Texas Hold'em Poker Game
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, internally the Poker system generates a fresh deck of
cards for the hand. On Poker, 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 of the deck in a particular position.
Once the complete deck is created, the deck is used for that
particular hand only. We shuffle the deck of cards every time
we start a hand, and the random numbers previously generated
are discarded and new ones generated before the shuffle. The
RNG code has been successfully audited by BMM, Australia, and
its integrity is verified daily. BMM is one of the leading
auditors of gaming solutions in the industry.
The First round:
A fresh table starts of with the first person sitting on
the table becoming the dealer and the next player posting the
small blind. A new game on a 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
Poker 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) to place the Big Blind in turn. 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 starts. The player to the left of the player who placed
the big blind starts the betting for this round.
Each player will now have the option to place his or her
bets in the first round, which is set at the lower limit of
the stakes structure. For example in a $10/$20 Hold’em game,
value of each bet is $10 for the first round. When we say the
bets are limited to $10, it refers to: a Bet (single bet) of
the value of $10, so when a user places "BET" then it is $10,
"RAISE" would be $20 - 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. Raise action calls for
raising whatever was the bet/call amount of the previous
player, and can be calculated based on the value of the
previous bet amount.
Every player participating in the hand should place equal
amount of bet as the previous players (includes bets, calls
and raises). Till the time all the players have placed equal
amounts in the pot, the betting will continue. There is 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" 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 the players participating in the
hand.
The Second Round:
After the flop and in each subsequent betting round, the
first active player 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 Bet (single bet) of
the value of $10, so when a user places "BET" then it is $10,
"RAISE" would be $20 - 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.
These options are available to each player depending on the
action taken by the previous player. The first player placing
the bet would get the Bet option (the player left to the
Button). Other players will get the Call and Raise options
only.
After this the fourth community card is dealt out - this is
known as the Turn.
The Third Round:
The third betting round starts again with the player left
to 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 Bet (single bet) of the value of $20, so when a
user places "BET" then it is $20, "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 the bet
would get the Bet option (the player left to the Button).
After this the fifth community card is dealt out - this is
known as the River.
The Fourth Round:
The fourth (and final) betting round starts again with the
player left to 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 Bet (single bet) of the value of $20, so
when a user places "BET" then it is $20, "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 the bet
would get the Bet option (the player left to the Button).
Some standard rules:
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 shows the player cards being
moved to the dealer. The player from then on would not be
considered as part of the game. He/she would not have any
rights over 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 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 bet placed by any other players for each round in
the hand.
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 the 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 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 already 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 Poker 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 got disconnected or
not. This means if a players gets disconnected and reconnects
back and he has some seconds left for his turn, then he is
given an additional 20 seconds to play his turn. But 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 - Showdown.
This refers to the action of deciding who the winner of the
pot is and display of the cards from all players (though this
is optional for the player, he/she need not show the cards).
Five cards of the total of hole and community cards are to be
used for deciding on the winning hands. 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)
There is a set rank of cards, which is
used for deciding the winning combination.
If two or more hands are the same ranking, the winner is
the one having 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. Poker follow standard rules of poker. Should poker
hands be absolutely identical in ranking, the rule of poker
pot distribution will be split evenly between the two or more
winning players. If there is an odd chip, the winning player
to the left of the button/dealer will receive it. This applies
to both play money and poker for real money.
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 being 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 "all-in") plus all bets on the table plus the
amount the active player must first call before
raising. | 
