Poker Rules

Hand Rankings

Poker uses the same hand rankings in almost every variant — strongest at the top, weakest at the bottom. The only exception is Short Deck Hold’em: in 6+ Hold’em, a flush beats a full house because removing the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s from the deck makes flushes mathematically rarer than full houses. Everywhere else — Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Crazy Pineapple, Heads-Up, Sit & Go — the order below holds.

You make your final 5-card hand using your hole cards and the community cards on the board. In Texas Hold’em you can use zero, one, or two hole cards in combination with the board; in Pot-Limit Omaha you must use exactly two of your four hole cards. The variant rules sections below explain the specifics; the rankings here apply universally.

Tiebreakers: when two players make the same rank of hand, the higher-ranking cards win. For one pair, kickers (unpaired cards) decide ties. For straights and flushes, the highest card in the run wins. All four suits are equal — there is no suit-rank in standard poker.

The wheel:A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible straight (called “the wheel”). The ace plays low here. The wheel loses to any other straight, including 2-3-4-5-6. In Short Deck, the wheel is A-6-7-8-9 because the 2-5 are removed from the deck.

Split pots:when two players have identical 5-card hands (including identical kickers), the pot is split evenly between them. An odd chip goes to the player closest to the dealer’s left.

Betting Actions

Every poker variant uses the same six actions. The names are universal whether you’re playing Hold’em, Omaha, Short Deck, or any other game on this site. The action you take depends on whether anyone has bet in the current round and on the size of any prior bet.

Fold

Surrender the hand. You lose any chips already committed to the pot but pay nothing more.

Check

Pass the action without betting. Allowed only when no one has bet yet this round.

Call

Match the current bet amount. Required to stay in the hand if someone has bet.

Bet

Open the betting round by putting chips into the pot. The first wager of the round.

Raise

Increase the current bet. Subsequent players must call your raise, re-raise, or fold.

All-In

Bet every chip in front of you. If you lose, you’re out of chips for the rest of the hand.

Betting Formats

How much you can bet depends on the variant’s betting structure. We support two formats:

• No-Limit — you can bet any amount up to your entire stack at any time. Used by Texas Hold’em, Short Deck, Crazy Pineapple, Heads-Up, and Sit & Go on this site. The hallmark of modern poker; the format used at the World Series of Poker Main Event.
• Pot-Limit — your maximum raise is capped at the current size of the pot. Used by Pot-Limit Omaha. Forces bigger pots over multiple streets because each round’s max raise is bounded by what’s already in.

Minimum Bet & Raise Sizes

Two rules govern minimum sizing:

1. Minimum bet equals one big blind. You can’t open a betting round for less than the big blind amount.
2. Minimum raise equals the size of the previous bet or raise. If a player bets $50, the minimum re-raise is to $100. A player who shoves all-in for less than a full raise does not re-open the betting for players who have already acted.

Side Pots & All-Ins

When one player goes all-in for less than the current bet, a side pot is created. The all-in player can only win the main pot (the chips matched up to their all-in amount). Remaining players continue betting into a separate side pot that the all-in player has no claim to.

At showdown, the side pot is awarded first to the player with the best hand among those eligible for it. Then the main pot is awarded to the best hand among all remaining players, including the all-in player. This is why you sometimes see one player win two pots from a single hand.

Game Flow — How a Hand Plays Out

Every poker hand follows the same general arc, no matter the variant. Below is the sequence in detail, using Texas Hold’em as the default; differences for Omaha, Short Deck, and Crazy Pineapple are noted where they apply.

Step 1 — Blinds Posted

Before any cards are dealt, the two players left of the dealer button post forced bets called the small blind and the big blind. The small blind is half the minimum bet; the big blind is the minimum. These rotate clockwise after each hand. In heads-up play, the dealer button is also the small blind, and the non-button player posts the big blind.

Step 2 — Hole Cards Dealt

Each player receives their hole cards face down. The count varies by variant: Texas Hold’em and Short Deck and Heads-Up deal two cards, Pot-Limit Omaha deals four, and Crazy Pineapple deals three.

Step 3 — Pre-Flop Betting

Action starts with the player to the left of the big blind (in heads-up, the small blind / button acts first). Each player in turn can fold, call the big blind, or raise. Betting continues clockwise until everyone has either folded or matched the highest bet.

Step 4 — The Flop

Three community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. A betting round follows, starting with the first active player to the dealer’s left. In Crazy Pineapple, every remaining player must now discard one of their three hole cards.

Step 5 — The Turn

A fourth community card is dealt face up. Another betting round occurs. With four of the five board cards exposed, draws become more concrete and the math of pot odds becomes more precise.

Step 6 — The River

The fifth and final community card is dealt face up. One more betting round happens. This is the last chance to bet, raise, or fold — there will be no more cards.

Step 7 — Showdown

If two or more players remain after the river betting round, they show their hole cards. The best 5-card hand wins the pot. If everyone except one player folds at any point during a hand, that last remaining player wins the pot immediately — without showing their cards.

Showdown Procedure & Tie-Breaking

Most hands never reach showdown — they end when one player makes a bet that nobody is willing to call. But when two or more players see the river through to the end, there’s a specific procedure for revealing cards and awarding the pot. Understanding it prevents arguments and explains who actually wins in close situations.

