Party Poker Rules
At Party Poker you can play four different variations of poker:
The game features up to 10 players (plus a virtual dealer) at a table In front of one of the players there is a button with a red "D" on it, which is called the dealer button. After each game round, dealer button moves clockwise to the next player. In live poker, the dealer button represents the player whose turn is to deal the cards for the round.
The Game Round
This is how the game round goes (examples are taken from a limit poker):
Blinds
First thing to do is for the next two players after the "dealer" to post "blinds", that is to place a bet before getting their cards. This is being done for simple reasons - every single wining card will win at least some money. Since the dealer button moves on every game round, everyone has to post blinds. The player to the immediate left of the dealer button posts the "small blind," equal to half of the minimum stake (e.g. $5 for a $10/$20 game), while the next player posts the "big blind," equal to the amount of the minimum stake (e.g. $10 for a $10/$20 game).
Pocket Cards
After posting the "blinds" cards are being dealt. Every player gets two cards face down, which are called pocket cards.
Bet round 1
The player directly to the left of the big blind gets to bet first, while the others bet subsequently in a clockwise direction around the table. Every player can fold, call or raise (these terms are discussed further in this rule overview). Raising is possible by the lower table stake ($10 in a $10/$20 game) only.
The Flop Cards
After the bets have been placed, three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These cards are called the flop cards. These are "community" cards and can be used by all the players to make up their hand.
Bet round 2
Second round of betting follows, which is exactly like the first round.
The Turn Card
After betting in the second round, a fourth "community" card is dealt face up in the middle of the table, after the flop cards. This is called the "Turn card", and it is followed by a third round of betting.
Bet round 3
The only difference in this betting round is that the raising is possible just by the higher table stake ($20 in a $10/$20 game).
The River Card
Finally, a fifth and final "community" card is dealt. It is called the "River card" and is followed by a fourth and final round of betting.
Bet round 4
This final betting round is carried out exactly as the third.
Showdown
As soon as the final betting round ends, the best five-card hand is determined. Both the pocket cards and the community cards can be used to make up the final hand. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. A split-pot is also possible, if it happens that several players have hands of same worth. There can also be a situation when the best five cards are the "community" cards, in which case the pot is divided between all the players who are left in the pot at the showdown. If a player sees that you he/she is losing, and does not want to show his/her cards, he/she can Muck, that is to give up his/her hand and lose the pot. Otherwise players can Show to compare their hand with others.
Start again
After a hand is completed and the pot won by the player(s), the dealer button is moved by one player clockwise and the next hand starts over again.
Fold
When you are sure that your hand is weaker than your opponents you can fold your cards. All the bets (including "blinds") will be lost but you will not loose any more money. After folding your stop participating in that round until next one starts.
Check/Call
If you do not want to bet the money you can "check". This means that you will stay in this round and will not put any more money in the pot. But this is possible only if nobody else has posted a bet before you. If somebody has posted a bet you can "call" what means that you will stay in the round but you will have to put the same amount of money as the person before you or you can "raise"...
Bet/Raise/Re-raise
If you think you hand is strong enough, you can make a bet. If another player has already made a bet, you can raise it. The amounts of raising are fixed by the table stakes. For example, in a $10/$20 table, bets are $10 in the first two rounds and $20 in the last two. There can be one bet and three raises in each round (bet, raise, re-raise, re-raise). After three raises the betting round is over and the next card is dealt (or, if it is the final betting round, the best hand is determined).
All-in
If or when a player runs out of chips during the course of a game, he/she does not have to fold. Instead the player may choose to go All-in. When you are all-in, you call or bet (depeding if the game is limit, pot-limit or no-limit) all your chips and the pot is divided into the main pot and a side pot. All subsequent chips are hereafter added to the side pot. If the "All-in" player has a winning hand at the showdown , the main pot goes to the "All-in" player, and the side pot goes to the next best hand. When several players go All-in, multiple side pots are created.
