FLOP STYLE GAMES AND HOW TO PLAY (Texas hold’em, Omaha and Stud) Texas Hold’em Texas hold’em is the most popular poker game in the world and belongs to a game type known as “community” or “flop” poker, where a number of cards are visible to all players and dealt face up in front of the dealer. Players are each dealt two hole cards. They may use one, both, or neither of their hole cards when determining the highest winning hand. The ace plays both high and low for straights. Omaha (High) and Omaha Hi-Low Omaha has become a very popular poker game, especially in the European countries. It belongs to a game type known as “community” or “flop” poker, which features a number of cards that are dealt face up in front of the dealer. These cards are visible to all players, and all players share the cards. Players can then use their own cards and the community cards to form a winning hand. There are two game-style variations of Omaha: Omaha High - Players achieve standard high-hand rankings using two hole cards combined with three from the board. ** Omaha Hi-Lo - Players achieve the same standard high-hand ranking using two hole cards, splitting the pot with the best qualifying low-hand. The low hand must be 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, or lower (ace can be applied as both a high and a low). Any two of a player’s hole cards may be applied to the high and any two may be applied to the low. It is possible for one player to win the entire pot due to possessing the best high and low hands, or when there is no possibility for a qualifying low hand based on the board. Betting Variations Limit - Utilizing a specified betting limit in on each round of betting. Pot Limit - Bets can amount up to, but not exceed, what is already in the pot. No Limit - Minimum bets are required, according to the betting limit, but a player can bet up to or all of their chips at any time. The Dealer Button The dealer button is a small disc that rotates around the table to determine blind position and where the action starts. Once a hand is completed, the dealer button moves clockwise to the next player. This ensures that each player posts the "blind bets.” It also forces action as players must decide to fold or risk their chips to continue.   The Blind Bets The player to the left of the dealer button is required to place the "small blind" (usually equal to half the lower stake), and the next player to the left is required to place the "big blind" (equal to the lower stake limit). Once the blind bets have been made, the cards are dealt and the next player to the left starts the first betting round. Both the small and the big blinds are considered live bets and therefore the player has the option of checking (if in the big blind), calling, raising or folding when the betting action comes back around to their position. After the flop and after each subsequent betting round, the first active player left of the button is first to act. The mandatory posting of the blind is in place to ensure fairness to all players; preventing players from constantly switching seats to gain a positional advantage, or from entering games in a late position and then leaving before they are required to post the big blind. When a player sits down at a ring game table (non-tournament) they will be required to post the equivalent of the big blind. Also, to prevent "blinds" abuse, players are required to post the small blind and the big blind upon re-entry (returning from sitting out) to the game if both blinds are missed (only the big blind amount is posted as a live bet and the remainder is added directly to the pot). All players have the option of sitting out and waiting for the button to rotate to their position before starting to play. First Betting Round (Opening) Once the small and big blind positions have posted their respective blinds, each player receives 4 cards facing down that can only be seen by the player. Starting with the player to the left of the dealer and always finishing with the dealer. Starting with the player to the left of the "big blind", they have the option to bet, raise or fold. All remaining players can then call, raise or fold. To "call" is to bet the same as the previous player. If the first player folds, then the next player will have the option to bet while the remaining players can call. The bets in the first betting round are set at the lower limit of the stakes structure, so in a $10/$20 game the value of a bet is $10 while the raise is $20 (a raise includes a call of the previous bet plus an additional bet). The Second Betting Round (Flop) The flop, as it’s normally known; are three cards facing up placed in the middle of the table starting the community cards, also known as the board. After the flop, the second betting round begins. The first player to the left of the dealer button is the first to act (bet, raise, check or fold). Checking is to refrain from betting and is only available if no bet has yet been made in the betting round. Once a bet has been made, remaining players will only have the option to call, raise or fold. The Third Betting Round (Turn) The third betting round starts after the Turn (when a fourth community card is dealt). Once again, the player to the left of the dealer button begins the betting (bet, check or fold). However, this time, the bets and raises are limited to the upper limit of the stakes structure. Each subsequent player has the option to call, check, raise or fold - depending on the action of the previous player. The Final Betting Round (River) The final betting round happens after the River card (the final community card) has been dealt. The player to the left of the dealer button can bet, check, or fold. Bets and raises are limited to the upper limit of the stakes structure. Remaining players can then call, check, raise or fold (a player can only check if no bet has been made). The Showdown Remaining players display their cards. Hole cards (Omaha requires that the player must use two hole cards, hold’em requires one, both, or none) combined with the board, building the strongest five-card hand determines the winner. In hold’em, If two or more players have the same hand, the pot is split equally between them. For Omaha Hi-Lo hand ranking, refer to **Omaha Hi-Lo above. DRAW STYLE GAMES AND HOW TO PLAY (Seven Card Stud) Highest hand wins. Ace plays both high and low for straights. Lowest up card is a forced starting bet. The game begins with each player being dealt two cards face down and one card face up (the “up-card”). The player with the lowest-ranking up-card pays the bring-in, and betting proceeds after that in normal clockwise order. The bring-in is also referred to as “the open,” so the next player in turn may not check. If two players have equally ranked low cards, suit may be used to break the tie and assign the bring-in. After the first betting round, another up-card is dealt to each player, starting at the dealer's left. This is followed by a second betting round beginning with the player whose up-cards make the best poker hand. Since fewer than five cards are face up, this means no straights, flushes, or full houses will count for this purpose. On this and all subsequent betting rounds, the player whose face-up cards make the best poker hand will act first, and may check or bet up to the game's limit. The second round is followed by a third up-card and betting round, a fourth up-card and betting round, and finally a down-card, a fifth betting round, and a showdown, if necessary. Seven-card stud can be summarized therefore as "two down, four up, one down". Upon showdown, each player makes the best five-card poker hand he can out of the seven cards he was dealt.