POKER BASICS Here's where you can learn how to play, how to bet, and what wins. You can even learn the lingo! The Games Order of Bets Rank of Hands Glossary The Games Poker is a card game where two to ten people sit around a table, deal cards from a deck of 52, and place bets that accumulate into a pot as the game progresses. The best poker hand wins the pot. Below are detailed rules and descriptions of how to play the three games of poker offered at 3D Poker Room. If you'd like an animated tutorial, you can download 3D Poker Room -- it's free! Just log on and watch live games. The built-in hints feature will tell you what's happening at each event. The three games currently offered by 3D Poker Room are: Texas Hold'em Poker Omaha Poker Omaha Poker Hi/Low Games These are the games most commonly found in card rooms around the world. All three are quite similar in concept and easy to grasp, but each demands a very different strategy. That part's up to you. Texas Hold'em is the base from which the other three are derived. Below is a detailed description of Texas Hold'em, followed by explanations of the other games. 1. Texas Hold'em Poker: Rules and Description Sit down Up to 10 players plus a dealer are seated around a table. Dealer Button In front of one of the players is a round disk or button. This dealer button determines the order of betting (explained later) and moves to the left one player at a time, after each hand. Post Blinds Before the cards are dealt at the beginning of each hand, the two players directly to the left of the dealer button must post "blinds". To post a blind is to place a bet before getting cards. The player to the immediate left of the dealer button posts the "small blind," equal to half of the minimum bet (e.g. $5 for a 10-20 game). The player to the left of the small blind posts the "big blind," equal to the amount of the minimum bet (e.g. $10 for a 10-20 game). Pocket Cards Once the blinds have been posted, the first round of cards are dealt. These consist of two cards face down to each player and are called the "pocket" cards. Each player can see their own pocket cards. Then the first round of betting takes place, beginning with the player immediately to the left of the big blind and continuing in a clockwise direction around the table. Betting Bet amounts are fixed by the table stakes. For example, in a 3/6 table, bets are $3 in the first two rounds and $6 in the last two. The bet amount can climb a maximum of 3 times in each round of betting. In other words, there can be one bet and three raises in each round. The Flop Cards Next, three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These cards are called the "Flop". All three cards are "community" cards and can be used by all the players at the table to make up their hand. After the flop is dealt, a second round of betting takes place -- again, beginning with the player immediately to the left of the dealer button. (All subsequent rounds of betting begin with the player to left of the dealer button). The Turn Card Following this, a fourth "community" card is dealt face up in the middle of the table. This card is called the "Turn card" and can also be used by all players. It is followed by a third round of betting. The River Card Finally, a fifth and final "community" card is dealt face up in the middle of the table. It is called the "River card" and is followed by a fourth and final round of betting. Showdown Once all betting is complete, players determine the best five-card hand that they can make using any combination of their "pocket" cards and the "community" cards. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. Start again! After a hand is completed and the pot taken by the winner, the dealer button is moved one player to the left, and the next hand begins. 2. Omaha Poker: Rules and Description Omaha poker follows the same sequence as Texas Hold'em poker, but with two differences: a) players are dealt four "pocket" cards instead of two; and b) players must use two "pocket" cards and three "community" cards to make your best hand. 3. Omaha Hi/Low Games: Rules and Description Hi/Low Omaha plays the same as regular Omaha, except that there is an additional way to win a share of the pot. As in a regular game of Omaha, the Hi winner has the best poker hand. There is always a Hi winner. But, in addition to a Hi winner, there can be a Low winner. The Low winner has 5 different cards below a 9. For example, if between your two pocket and three community cards, you had a hand consisting of a 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8 of mixed suits, you would have a Low hand. If your Low hand is the best (i.e. lowest) you would be entitled to the Low share of the pot. Your share depends on how many other players won and there may not be a Low winner every hand. TOP Order of Bets First to Act Each round of betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer button (the small blind) and proceeds around the table in a clockwise fashion, ending with the player at the dealer button. (One exception to this is the opening round of betting, which begins with the player to the left of the big blind.) At each turn, a player chooses between the following options: check, call, bet, raise (if a bet has already been made), or fold. Check If no one has bet previously in the round, a player may simply "check," which means he does not wish to bet or fold. Instead of betting, he wishes to let his turn pass without adding any bets to the pot. Call If a bet has already been made in the round, a player can no longer check. He now must either call the amount previously bet, raise, or fold. If he calls, he is matching the previous bet. If he does not wish to match the bet, he must fold. Fold If a bet has been made previously in the round, and the player does not wish to at least match the bet to stay in the hand, he must fold. To fold means to withdraw from the remainder of the hand and forfeit all amounts invested in the pot up to that time. Bet or Raise If a player wishes to increase the amount of the pot, he bets or raises. The first time the pot is raised in a given round, it is called a bet. The second time, it is called a raise, and all subsequent times are called