) to stimulate action and initiate play. Blinds are posted before the dealer deals the first cards by players who sit in consecutive clockwise order from the dealer button with the first player posting a predetermined amount call the “small blind”. The next person in order posts what is known as the “big blind”. Action is initiated on the first betting round by the player on the immediate left of the big blind. The blinds act last on the first betting round and are “live”, which means the player is allowed to raise his own blind bet. The board cards are dealt in three sequences known as the “Flop”, the “Turn” and the “River”. In Holdem there are four total rounds of betting, two at the smaller limit and two at the larger limit. The first round of betting takes place after each player has been dealt their initial two-card hand. The second betting round takes place after the Flop has been dealt. The third round of betting takes place after the Turn card has been dealt and the fourth and final round of betting will take place after the River card has been dealt. A new player entering any Holdem game has several options to satisfy the initial blind requirements:

Wait for their big blind.
Wait until the button passes and then post their big blind.
Post the big blind immediately, regardless of seat position
If you choose the second or third option, the blind acts as your opening bet. If a player leaves the table for any reason and any blind passes their position, they may resume play by posting the total amount of the blinds for the game or wait for the big blind

Omaha

Omaha is a game in which each player receives four cards as their in initial hand. Each player must use a specific combination of five cards; any two out of their hand and any three from the board (community cards) to form the best five-card poker hand

Step by Step

To begin, players receive four cards dealt face down and the first round of betting takes place.
The first three community cards are opened simultaneously followed by the second round of betting. The fourth and fifth community cards are then dealt one at a time followed by the fourth and final betting rounds.
Players make a five card poker hand using any two of their hole cards with any three of the five community cards in the centre of the table.
At the showdown, the winning hand is the highest ranking five-card poker hand.

Blind and Betting Structure

The general blind and betting structure for Omaha follows the rules of Holdem.

Omaha Hi-Lo

Omaha Hi-Lo is a game in which each player receives four cards as their initial hand. Each player must use a specific combination of five cards; any two out of their hand and any three from the board (community cards) to form the best five-card poker hand and also the best five-card low hand.

Blind and Betting Structure

The blind and betting structure for Omaha Hi-Lo follows the rules of Holdem. See the Holdem section for description.

What you need to know about Omaha Hi-Lo

Similar to Omaha, a specific combination of cards must be used in Omaha Hi-Lo to make the best hand
Omaha Hi-Lo will usually be played with a qualifier for the low hand, meaning in order for a low hand to qualify, it must contain five non-paired cards all lower than a predetermined rank. If no low hand qualifies, for example Eight or better, then the pot is won by the best high hand only
In Omaha Hi-Lo each player may compete for and win both the Hi and the Lo hands
The same card(s) from your hand may be used to make the best Hi-Lo hand

7 Card Stud

7 Card Stud is a game in which each player receives their own seven cards. Each player uses these seven cards to form the best five-card poker hand.

Ante, Bring-In and Betting Structure

The cards are dealt to each player in five sequences known as 3rd through 7th Streets. 3rd Street is dealt as the first sequence and consists of two face down cards and one upcard. 4th through to 6th Streets are dealt face up one card at a time. The 7th Street card is dealt face down. In order to start the betting action, 7 Card Stud uses what are called Antes and Bring-Ins. Antes are posted by each player before he receives his cards and so do not count as part of any future bets. The bring-in bet is used to stimulate action and initiate play. In 7 Card Stud the lowest card by suit will be forced to start the action by placing the bring-in bet with an Ace counting as a high card for this purpose.

The bring-in bet counts as part of the player’s bet if it should be raised. For purposes of determining the low card on the bring-in, suits will be ranked from highest to lowest as: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.

On subsequent rounds, the high hand initiates action. If there is a tie, the player to the left of the dealer is first. In 7 Card Stud there are five total rounds of betting, the initial two at the lower limit and then three at the higher limit. The first round of betting takes place after each player has been dealt their initial three-card hand (3rd Street). The second betting round takes place after 4th Street has been dealt. The third round of betting takes place after the 5th Street card has been dealt. The fourth round of betting will take place after 6th Street and the fifth and final round of betting takes place after 7th Street. After the final round of betting has been completed, a player may use any combination of five cards to determine their best hand. A player who antes and/or asks to be dealt in but is unable to make it back to the table when its his turn to act forfeits their ante and their bring-in bet, if any. The hand is dead and will be discarded in turn.

Things you need to know about 7 Card Stud

If a player makes an open pair on 4th Street, that player has the option of betting either the smaller or larger bet. If they bet the smaller amount, the next player(s) may raise in increments of the smaller bet of the larger bet. If a larger bet or raise is made, the next raise must be in increments of the larger bet.