Omaha
Omaha poker follows the same rules as Texas Hold'em poker, but with two exceptions:
Omaha Hi-Lo
Omaha Hi-Lo follows the same rules as regular Omaha, but there is an additional way to win a share of the pot. The Hi winner is the player with the best poker hand, as in Omaha High Only. But in addition to a Hi winner, there can be a Low winner. The Low hand is a hand with 5 different cards below a 9. You must use two pocket cards and three community cards to make a low hand. For example, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 of any suit would be a Low hand. The lowest Low hand is the Low winner. In case of a Low winner, the pot is split 50/50 between the Low and High winner. In case of multiple Low hands, the Low winner is determined by comparing the highest of the low cards, then the second highest, etc. If the two or more Low hands are equal, the Low pot is split between them. Because there must be at least three different low cards (under 9) on the board at the end to enable a qualifying low hand there may not be a Low winner every hand. Also, a player may use different pocket cards for Hi and for Low, from the four cards dealt to him along with any three community cards, where again different cards may be used for the high hand to the low hand. In Hi Low Omaha the lowest possible hand is 5,4,3,2,A of any suits (flushes and straights do not count against you for the low hand). Ace counts as high and low and therefore the same ace can be used to make a high hand and a low hand.
Pot Limit games
Pot Limit games differ from the Limit games by the betting and raising amounts allowed: The minimum raise amount is the previous bet or raise in the same hand. For example, if the first player bet $10, the second player can raise a minimum of $10. The maximum raise amount is the total betting pot + total bets of other players in the betting round + the call amount of the player. For example, if the pot is $50, the first player bets $10 and the second player calls $10, the third player can raise up to $80 ($50 in the main pot + $20 from past bets in the round + $10 of the player's own call).
No Limit games
No Limit games differ from the Limit games by the only fact that there is no maximum to each raise. You can raise as long as you have the money to do that.
- Texas Hold'em
- Omaha
- Omaha Hi-Lo
- 7 card stud
The game features up to 10 players (plus a virtual dealer) at a table In front of one of the players there is a button with a red "D" on it, which is called the dealer button. After each game round, dealer button moves clockwise to the next player. In live poker, the dealer button represents the player whose turn is to deal the cards for the round.
The Game Round
This is how the game round goes (examples are taken from a limit poker):
Blinds
First thing to do is for the next two players after the "dealer" to post "blinds", that is to place a bet before getting their cards. This is being done for simple reasons - every single wining card will win at least some money. Since the dealer button moves on every game round, everyone has to post blinds. The player to the immediate left of the dealer button posts the "small blind," equal to half of the minimum stake (e.g. $5 for a $10/$20 game), while the next player posts the "big blind," equal to the amount of the minimum stake (e.g. $10 for a $10/$20 game).
Pocket Cards
After posting the "blinds" cards are being dealt. Every player gets two cards face down, which are called pocket cards.
Bet round 1
The player directly to the left of the big blind gets to bet first, while the others bet subsequently in a clockwise direction around the table. Every player can fold, call or raise (these terms are discussed further in this rule overview). Raising is possible by the lower table stake ($10 in a $10/$20 game) only.
The Flop Cards
After the bets have been placed, three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These cards are called the flop cards. These are "community" cards and can be used by all the players to make up their hand.
Bet round 2
Second round of betting follows, which is exactly like the first round.
The Turn Card
After betting in the second round, a fourth "community" card is dealt face up in the middle of the table, after the flop cards. This is called the "Turn card", and it is followed by a third round of betting.
Bet round 3
The only difference in this betting round is that the raising is possible just by the higher table stake ($20 in a $10/$20 game).
The River Card
Finally, a fifth and final "community" card is dealt. It is called the "River card" and is followed by a fourth and final round of betting.
Bet round 4
This final betting round is carried out exactly as the third.
Showdown
As soon as the final betting round ends, the best five-card hand is determined. Both the pocket cards and the community cards can be used to make up the final hand. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. A split-pot is also possible, if it happens that several players have hands of same worth. There can also be a situation when the best five cards are the "community" cards, in which case the pot is divided between all the players who are left in the pot at the showdown. If a player sees that you he/she is losing, and does not want to show his/her cards, he/she can Muck, that is to give up his/her hand and lose the pot. Otherwise players can Show to compare their hand with others.
Start again
After a hand is completed and the pot won by the player(s), the dealer button is moved by one player clockwise and the next hand starts over again.
Fold
When you are sure that your hand is weaker than your opponents you can fold your cards. All the bets (including "blinds") will be lost but you will not loose any more money. After folding your stop participating in that round until next one starts.
