RULES OF PLAY

Five-Card Draw

After the ante each player is dealt five cards face down. Starting with the player to the dealer’s left, each player checks, bets, or raises.

To open, a player must usually hold a pair of jacks or better.

In many games a joker is used, usually as a bug but sometimes as a wild card.

Once the first round of betting is complete, each active player, starting to the dealer’s left, has the option of discarding from one to five cards and receiving replacements from the dealer.

Sometimes the rules of a game restrict to three the number of cards any player may replace.

After the draw, there is a final round of betting, usually starting with the player who opened the pot. In the showdown the best high hand wins.

Seeven card stud

Three cards are dealt to each player, two face down and one face up. Depending on the betting rules, either the low card or the high card on board starts the action.

When there are tow low (or high) cards of the same rank, either the card of the lowest ranking suit (clubs, then diamonds, then hearts) or the card closest to the dealer’s left starts the action, once again depending on the betting rules effect.

After the first round of betting, a fourth card is dealt face up, and now the high hand on board starts a second round of betting. (If there are two identical high hands, the one closest to the dealer’s left begins.)

A fifth and then a sixth card are dealt face up with a round of betting after each. A seventh card is dealt face down, followed by a final round of betting.

In each case the high hand on board starts the action. In the showdown the best high hand wins.

Holdem

Holdem is most easily described as a variation of seven card stud. Two cards are dealt face down to each player, and then a total of five community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table.

Each player uses the five community cards in combination with his hole cards to form the best five-card hand.

After the first two cards are dealt to each player, there is a round of betting, beginning with a forced, blind bet by one, two, and sometimes three players to the immediate left of the dealer or the button if there is a house dealer.

In limit holdem there is usually only one forced blind.

After that first round of betting, the dealer turns over three cards, called the flop, in the center of the table. These are the first three community cards.

Thus, if the flop is A 8 5 a player holding A 5 in the hole has two pair; a player holding 7 6 in the hole has a four-flush and an open-ended straight; and a player holding 8 8 in the hole has three 8s.

Following the flop, there is a round of betting, followed by a fourth community card, then another round of betting, then a fifth and final community card and a final round of betting.

Each round of betting begins with the first active player to the left of the dealer or button. In the showdown the best high hand wins.

Five-Card Stud

Two cards are dealt to each player, one face down and the other face up. There is a round of betting, starting either with the lowest card or the highest card on board, depending on the betting rules.

A third card is dealt face up, and there is a round of betting, starting with the best high hand on board.

A fourth and fifth card are dealt face up with a round of betting after each. After the final round of betting, the best high hand in the showdown wins the pot.

Draw Lowball

In standard lowball (also called California lowball) the best low hand is A, 2,3,4,5, followed by A,2,3,4,6; then A,2,3,5,6; etc. Frequently the joker is used as a wild card.

In deuce-to-seven lowball the best low hand is 2,3,4,5,7.Each player receives five cards face down. There is a round of betting, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.

Ordinarily the rules require that the player to the dealer’s left bet blind. After that betting round, players may draw up to five cards. Following the draw, there is a final round of betting.

Usually the rules of play require a 7 low or better to bet in order to win any money put into the pot after the draw.

The lowest ranking hand in the showdown wins the pot odds. In standard lowball, straights and flushes are ignored. However, in deuce-to-seven lowball they count and therefore are not considered a low hand.

In standard lowball the ace is a low card; in deuce-to-seven it is a high card. Another lowball variation makes A,2,3,4,6 the best low hand and counts straights and flushes as high hands.

When I discuss lowball in this book, I am always referring to standard or California lowball.

Razz

Razz is seven card stud lowball with A,2,3,4,5 the best hand. Straights and flushes are ignored. Two cards are dealt face down and one face up to each player.

Usually the high card on board (excluding the ace, which counts as low) starts the action. A fourth card is dealt face up, and there is a round of betting, beginning with the best two-card low on board.

A fifth and sixth card are dealt face up with a round of betting after each, starting with the best low hand on board.

A seventh and final card is dealt face down, followed by a final round of betting. In the showdown the best low hand wins.

High-Low Split

This name covers several popular forms of poker. The game may be five- card draw, five-card stud, or Seven Card stud, and in the showdown the best low hand and the best high hand split the pot.

Sometimes, however, the rules may require that players have to declare either simultaneously or consecutively – whether they are going for high, for low, or for both.

In five-card high-low split game the best low hand is always A, 2,3,4,5, as in draw lowball. In seven stud games the best low hand is sometimes A, 2, 3, 4, 6, with straights and flushes counted as high.

Aces always count both as low cards and high cards. Hence, two aces may be a low pair as well as a high pair.) In stud high-low split games, the high hand on board usually starts each betting round.

A variation of high-low split requires a player to have an 8 low or better to qualify for low. If no one has an 8 low ore better, the best high hand wins the whole pot.