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Hold'em Poker uses what is called a dealer-button to indicate the theoretical dealer of each hand. After each hand is completed, as with standard poker rules, the button moves clockwise to the next active player. This player will be considered "the dealer" for that hand. Before the start of the game, the stetsonpoker.com system will internally generate a fresh deck of cards for the hand. On stetsonpoker.com, we use a single deck of cards to play a hand of poker, where a deck refers to 52 cards excluding the jokers. Online poker rooms use what is called the Random Number Generator (RNG) to shuffle a deck of cards for the hand.
How does it work?
The system generates a
random set of numbers, which are used to place a card in a particular
position in the deck. Once the completed deck is created, the
deck is used for that particular hand only. We shuffle the deck
of cards every time we start a hand; the random numbers previously
generated are discarded and new ones are generated before the
shuffle.
The first person sitting at a table becomes the dealer, and receives the dealer "button". A new game on an active table starts with the button moving clockwise to the next player. The player next to the button / dealer is required to place the small blind. The small blind is equal to half the lower stake. This is a guideline for determining the blinds and not a strict rule. At stetsonpoker.com the small blind is rounded down to the nearest dollar. For example: at $5/$10 Hold'em per the formula the small blind should be $2.5. Instead, it is rounded of to the lower dollar, so the small blind would post $2. However, as it is just a guideline, the amount of small blind could be set differently at the time of setting up the table.
The player to the left of the small blind is required to post the big blind, equal to the lower stake limit. In a certain scenario it is possible for more than one player to post a big blind in a hand. This is if a new player joins a table at which a game is already going on. The player would get an option of placing a Big Blind at the start of the next hand or wait for his/her turn (as decided by the movement of the button) when it is normally his/her time to place the Big Blind. All the blinds in Hold'em poker are considered live bets and the players who posted them will have the option of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting returns to their position.
After the blinds have been placed, the down cards / hole cards are dealt to each active player. In Hold'em, 2 cards are dealt to each of the players, after which the first betting round begins. The player to the left of the player who placed the big blind starts the betting for this round. Each player will now have a chance to place his or her bets in the first round, by putting forth an amount of chips equal to the lower limit of the stakes structure. For example in a $10/$20 Hold'em game, the value of each bet in the first round is $10. Bets being limited to $10 refers to: a singe bet of $10 value; i.e. when a user places a "BET" it is $10, a "RAISE" would be $20 (this includes one additional bet and a call on the previous bet placed by a player).
Bets can be placed by playing any of the following options: Bet, Call and Raise. Each player will also have the option to Fold. These options are available to each player depending on the action taken by the previous player. The first player (left of the Big Blind) to act (in the first round) would get the Bet, Call and Raise options. Subsequent players would also get the options of Call and Raise. To Call is to bet the same as what the previous player has bet. A Raise action calls for raising the bet/call amount laid by the previous player, and can be calculated based on the value of the previous bet amount.
In order to participate in the hand every player must at least match the amount of money put in the pot by previous players (includes bets, calls and raises). There might be a limit on the amount and the number of bets a player can place during a betting round, which also would be considered during the hand. The numbers of bets for a particular round of betting has been mentioned below, please refer to the section on "Standard Rules" (below) for the limits on the number of bets.
After the first round
of betting is over, the Flop (the first three cards of the community)
is dealt. The community cards are common to all of the players
participating in the hand.
After the flop and in each subsequent betting round, the first active player to the left of the button is first to act. The second betting round also limits the value of bets and raises to the lower limit of the stake structure. So in a $10/$20 value of each bet is $10 for the second round. When we say the bets are limited to $10, it refers to a single bet of the value of $10; so when a user places a "BET" then it is $10, a "RAISE" would be $20 (including one additional bet and a call on the previous bet placed by a player). Bets can be placed by playing any of the following options: Bet, Call and Raise. These options are available to each player depending on the action taken by the previous player. The first player placing a bet would get the Bet option (the player left to the Button). Other players will get the Call and Raise options only.
After this round of bets the fourth community card is dealt out: this is known as the Turn.
The third betting round starts with the player left of the button, and bets and raises are limited to the upper limit of the stake structure ($10/$20 game, $20 would be the upper stake). When we say the bets are limited to $20, it refers to: a single bet of the value of $20, so when a user places a "BET" then it is $20, a "RAISE: would be $40 (including one additional bet and a call on the previous bet placed by a player). Bets can be placed by playing any of the following options: Bet, Call and Raise. Combinations of these options are available to the player depending on the action taken by the previous player. The first player placing the bet (the player left to the Button) would get the Bet option.
After this the fifth community card is dealt out: this is known as the River.
The fourth (and final) betting round starts again with the player left of the button, and bets and raises are limited to the upper limit of the stake structure ($10/$20 game, $20 would be the upper stake). When we say the bets are limited to $20, it refers to a single bet of the value of $20, so when a user places "BET" then it is $20, a "RAISE" would be $40 (includes one additional bet and a call on the previous bet placed by a player). Bets can be placed by playing any of the following options: Bet, Call and Raise. Combinations of these options are available to the player depending on the action taken by the previous player. The first player placing a bet (the player left to the Button) would get the Bet option.
A maximum of four bets,
which includes one bet and three raises, are allowed for each
betting round per player.
The term cap is used to describe the final raise in a round
since betting is then capped and no one can make another raise.