re-raises. The amount that a player can bet, raise or re-raise is determined by the game limits. For example, in a 10-20 limit poker game, players can bet or raise $10 in the first two rounds of betting and can bet or raise $20 in the last two rounds of betting. The maximum number of times a pot can be raised in a given round of betting is three. This means that up to, but not more than, four bets (including the initial bet) can be made in a given round. Sit out Sitting out is the act of choosing not to participate in a hand of poker while remaining seated at the table. Players who sit out and miss the blinds, must post both blinds to rejoin the game. Players missing two rounds of the blind (two circuits of the Dealer button) are removed from the table to free their seat for other players. TOP Rank of Hands From strongest to weakest hand. Royal Flush Straight flush to the ace. Straight Flush Straight with all five cards the same suit. Four of a Kind Four cards of the same value. Full House Three cards of one value together with two cards of another value. When more than one full house is competing, the one with the highest ranking group of three wins. Flush Five cards of the same suit. When more than one flush is competing, the one with the highest card wins. Straight Five cards in sequence (e.g. 9,10, J, Q, K). When more than one straight is competing, the one with the highest card wins. An ace can be taken as either high or low (but not both high and low in the same hand). Three of a Kind Three cards of the same value. Two Pair Any two cards of one value together with two cards of another value. When more than one hand has two pairs of the same rank, the hand with the highest card outside the paired cards wins. This also applies to hands of one pair. One Pair Two cards of the same value. Highest Card When players have none of the above, the hand with the highest card wins. TOP Glossary All In A player who runs out of chips during the course of a hand is said to be "all-in." He is entitled only to that portion of the pot which existed at the time he went all-in (see also Main Pot and Side Pots). Betting Limits The amount a player may bet or raise on any turn is set by the betting limits of the game. For example, a 3-6 table requires bets or raises to be $3 for the first two rounds of betting, and $6 for the last two rounds of betting. Likewise, a 4-8 table requires bets or raises to be $4 and $8 for the first two and last two rounds respectively. Betting Round One round of betting. There are four betting rounds in a given hand: before the flop, after the flop, after the turn, and after the river. Big Blind The big blind is made by the player immediately to the left of the small blind, and is equal to the minimum bet. For example, the big blind in a 3-6 game is $3, and in a 4-8 game, $4. Blinds The blinds are required bets made by the two people to the left of the dealer button before any cards are dealt, and serve to get money into the pot initially. Burn Cards In a live game, the dealer is required to deal one card off the top of the deck face down into the muck immediately prior to dealing the flop, the turn card, and the river card. These are called "burn cards." Buy-in When a player first sits down at the table and buys chips, it is called a "buy-in". The minimum buy-in for 3D Poker Room is 10 times the small bet. For example, in a 3-6 game, the minimum buy-in is $30. After a player has bought his initial chips and wishes to buy more, he can then purchase any quantity of chips provided it is $10 or greater. Call Once a bet has been made in a given round, if a player matches the bet (i.e. does not raise or fold), it is a "call." Check If there has not been a bet made in a given hand, a player can "check," which means he is not betting and is letting his turn pass without increasing the amount in the pot. Chips Circular color-coded discs used for betting, chips are available in denominations of $1, $3, $5, $25, $100, $500. Fold If a player elects to fold, he withdraws from the hand and forfeits all bets he has placed up to that point in the hand. Typically a player will fold when he does not want to call a bet in order to stay in the hand. Hand One complete game beginning with the posting of the blinds and concluding with one or more players winning the pot. Main Pot and Side Pots If a player runs out of chips in the course of a hand, (i.e. he goes "all-in") the pot is split into a "main pot", which is the pot that existed up to the point any players went all in, and a "side pot", which is that portion of the pot to which the all-in player does not participate, and cannot win. Muck Cards All discarded cards lying face down in front of the dealer, consisting of all folded cards and all "burn cards." Pot The total number of chips that are bet in a given round. Once betting in a round is complete, the total chips bet are moved into a pile near the center of the table. Raise Once a bet has been made in a given round, any subsequent increases to the amount bet is called a raise. If the bet is increased after it has been raised, this is called a re-raise. Rake The house charges a commission -- the "rake" -- as a percentage of the total pot won at the end of each hand. This represents the only source of revenue for the house, since all winnings go to the players. The rake amount is never more than $3 and is determined by the number of players at the table, and the amount in the total pot. For more information on the rake amounts, please visit About Money. Small Blind The small blind is made by the player immediately to the left of the dealer button and is equal to half of the minimum bet, rounded down to the nearest dollar. For example, the small blind in a 3-6 game is $1, and in a 4-8 game, $2. Split Pot If two or more players have the same hand at the showdown, the pot is split equally between them. If the pot cannot be split equally, the odd dollar is paid to the player next in line for the Blinds. Table Stakes A convention of poker, followed in most card rooms including 3D Poker Room, which dictates that a player can only play with those chips he has at the beginning of the hand. In other words, a player is not allowed to buy more chips during the course of a hand. TOP