Check/Call
If you do not want to bet the money you can "check". This means that you will stay in this round and will not put any more money in the pot. But this is possible only if nobody else has posted a bet before you. If somebody has posted a bet you can "call" what means that you will stay in the round but you will have to put the same amount of money as the person before you or you can "raise"...
Bet/Raise/Re-raise
If you think you hand is strong enough, you can make a bet. If another player has already made a bet, you can raise it. The amounts of raising are fixed by the table stakes. For example, in a $10/$20 table, bets are $10 in the first two rounds and $20 in the last two. There can be one bet and three raises in each round (bet, raise, re-raise, re-raise). After three raises the betting round is over and the next card is dealt (or, if it is the final betting round, the best hand is determined).
All-in
If or when a player runs out of chips during the course of a game, he/she does not have to fold. Instead the player may choose to go All-in. When you are all-in, you call or bet (depeding if the game is limit, pot-limit or no-limit) all your chips and the pot is divided into the main pot and a side pot. All subsequent chips are hereafter added to the side pot. If the "All-in" player has a winning hand at the showdown , the main pot goes to the "All-in" player, and the side pot goes to the next best hand. When several players go All-in, multiple side pots are created.
Omaha
Omaha poker follows the same rules as Texas Hold'em poker, but with two exceptions:
- Players are dealt four "pocket" cards instead of two.
- Players must use two "pocket" cards and three "community" cards to make their best high hand.
Omaha Hi-Lo
Omaha Hi-Lo follows the same rules as regular Omaha, but there is an additional way to win a share of the pot. The Hi winner is the player with the best poker hand, as in Omaha High Only. But in addition to a Hi winner, there can be a Low winner. The Low hand is a hand with 5 different cards below a 9. You must use two pocket cards and three community cards to make a low hand. For example, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 of any suit would be a Low hand. The lowest Low hand is the Low winner. In case of a Low winner, the pot is split 50/50 between the Low and High winner. In case of multiple Low hands, the Low winner is determined by comparing the highest of the low cards, then the second highest, etc. If the two or more Low hands are equal, the Low pot is split between them. Because there must be at least three different low cards (under 9) on the board at the end to enable a qualifying low hand there may not be a Low winner every hand. Also, a player may use different pocket cards for Hi and for Low, from the four cards dealt to him along with any three community cards, where again different cards may be used for the high hand to the low hand. In Hi Low Omaha the lowest possible hand is 5,4,3,2,A of any suits (flushes and straights do not count against you for the low hand). Ace counts as high and low and therefore the same ace can be used to make a high hand and a low hand.
Pot Limit games
Pot Limit games differ from the Limit games by the betting and raising amounts allowed: The minimum raise amount is the previous bet or raise in the same hand. For example, if the first player bet $10, the second player can raise a minimum of $10. The maximum raise amount is the total betting pot + total bets of other players in the betting round + the call amount of the player. For example, if the pot is $50, the first player bets $10 and the second player calls $10, the third player can raise up to $80 ($50 in the main pot + $20 from past bets in the round + $10 of the player's own call).
No Limit games
No Limit games differ from the Limit games by the only fact that there is no maximum to each raise. You can raise as long as you have the money to do that.
7 card stud
Before a game starts, each player must post an 'ante', similar to "blinds" in Texas Hold'em. The difference is that everybody posts it. In 7 card stud poker, there are no community cards. The dealer deals 3 cards to each player clockwise. The first two cards are dealt face down ('hole' cards), the third face up (the 'door' card).
7 Card Stud is divided into five rounds of betting, and the betting moves clockwise around the table.
Opening the Betting
The player with the lowest card begins the game with a token bet called the 'bring-in'. (If two or more players have the same lowest card, the bring-in is determined by suit in alphabetical order: clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.)
Third Street
Once the bring-in bet has been made, each player (starting with the player to the left of the bring-in) can fold, call, or raise to the betting limit.
Fourth Street
Everyone is dealt another up card. At this point, the player with the highest two up cards starts the betting. On this round of betting only, if a player gets an open pair, he or she can make a double bet.
Fifth Street
Everyone is dealt another up card. The player with the highest combination of up cards starts the betting.
Sixth Street
Everyone is dealt another up card. Again, the player with the highest combination of up cards starts the betting.
Seventh Street or The River
Everyone is dealt their final down card. The same player who started the last round starts the betting.
Showdown
The player with the best hand wins.
