Rules of Poker

A two-minute overview of poker: the aim, the deal, betting rounds, the showdown, a sample hand of Hold'em, the game families and where rules come from.

What beats what in poker: high hands, kickers and ties, ace-to-five and deuce-to-seven lowball, the eight-or-better qualifier, Badugi and short deck.

No-limit, pot-limit with worked pot-sized raises, fixed-limit, spread limit, table stakes, buy-ins and going south.

Who acts when, the minimum raise, all-ins and reopening the betting, string bets, binding declarations and acting out of turn.

The button, small and big blinds, antes and the big blind ante, the stud bring-in, straddles, and missed and dead blinds.

Shuffling, cutting, burn cards, the order of the deal, exposed and boxed cards, misdeals, premature board cards and a deck that runs out.

Who shows first, cards speak, tabling and mucking, a winner who throws a hand away, and the right to see a called hand under Robert's Rules and the TDA.

Side pots step by step, split pots, hi-lo splits and quartering, the odd chip, double boards, running it twice, rake and a pot paid to the wrong player.

One player to a hand, table talk, show one show all, soft play, collusion, angle shooting, splashing, going south, rabbit hunting, phones and rulings.

How Texas Hold'em is dealt and bet, how a hand is made from two hole cards and five board cards, and the disputes that come up most.

Pineapple, Crazy Pineapple and Lazy (Tahoe) Pineapple: three hole cards, when the extra card is thrown away, and what happens when a player doesn't discard.

Short Deck Hold'em: the 36-card deck, A-6-7-8-9, why a flush beats a full house, who ranks a straight above trips, and the ante-and-button structure.

Irish poker: four hole cards through the flop betting, two thrown away before the turn, then Hold'em to the river, and where sources differ on the timing.

Omaha poker: four hole cards, exactly two from your hand and three from the board, pot-limit betting, five- and six-card Omaha and double-board Omaha.

Omaha Hi-Lo eight or better and Big O: the low qualifier, two cards each way, the wheel, counterfeiting, scoops, quartered pots and the odd chip.

Courchevel: five-card Omaha with the first flop card dealt face up before the first bet, its hi-lo version, how it's bet, and where it comes from.

SOHE: six hole cards split into a Hold'em hand and an Omaha hand, when the split is made and locked, one board, and the pot split in two.

Dramaha: five-card Omaha with one draw, the pot split between an Omaha hand and a draw hand, draw limits, and the six versions by draw hand.

How 7-Card Stud is dealt and bet: antes, the bring-in, completing, who acts first, the open pair, the deck running out.

Stud Hi-Lo: the 8-or-better qualifier, splitting and scooping, the odd chip, the bring-in, no open-pair double bet and home-game declarations.

Razz, seven-card stud for low: ace-to-five ranking, the high-card bring-in, the low hand acting first, no open-pair bet, ties and odd chips.

5-Card Stud: one card down and one up, four betting rounds, the bring-in, the open-pair big bet, where it is still played, and its variants.

Five cards down, one draw, two betting rounds: how many cards you may draw, standing pat, the deck running out and jacks or better.

Deuce-to-seven lowball with one draw (no-limit) or three (fixed-limit): blinds, drawing in turn, the reshuffle and all-in players.

Ace-to-five lowball with three draws: the ranking, where it's played, the California lowball tradition and its joker.

Four cards, three draws, and a ranking where suits matter: how a badugi beats three cards, which cards drop out, structures and variants.

HORSE, 8-Game and Dealer's Choice: the game order, when the game changes, the button in stud rounds and how stakes convert.

A player's guide to how poker tournaments run, from the buy-in to the final-table deal, pointing to the TDA rule for each point.

Bomb pots, running it twice, rabbit hunting, the 7-2 game, straddles, and the bank: common variations and decisions for the host.

What a home game's rules sheet should decide, what most games choose, and which published rulebook covers the rest. With a printable template.