Poker Rules

In most cases, players are required to pay a buy-in fee before they can join a poker game or tournament. For limit games, it usually starts at 10 times the amount of the maximum bet. For pot-limit and no limit-games, on the other hand, the full buy-in is normally 40 times the amount of the bring-in, which, in turn, is the same size as the big blind.

Game and tournament organizers, however, are free to change these numbers so be sure to check first before signing up.

Just like with misdeals, there are also a number of conditions for a hand to be declared dead:

1. A player folds or verbally announces their intention to fold

2. A player throws their hand forward and causes the next player to take action

3. A player facing a bet in Stud picks their upcards up off the table, turns them face down or mixes them in with the downcards

4. The hand contains an incorrect number of cards

5. A joker is used as a hole card to act on a hand in a game where jokers are not in use

6. A player does not make a move before their time to do so has run out

7. The cards are thrown into the muck—except in cases where the hand is still clearly identifiable and either its retrieval is beneficial to the game or it was discarded due to some false information received by the player

8. The cards are thrown into the hand of another player

There are a total of 14 things game officials and players alike need to be on the lookout for to ensure the smooth progression of each game:

1. Incorrect placement of the button in button games, which should immediately be fixed with the necessary adjustments in the next hand

2. Premature exposure of hands (whether intentional or not), which can result in the hands in question to be declared dead

3. The appearance of a card with a different colored back, which voids all action (unless it happens in a stub) and prompts the dealer or official to return all wagered chips to their respective owners

4. The appearance of two or more cards of the same suit and value, which also voids all action and prompts the dealer or official to return all wagered chips

5. A player who discovers a defective deck uses it to their advantage instead of alerting the dealer or official, which may cause the offending player to forfeit their claim to a refund and all wagered chips to remain in the pot until the conclusion of the next deal

6. Chips from the previous deal remaining in the pot, which disqualifies any player who was inactive in the previous hand from participating in the current one

7. A face-up card appears in a deck, which is supposed to be discarded until dealing is finished for the current round

8. A joker appears in a non-joker game, which should be handled in one of the following three ways:

• The card is discarded
• The card is replaced if it is found before a player makes a move
• The card, if discovered but kept secret, causes a hand to be declared dead

9. Playing an irregular card, the blame for which always falls on the offending player

10. At least one card is missing from the deck, which should not affect the validity of a hand

11. A dealer hands out an extra card before the first betting round beings, which causes the card in question to be put back into the deck and treated as a burn card

12. The appearance of an exposed card, which should be handled in one of the following three ways:

• If it’s the dealer’s fault and the player announces it prior to looking at their hand, the card does not play
• If it’s the players fault, the card plays
• If it’s a down card that was dealt off the table, it is declared exposed and therefore does not play

13. Cards that are accidentally dropped on the floor, which should still be played

14. Cards that are dealt before betting is finished, which should not be played

The betting system in most standard poker games revolves around these 16 basic rules:

1. All games except specific variants of lowball allow players to check-raise.

2. Unlimited raising is permitted in pot-limit and no-limit games.

3. Limit games with at least three players who have not gone all in, on the other hand, only allow one bet and three raises.

4. Money games only allow unlimited raising during heads-up play, provided the heads-up play begins before the raising is capped.

5. An all-in wager that falls below the value of half a bet cannot reopen the betting for players who have already acted and put in chips for all previous bets in limit games. A player facing such a wager has the option to call, fold or complete it. In contrast, all-in wagers that are worth at least half a bet are considered full bets, which allows a player facing it to call, fold or make a full raise.

6. Bets must always be at least the same size as the previous wager or raise in a round except in cases where a player is going all-in.

7. Players are not allowed to wager chips—even in quantity—that are smaller than the smallest one used in the blinds or antes. This means that all chips that are too small to play must be always be changed up in between deals.

8. Players who announce an action (e.g., call, fold or raise) are required to follow through because such verbal statements are considered binding.

9. Players in turn who rap the table are considered to be signaling their intent to pass.

10. Players are not allowed to deliberately act out of turn. Those who do are barred from betting or raising during their next turn. Also, out-of-turn actions or declarations thereof may be considered binding, provided there are no bets, calls or raises made by another player after it was made.

11. A player retains their right to act by calling “time” (or any other predetermined word) before any three or more players behind them take action.

12. Players who put chips into the pot are bound by their action unless they were not aware that the pot has already been raised, in which case, they are allowed to get their chips back and make a different move as long as no other player has acted yet.

13. Pushing your chips forward into the pot and causing other players to act binds you to your action in limit games.

14. Players are not allowed to string raise.

15. Players are required to announce that they are raising for the action to count. Otherwise, the move will be ruled as a call even if the actual value of the chips that went into the pot exceeded the call value.

16. Insufficient bets and calls must always be brought up to the proper amounts.