Once capped, players will have the option of calling or folding
only. Folding can be done at any stage of the game. The action
of folding basically pushes the player cards to the dealer.
The player would not be considered as part of the game from
then on. He/she would not have any rights to any pots created
on the table.
Apart from the fold option, a player could also get the option of "Check", in which the player can pass by his/her turn without placing a bet. This option would not always be available to the player, and depends on the actions taken by the previous player in the hand. The player HAS TO equal the amount of the bet placed by any other players for each round in the hand in order to maintain a stake in the pot.
Poker is typically played
"table stakes", meaning only the chips in play at
the beginning of each hand may be used throughout the hand.
This means that a player cannot get additional funds from the
cashier while he is in the midst of a game. The table stakes
rule has an application called the "All-In" rule,
which states that a player cannot be forced to forfeit a hand
because the player does not have enough chips to call a bet.
Exceptions to the value of betting in each round:
A player who does not
have enough chips to call a bet, but still wishes to be involved
in the hand, is declared All-In. The player is eligible for
the portion of the pot to the point of his final wager. All
further action involving other players takes place in a "side
pot", which is unavailable to the player who has gone All-In.
When a player goes All-in, the pot currently at the center of
the table, which has contributions from him/her as well, is
treated as the main pot, over which the All-in player has rights.
After the player goes all-in, all the new bets are placed in
a side pot, over which only the contributing players have rights.
The All-in player does not have any rights over the side pot.
The side pot is then given to the next winning combination.
As this is a multi player
game, the players are expected to play within a set time frame,
the actions during their turn. On stetsonpoker.com we provide
players with approximately 30 seconds to play with. Initially
the player is given 10 seconds, after which there is a timer
countdown, which is displayed on the table for 20 seconds. The
user goes all-in if he has contributed some money to the pot;
otherwise his hand is folded in case he/she does not respond
in time. The system is intelligent in detecting if the player
has been disconnected. This means if a players gets disconnected
and reconnects back and it is still his/her turn, then he is
given an additional 20 seconds to play his turn. If the player
is not able to connect back to the table before the time elapses,
then the player goes All-in. All-in basically means that the
player is in the game, but would not be an active player (placing
any bets). Whatever pot is collected till this time is referred
as the main pot, and the all-in player has rights (if he wins)
to this pot only. After this the money that is bet on the table
is added to a side pot, over which the all-in player does not
have any rights (if he wins).
After the final round of betting, it's time for the Showdown. This refers to the action of deciding who the winner of the pot is and the final displaying of the cards by all players (though this is optional for the player; he/she need not show the cards). Five cards out of the hole and community cards are to be used for deciding the winning hand. A combination of the following may be used -
- Both hole cards and
three community cards
- One hole card &
four community cards
- All five community
cards (playing the board)
On the final round of betting, the player who bets first (or checks first if no one else bets) is required to show their cards first at the showdown. If they have the best hand, the remaining players may/may not show their cards as they wish. The aggressors" hand is only turned over first if he was the last to initiate action on the river.
There is a set rank of cards, which is used for deciding the winning combination. To view the various hands that are possible, click here
If two or more hands are
the same ranking, the winner is the one with the higher cards.
For example, a Flush with an Ace high beats a Flush with a King
high. If the poker hands remain tied, then the highest card
not being held in common (the kicker) determines the winner.
The suit order of the cards is not taken into account while
deciding on the winning cards. stetsonpoker.com follows the standard
rules of poker. Should poker hands be absolutely identical in
ranking, the poker pot will be split evenly between the two
or more winning players. If there is an odd chip remaining from
the split, the winning player to the left of the button/dealer
will receive it. This applies to both play money and poker for
real money.
For all the four rounds
of betting, the house based on set rules collects a commission,
which is known as the rake in poker terminology. The rules set
at stetsonpoker are:
The game play remains same for both No-Limit and Pot-Limit Texas Hold'em game with a few exceptions to the rules mentioned above:
In Limit Texas Hold'em a maximum of four bets is allowed per player during any betting round. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap, but in No-Limit and Pot-Limit there is no limit to the number of raises that a player can make. The only criteria are that you cannot raise yourself, (i.e. if a player bets during a betting round, then that player would have to be raised by another player in order for him/her to be able to re-raise). If all the other players in the hand only call or fold, the player would not get an option to raise, because the last raise was done by him/her.
Betting Structure for No-Limit Texas Hold'em
Minimum raise: The raise amount must be at least as much as
the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example,
if the first player to act bets $100 then the second player
must raise a minimum of $100 (total bet of $200).
Maximum eligible raise: The size of your stack (your chips on
the table)
The Betting Rules for Pot-Limit Texas Hold'em
Minimum eligible raise: The raise amount must be at least as
much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example,
if the first player to act bets $100 then the second player
must raise a minimum of $100 (total bet of $200).
Maximum eligible raise: The size of the pot: The size of the pot is defined as the total of the active Pot (which can be either the main pot or the side pot depending on whether anyone has gone "Sall-in") plus all bets on the table plus the amount the active player must first call before raising.
As an example, if the active pot is $200 and the first player
to act in the round bets $150 and the next player calls $150,
the third player has a maximum eligible total bet of $800. The
$800 total is made up of the $150 call and $650 raise. The $650
max raise portion is equal to the pot of $200 + first player's
$150 + second player's $150 + his own call of $150.
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