Order of Card Reveal

On the river, the player who made the last aggressive action (bet or raise) must show their hand first. If everyone checked on the river, the player closest to the left of the dealer button shows first, then action proceeds clockwise. Any player who is sure they have lost can muck their hand face-down — they don’t need to expose a losing hand publicly, though doing so doesn’t cost them anything.

Best 5-Card Hand

In Texas Hold’em, the dealer reads the best possible 5-card hand from each player’s two hole cards combined with the five community cards on the board. You can use zero, one, or two hole cards. A player who flopped a flush with the board doesn’t need to have a single spade in their own hand. A player whose pocket pair is the best made hand only uses two cards.

In Pot-Limit Omaha, the rule is strict: every player must use exactly two of their four hole cards combined with exactly three of the five community cards. A four-flush on the board is not a flush for a player unless they hold two cards of the same suit; a board full house is not a full house for a player unless they hold the matching pair.

Split Pots and Odd Chips

When two players have identical 5-card hands (including matching kickers), the pot is split evenly. If the chips don’t divide evenly, the odd chip goes to the player closest to the dealer’s left. In multi-way pots with three or more players who tie, the pot is divided as evenly as possible with any remainder going to the first eligible position.

Side pots are awarded separately from the main pot. The side pot is awarded first to the best hand among the players eligible for it; then the main pot is awarded to the best hand among all remaining players, including the all-in player who was excluded from the side pot.

Common Pitfalls & Etiquette

Most rule misunderstandings happen in a handful of recurring situations. Knowing these in advance keeps you from making expensive mistakes and from accidentally angering tablemates if you ever play in a live cardroom.

The String Bet

In live poker, you can’t reach into your stack twice when raising — that’s a string bet, and the rule limits your bet to the first motion. Either announce your full raise size verbally first (“raise to 200”) or place all the chips in a single motion. On this site you don’t need to worry about string bets because you select the bet amount before clicking the button, but it’s a courtesy worth learning if you ever sit at a real table.

Acting Out of Turn

Folding, calling, or raising when it’s not your turn gives information to players still to act. In live cardrooms, action out of turn may be ruled binding even if you change your mind. Online, the interface prevents you from acting out of turn — but the principle still matters as you watch what bots do at the table.

Showing Cards Mid-Hand

Even at heads-up showdowns where only two players remain, you must keep your hole cards face down until the showdown procedure. Flashing your cards mid-hand gives information to opponents and may result in a penalty in live games. After a hand ends — folded or shown — your cards are dead; you can’t re-read them and claim a better hand than what was shown.

The Misdeal Rule

If the dealer makes an error — exposes a card while dealing hole cards, deals to the wrong player, or shorts a player — the hand is a misdeal. Cards go back, the deck is reshuffled, and the same blinds are posted again on the next attempt. On this site misdeals can’t happen because the engine deals cards programmatically.

For live poker context: misdeals are most common when the dealer is rushed by aggressive players. Don’t pressure the dealer. Misdeals cost everyone time.

Texas Hold'em

The world's most-played poker game. Two hole cards, five community cards, four betting rounds. The tournament standard from Vegas to your browser.

• Two hole cards per player
• Five shared community cards
• Four betting rounds: Pre-Flop, Flop, Turn, River
• No-Limit betting — any chip stack can move all-in
• 6-max default; configurable from 2 to 9 seats

Full Texas Hold'emrules & strategy guide →

Pot-Limit Omaha

Four hole cards, must use exactly two with three community cards. Bigger hands, bigger pots, bigger decisions. The action game serious players graduate to.

• Four hole cards per player
• Must use exactly two hole + three community cards
• Pot-Limit betting — max raise = current pot
• Significantly larger hand equities than Hold'em
• Six-max default for maximum action

Full Pot-Limit Omaharules & strategy guide →

Short Deck Poker

Hold'em with 2s through 5s removed. 36 cards mean flushes beat full houses, A-6-7-8-9 is the wheel, and every hand connects with the board. Fast and brutal.

• 36-card deck — 2s through 5s removed
• Flush beats full house (rarer flushes)
• A-6-7-8-9 counts as a wheel straight
• Ante from every player; no blinds in some formats
• Hands run closer in equity — more action

Full Short Deck Pokerrules & strategy guide →

Crazy Pineapple

Three hole cards dealt. After the flop, discard one. The 'crazy' variant of Pineapple Poker that rewards range manipulation and post-flop reading.

• Three hole cards dealt at start
• Discard one card after the flop
• Two cards play with five community cards
• Pre-flop ranges widen — more speculative hands
• Decision-heavy post-flop discard

Full Crazy Pineapplerules & strategy guide →

Heads-Up Hold'em

One-on-one Texas Hold'em. Wider ranges, faster blinds, and every read matters. The purest test of poker skill — no folding into the next hand.

• Two seats only — small blind acts first pre-flop
• Button is the small blind (no big blind position pre-flop)
• Wider opening ranges — almost any two cards play
• Aggressive 3-bet and 4-bet warfare standard
• Pure skill test — no escape from the action

Full Heads-Up Hold'emrules & strategy guide →

Sit & Go Tournament

Single-table tournament. Sit down with a fixed buy-in, play until one player has every chip. Bot-fill in seconds, ~20-minute average run-time.

• Single-table tournament, 6 or 9 seats
• Rising blinds on a turbo schedule
• Top 3 places usually paid in a 9-seat
• ICM (Independent Chip Model) decisions on the bubble
• Bot-fill — start playing in under 10 seconds

Full Sit & Go Tournamentrules & strategy guide →