Rules of Poker · 2026 edition

House rules template

Print this page, fill it in with your players, and keep it by the table. Each line has a short hint and the Rules of Poker rule to read if you're unsure. Anything left blank is decided by the rulebook you name in the first section. The reasons behind each choice are in Writing your house rules, and the customs themselves in Home-game customs.

Jump to
  1. Our game
  2. Stakes and structure
  3. Buy-in and rebuys
  4. Straddles and blinds
  5. Bomb pots
  6. All-ins and showdowns
  7. Side games
  8. Time
  9. The bank and settling up
  10. Manners
  11. A tournament night

Our game

  • Game name and host: ______________________________
  • Rulebook for anything not on this sheet: [ ] Robert's Rules of Poker [ ] the TDA rules (tournaments) [ ] Rules of Poker (91.2)
  • Floor (who rules when this sheet doesn't answer): ______________ Stand-in for the floor's own hands: ______________ (91.10)

Stakes and structure

  • Game(s): ______________________________ (91.3)
  • Limit: [ ] no-limit [ ] pot-limit [ ] fixed-limit Blinds: ______ / ______ Ante: ______
  • Dealer's choice? [ ] no [ ] yes. Menu: ______________________ A pick holds for: [ ] one hand [ ] one round (90.18)

Buy-in and rebuys

  • Minimum buy-in: ______ Maximum buy-in: ______ (90.20)
  • Rebuys: [ ] any time between hands [ ] only when busted [ ] limit of ______
  • Chips stay on the table until you leave the game (no going south): [ ] agreed (90.21)
  • Leave and come back within ______ minutes: buy in for at least what you left with (90.21)

Straddles and blinds

  • Straddle: [ ] none [ ] under the gun only [ ] button [ ] any seat (Mississippi) [ ] sleeper (90.16)
  • Straddle amount: ______ Re-straddle: [ ] no [ ] yes, up to ______
  • Blinds may chop when everyone folds to them: [ ] yes [ ] no (90.17)

Bomb pots

  • Called: [ ] never [ ] every ______ hands [ ] once a round [ ] on the bomb-pot button [ ] by request (90.3)
  • Must be called before: [ ] the shuffle [ ] the first card is dealt
  • Ante: ______ Everyone must play: [ ] yes [ ] players may sit out (90.4)
  • Game and limit: ______________________ (90.5)
  • Boards: [ ] one [ ] two, half the pot each [ ] two, best hand on either board takes it all (90.6)
  • Button after a bomb pot: [ ] moves [ ] stays (90.7)

All-ins and showdowns

  • Run it twice: [ ] never [ ] twice [ ] up to three times. Everyone in the pot must agree: [ ] yes (90.8 to 90.10)
  • Odd chip on a pot run twice goes to: ______________ (90.9)
  • Rabbit hunt: [ ] never [ ] on request, whole table sees it (90.11)
  • Cards speak; standard show order; a mistake can be fixed until: [ ] the next shuffle [ ] ______ (91.9)

Side games

  • 7-2 game: [ ] off [ ] on. Pays ______ from [ ] everyone at the table [ ] everyone dealt in (90.12)
  • 7-2 must be shown to collect: [ ] yes. Split pots count: [ ] no [ ] yes. Counts in bomb pots and runs twice: [ ] no [ ] yes (90.13)
  • High-hand bonus: [ ] none [ ] ______ pays ______ (90.14)
  • Nit game or other: ______________________ (90.15)

Time

  • Cards in the air at: ______ Late arrivals: ______________________ (90.24)
  • Last hand: [ ] at ______ o'clock [ ] a last full round from ______ o'clock (90.24)
  • Clock on a slow player: [ ] no [ ] yes, ______ seconds after it's called (91.11)

The bank and settling up

  • Banker: ______________ Buy-ins paid: [ ] cash [ ] transfer before chips are handed over (90.22)
  • Every buy-in written down by: ______________ Cash-outs counted aloud and checked by: ______________
  • Credit: [ ] none [ ] up to ______ per player (90.23)
  • Settle up: [ ] at the table, the same night [ ] by ______ (90.23)

Manners

  • Phones: [ ] off the table [ ] allowed, never during a hand you're in (91.13)
  • One player to a hand, no coaching from the rail, no abuse: [ ] agreed (91.13)
  • Anything else: ______________________________________________

A tournament night

  • Buy-in: ______ Starting stack: ______ Levels of ______ minutes Breaks: ______ (91.14)
  • Rebuys and add-ons: ______________________ (80.10)
  • Payouts (announce before the first hand): 1st ______ 2nd ______ 3rd ______ (80.19)
  • Two out in one hand: [ ] bigger starting stack places higher [ ] they share the prizes (80.21)
  • Deals: [ ] not allowed [ ] allowed if every player left agrees (80.24)

Rules of Poker, 2026 edition, by MyHomeGame. Free to copy and reuse with credit under CC BY 4.0. How to cite and reuse.