Poker School:

Texas Hold’em:

The game is played with two face down cards to each player and five communal cards. There are four rounds of betting. The player with the best combination of five cards at the end of the betting rounds wins the pot.

All action proceeds in a clockwise rotation.

Before the facedown cards are dealt, the first two players sitting on the left of the dealer have to make two compulsory bets (blinds). The first player pays the small blind, and the second player pays the big blind. When only two players are left in the game, the dealer pays the small blind and the other player pays the big blind.

The game starts and each player is dealt 2 face down cards. Subsequently the five common cards are dealt: first three (also known as the
‘Flop’), then one (the ‘Turn’ or ‘Fourth Street’), then the last communal card (‘River’).

A round of betting follows each deal. The first two betting rounds are played with the lower stake limit while the last two rounds are played with the higher limit.

Each player must act on each betting round and make one of the following decisions:

Fold (Fold)– Abandon the hand
Bet (Bet)– Bet
Call (Call)– Match the bet of the previous player
Raise (Raise)– Match and increase on the stake of the previous bet
Check (Check)– Neither raise nor fold (only if no action was taken before)

At the end of the four betting rounds the player with the best hand wins the pot.

Omaha:

The game is played with four face down cards and five common cards. There are four rounds of betting. The player with the best five cards at the end of the betting rounds, two down cards and three community cards, wins the pot.

Action proceeds in a clockwise rotation.

Before the facedown cards are dealt, the first two players sitting on the left of the dealer have to make two forced bets (blinds). The first player pays the small blind, and the second player pays the big blind.

The game starts and each player is dealt four face down cards. Subsequently the five common cards are dealt: first three (also known as the ‘Flop’), then one (‘Turn or ‘Fourth Street’), then the last common card (‘River’).

A round of betting follows each deal. Each player must act on each betting round and make one of the following decisions:

At the end of the four betting rounds the player with the best hand wins the pot.

Omaha Hi/Lo:

This split pot game is played with four face down cards and five common cards. There are four rounds of betting.

The player with the best high hand wins half the pot, and the player with the best low hand wins the other half. Two face down cards and three common cards must be used to form the hand.

Action proceeds in a clockwise rotation.

Before the facedown cards are dealt, the first two players sitting on the left of the dealer have to make two forced bets (blinds). The first player makes the small blind, and the second player makes the big blind.

The game starts and each player is dealt four face down cards. Subsequently the five common cards are dealt: first three (also known as the ‘Flop’), then one (‘Turn’ or ‘Fourth Street’) then the last common card is dealt (‘River’).

A round of betting follows each deal.

Each player must act on each betting round and make one of the following decisions:

At the end of the four betting rounds the best hand automatically wins half the pot. To qualify for low, the hand cannot include cards higher than 8 or any pairs. Aces can be used for both high and low. When comparing low hands, the winner is the hand with the lowest high card, thus 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 is better than Ace, 2, 3, 4, 8. The best possible low hand is Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Straights and flushes do NOT count to win the low part of the pot.

In the event that no hand qualifies for low, the best hand wins the entire pot.

You are permitted to use different cards or the same cards for both the high and low hands.

In the event of identical hands, the high and low shares of the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands.

Seven Card Stud:

The game is played with three face down cards and four face up cards. All players are dealt cards to their private hand (no common cards). There are five rounds of betting. The player with the best five cards wins the pot.

Before a game starts, all players bet a predetermined amount in the pot (the ‘Ante’). This amount is based on the size or the game (ex. $1 in a $10-$20 game).

Each player is dealt their first two face down cards and one exposed card. The player with the lowest exposed card is the bring-in, and must initiate the action by placing a bet of either half or a full small bet (for example, either $1 or $2 in a $2-$4 game). If two or more players have the same lowest card, the bring in is determined by suit order progressing from clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.

Action continues clockwise around the table until the first round of betting is complete.

Each player must act on each betting round and make one of the following decisions:

Upon completion of the first round of betting, another card is dealt face-up. From this point on, the highest hand showing begins the action by checking or betting. A face-up card is dealt after each subsequent betting round until the final round of betting where a face down card is dealt to each player. The best hand wins the pot.

In the unlikely event that all 8 players are still in the hand when the River card is dealt, the total number of cards needed for all the players to receive their own card would not be available in a standard deck of cards. In this case the River card is dealt face up on the table and it will be used as a community card.

Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo:

This split pot game is played with three face down cards and four face up cards. There are five rounds of betting.
The player with the best high hand wins half the pot, and the player with the best low hand wins the other half.

Before a game starts, all players bet a predetermined amount in the pot (ante). This amount is based on the size or the game (ex. $1 in a $10-$20 game).

Each player is dealt their first two face down cards and one exposed card. The player with the lowest exposed card is the bring-in, and must initiate the action by placing a bet of either half or a full small bet (for example, either $1 or $2 in a $2/$4 game). If two or more players have the same lowest card, the bring-in is determined by suit order progressing from clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.

Action continues clockwise around the table until the first round of betting is complete.

Each player must act on each betting round and make one of the following decisions:

At the end of the five betting rounds the best hand automatically wins half the pot. To qualify for low, the hand cannot include cards higher than 8 or any pairs. Aces can be used for both high and low. When comparing low hands, the winner is the hand with the lowest high card, thus 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 is better than Ace, 2, 3, 4, 8. The best possible low hand is Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Straights and flushes do NOT count to win the low part of the pot.

In the event that no hand qualifies for low, the best hand wins the pot.

5 Card Draw:

The game is played with five face down cards. There are two rounds of betting. The player with the best high hand wins.

Action proceeds in a clockwise rotation.

The game starts with five face down cards being dealt to each player.

Each player must act on each betting round and make one of the following decisions:

After the first round of betting, all remaining players are given the option of changing one or more of their cards. After a second round of betting, the game goes to a showdown. The player with the best hand wins.