Poker

Scoring Metrics

Deck

52 Cards

Betting Rounds

4

Rake

10%

Big Blind

2x Small

Game Rules

• Objective: win the pot, which contains all the money wagered by players in a hand. You can win the pot either by having the best hand at showdown, or by being the last player remaining after everyone else folds.
• Poker is played with a standard 52-card deck.
• Hand rankings from highest to lowest: Royal Flush (A, K, Q, J, 10, all the same suit), Straight Flush (five cards in sequence, all the same suit), Four of a Kind (four cards of the same rank), Full House (three cards of one rank and two of another), Flush (five cards of the same suit, not in sequence), Straight (five cards in sequence, not all the same suit), Three of a Kind (three cards of the same rank), Two Pair (two cards of one rank and two of another), One Pair (two cards of the same rank), and High Card (the highest card in your hand if you have none of the above).
• Before cards are dealt, players post forced bets. In some variations, every player contributes a small predetermined amount to the pot, called an Ante.
• Blinds: the two players to the left of the dealer button post blind bets to start the action. The player immediately to the left of the dealer posts the Small Blind, and the next player posts the Big Blind — typically double the Small Blind.
• Each player is dealt two private hole cards.
• There are four betting rounds. Pre-Flop: after the hole cards are dealt, betting begins with the player to the left of the Big Blind. The Flop: three community cards are dealt face up, and a second betting round begins with the first active player left of the dealer button. The Turn: a fourth community card is dealt, beginning a third betting round. The River: a fifth and final community card is dealt, beginning the last betting round.
• During each betting round, players may fold (give up their hand and forfeit any money already in the pot), call (match the current bet), raise (increase the current bet), or check (pass the action without betting — only available if no bet has been made yet).
• Showdown: if more than one player remains after the final betting round, players reveal their cards and the best hand wins the pot.
• Rake: when a player buys in to a game, a 10 percent rake is taken — the buy-in amount multiplied by 0.1. This is taken from the buy-in before chips are issued.
• Side pots: if a player goes all-in while other players with chips continue betting, the all-in player can only win the main pot (the sum of all bets up to and including their all-in bet). Further bets from remaining players form a separate side pot, which only those players are eligible to win. Multiple side pots can form if more than one player goes all-in at different times.