Common Poker Games

Texas Hold'em

Hold'em poker (also known as Texas Hold'em) is the most popular poker game in the world. In Hold'em, players get two down cards and five community cards, which are dealt face-up in the middle of the table. Your hand is determined by using the best five of those seven cards and the best hand wins the pot. The hand may also be won by someone betting and no one calling their bet. There are four rounds of betting in Hold'em. In Limit Hold'em, one bet and three raises are allowed for each betting round. To continue to play, players must call all action to them on each betting round, unless they are "all-in".

Here is the procedure for Hold'em:

1) Prior to dealing the cards, two blinds, the Small Blind and the Big Blind, are placed in the pot by the two players to the immediate left of the dealer, indicated by the dealer "button".

2) Everyone is dealt two down cards called "hole cards". The action begins with the player to the left of the Big Blind folding, calling, or raising and continues in a clockwise fashion. This is the first betting round.

3) The dealer turns over three community cards known as "The Flop". This is the second betting round. Beginning with this round of betting and throughout the remainder of the hand, the player to the left of the button acts first.

4) The dealer turns over another card known as "The Turn" or "Fourth Street". This is the third round of betting. In Limit Hold'em, the amount bet doubles for this round.

5) The dealer turns over the last card known as "The River" card or "Fifth Street". This is the final round of betting.

6) After completion of the final round of betting, the best hand wins the pot.

Note: The Blinds are determined by the size of the game.

Seven Card Stud

In Seven Card Stud, players will receive seven cards, three "down" cards and four "up" cards. Your hand is determined by using the best five of seven cards and the best hand wins the pot. The pot may also be won by someone betting and no one calling them. There are five betting rounds in Seven Card Stud. One bet and three raises are allowed on each betting round. To continue to play, players must call all action to them on each "Street" or betting round. Here is the procedure for Seven Card Stud:

1) Everyone "antes" a predetermined amount in the pot before the cards are dealt.

2) Each player is dealt three cards, two "down" cards and one "up" card. This "up" card is also known as the "door card" or "Third Street".

3) The lowest "up" card must initiate the action with a "Bring-In" bet. If two or more players have the same lowest card, the person who brings it in is determined by suit order progressing from clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. "Third Street" is the first round of betting.

4) Another card is dealt face-up. This is "Fourth Street" and is the second round of betting. From "Fourth Street" on, the highest hand showing begins the action by checking or betting. If a pair is showing on "Fourth Street", players have the option to make a single or double bet. If you wish to raise and your opponent makes a single bet, you may raise a single or double bet. If your opponent makes a double bet and you wish to raise, you may only raise an equal amount.

5) Another card is dealt face-up. This is called "Fifth Street" and is the third round of betting - which doubles - and continues at this amount for the remaining betting rounds.

6) Another card is dealt face-up. This is "Sixth Street" and is the fourth betting round.

7) The final card is dealt down. The last card is also known as the "River Card" or "Seventh Street" and begins final round of betting.

8) Upon completion of the final round of betting, the best hand wins the pot.

Note: The antes, bring-ins, and betting limits are determined by the size of the game.

Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo

Seven Card Stud Hi/Low is a version of Seven Card Stud. It is a "split-pot" game. There is no qualifying on the "High" side - the best hand automatically wins half the pot and could win the whole pot. To win the "Low" side, however, you have to qualify.

The game is played with exactly the same format and structure as Seven Card Stud. The difference is that if someone qualifies for "Low", the pot is split. To qualify for Low: It takes a five-card hand with different numerical values from Ace through eight (with the Ace being the lowest value) to qualify for the "Low" half of the pot. The best "Low" hand is A,2,3,4,5 which is also known as the "wheel" or "bicycle". The winning "Low" hand is the one with the lowest high card in it. If two or more players qualify for "Low" but have the same high card, the second lowest high card (and if necessary progressing down to the third, fourth, or fifth lowest card) would be the winning hand. For example, a 2,3,4,6,8 would be a better "Low" hand than an A,2,4,7,8. Important:

1) Straights and flushes do NOT count against you on the "Low" side.

2) You may use any combination of cards for the "High" hand or the "Low" hand or you may use different cards for both the "High" and "Low" sides.

3) In a split pot, any leftover odd chip goes to the "High" hand. If two or more players tie for the "High" side of the pot and there is an odd chip, the player with the highest card in their hand is awarded the odd chip. If they have the same high valued card, the suit takes preference going from Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. If two or more players "tie" for the "Low" side of the pot and there is an odd chip, that chip is awarded to the player with the lowest card in their hand. If they have the same lowest card, the suit takes preference in the order of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades.

4) When a player "scoops" a pot, they win the whole pot.

Omaha High

As in Hold'em, in Omaha, players share five "community" cards which are dealt face-up in the center of the table. Players start with four "down" cards. In Omaha, you MUST use exactly two of your four "down" cards along with exactly three community cards on the board to form your hand. Upon the completion of betting, the best hand wins the pot.

There are four betting rounds in Omaha. In Omaha High one bet and three raises are allowed per betting round. To continue to play, players must call all action to them on each betting round, unless they are "all-in". Here is the procedure for Omaha :

1) Prior to dealing the cards, two blinds, the Small Blind and the Big Blind, are placed in the pot by the two players to the immediate left of the dealer, which is indicated by the dealer "button".

2) Everyone is dealt four "down" cards. The player to the immediate left of the Big Blind starts the action by folding, calling the Big Blind, or raising. Play continues in a clockwise manner. This is the first betting round.

3) Three cards are dealt face-up, these are community cards known as "The Flop". This is the second round of betting. Beginning with this round of betting and throughout the remaining rounds of betting, the action begins with the player to the left of the dealer "button".

4) A fourth card is dealt face-up known as the "The Turn" or "Fourth Street". This is the third betting round. The size of the bet doubles on this round of betting.

5) The final card is dealt face-up (known as "The River" or "Fifth Street"). This is the final round of betting.

6) Upon the completion of betting, the best hand(s) wins the pot.

Note: The Blinds are determined by the size of the game.

Omaha Hi/Lo

Omaha Hi/Lo is a version of Omaha. It is a "split pot" game. There is no qualifying on the "Low" side - the best high hand automatically wins the whole pot. To win the "Low" side of the pot, however, you must qualify. To qualify for "Low", it takes a five-card hand with different numerical values from Ace through eight, with the Ace being the lowest. The best "Low" hand is A, 2, 3, 4, 5, also known as the "wheel" or "bicycle". The winning "Low" hand goes to the player with the lowest high card. If two or more players have the same high card, the player with the second lowest card (or third, fourth, or fifth if necessary) in their hand wins the pot. For example, a player with a 2,4,5,6,7 would have a better "Low" hand than someone with an A,2,4,6,8. Important:

1) Straights and flushes do NOT count against you when qualifying for "Low".

2) You are permitted to use different cards in your hand for the "High" and "Low" sides. In a split pot, any leftover odd chip goes to the "High" side of the pot.

Ties: In case two or more players "tie" for one side of the pot, they will split that half into equally divided portions. If there is an odd chip, it will go to the person closest to the left of the "button".

Key to Remember: To determine your hands in Omaha 8 or Better, you MUST play two of your four "down" cards with three of the community cards. A player "scoops" the pot when they win the whole pot.