GAME RULES 
GAME RULES: The Basics
The basics of poker are simple.
The object of the game is to win the pot - or the sum of money being
wagered throughout the course of a game (minus the 'rake').
Winning is possible in the following ways:
Every poker game starts with some or all players putting a certain
amount of money or chips into the pot. This initial obligatory bet, or
fee, is called the “Ante” or “Blind”.
An ante is when every player puts a fixed nominal percentage of the
minimum stake into the pot - as is the case in Seven Card Stud.
If a blind is required (like in
Texas Hold’em or Omaha), the two players to the left of the dealer
(designated by the 'dealer button') will start the pot, clockwise from
the dealer, with the first player placing the small blind (half the minimum bet) and the next player placing the big blind (the minimum bet). Rotation assures that every player gets their turn to post blinds.
Now it's time to deal the cards. Once you have paid your blinds, there
are no more mandatory wagers to be made and you can then take the
various opportunities to decide whether or not you wish to play on or
fold. You can bet as much as you are able or allowed to, or you can
save your chips and show the other players that you are an experienced
player. Only rookies see out every game!
In addition, you have the
opportunity to win more money from other players by betting on a good
hand. Normally, there are three raises per betting round possible,
whereas the raises are bound to a limit. If you are betting and nobody
calls, you win without showing your cards. If the bet is called, cards
must be shown and the player with the best hand wins. In case the
amount in the pot is uneven and the pot is split, the first active
player to the left of the dealer button gets the extra chip. In Hi/Lo
games, the High always gets this extra chip.
Poker is an easy-to-learn game of friendly competition. Combined with a
bit of thought, strategy and basic know-how, it can offer a great deal
of fun and enjoyment while at the same time providing you with useful
life training.
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GAME RULES: Blind / Ante Rules
On Texas
Hold'em tables and Omaha
tables, to take part in the action, you must regularly pay the blinds. In cash
game play, you have the option of not paying the blinds and sitting out from
the play. In tournament game play, paying the blinds is obligatory.
There are
two blinds - the small blind and the big blind. The big blind is set at the
lower limit of the table and the small blind is generally half the size of the
big blind. In most games, the player to the left of the dealer button must pay
the small blind and the next player must pay the big blind. In heads-up
matches, the dealer pays the small blind and his opponent pays the big blind.
At the start of each new game, the dealer button will move one place around the
table and thus the blind paying players will change. A player who pays the big
blind in a game will pay the small blind in the next game and a player who pays
the small blind in a game will receive the dealer button in the next game
(except in heads-up play).
If a player
does not pay one of the blinds, he will be expected to pay both blinds before
he can take part in a game.
When a
player joins a running table, he will be expected to pay the big blind before
he can take part in a game. He can either pay the blind at the next possible
opportunity or choose to wait until he is in the big blind position. If a
player pays a blind when not in the blind position, he will have to pay that
blind again when he is in the position if he wants to take part in future
games.
When players
are reseated in tournaments, we try to reseat them in a fair manner such that
they are seated in the closest matching position in relation to the dealer
button so that they do not experience a loss (or a gain) in position due to the
reseating.
See also Limits, Antes & Blinds
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GAME RULES: Betting Rules
So, how do you bet?
Poker is, after all, a gambling game. In most games, you
must 'ante' something (amount varies by game, our games are
typically a nickel), just to get dealt cards. After that
players bet into the pot in the middle. At the end of the
hand, the highest hand (that hasn't folded) wins the pot.
Basically, when betting
gets around to you (betting is typically done in clockwise order),
you have one of three choices:
Call
-
When you call, you bet enough to match what has been
bet since the last time you bet (for instance, if you bet a
dime last time, and someone else bet a quarter, you would owe
fifteen cents).
Raise
-
When you raise, you first bet enough to match what has
been bet since the last time you bet (as in calling), then
you 'raise' the bet another amount (up to you, but there
is typically a limit.) Continuing the above example, if
you had bet a dime, the other person raised you fifteen
cents (up to a quarter), you might raise a quarter (up
to fifty cents). Since you owed the pot 15 cents for
calling and 25 for your raise, you would put 40 cents
into the pot.
Fold
-
When you fold, you drop out of the current hand (losing
any possibility of winning the pot), but you don't have to
put any money into the pot.
Betting continues until everyone calls or folds after a raise
or initial bet.
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GAME RULES: Hand Rankings
A standard poker deck contains 52 cards. Card rankings run downward
from Ace-King-Queen-Jack and so on down to 2 (two). The Ace, however,
can be used as a 1 (one) for a straight from one to five. The four
suits are spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs.
Most poker games are played with
seven cards with which you must build the best 5-card hand. Possible
winning hands are classified in order based upon the odds of their
occurrence and are ranked, starting with the highest, as follows:
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GAME RULES: All In
A player can never be forced out of a hand because he does not have enough chips to call a bet. However, a player can only win (from each opposing player) as many chips as he bets. If a player only puts 50 chips into a pot, he can only win 50 chips from each opposing player.
A side pot is a pot containing the chips over and above what an all in player has contributed to the main pot.
For example, if two players each bet 100 chips and a third player goes
all in with 60 chips, there would be a main pot of 180 (60 x 3) and a
side pot of 80 (40 x 2). All three players would be eligible to win the
main pot, but only the two players who contributed chips to the side
pot would be eligible to win that side pot.
It can get complicated when two or more players go
all in, resulting in multiple side pots. As a general rule, the first
player to go all in is eligible for the main pot only. The next all in
player is eligible for the first side pot and the main pot and the next
all in player is eligible for the second side pot, the first side pot
and the main pot, etc.
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GAME RULES: Basic Game Tips
Keep player notes on opponents
We cannot stress this enough. While you always want to pay
attention to how people are playing, online poker players are always
coming and going, which doesn't give you time to feel them out. Taking
notes can help you keep a record should
you play against these opponents again. The main characteristics to
note about a player are: smart or not; aggressive or passive; tight or
loose; straight up or bluffs; bets out a draw or not, and what kinds of
hands the player plays or the pre-flops are being raised with. Yes,
this is a lot of information to note, but it will help you in the long
run.
Get hand histories when players don't show their hand at the river
More often than not, only the winning hand is shown on the
river. However, it’s interesting to note what the loser was holding.
Simply click on the hand number at the top right of the screen to
switch to the Hand History screen where losing called hands can be
seen. We recommend doing this in conjunction with player notes to get a
good idea of what a player is willing to play with on the river.
Showdown information is always the most critical, as you can analyze
their decision making process from the ground up.
Wait a full table rotation before posting the Big Blind
This tip may be debated by some players out there, but unless
you really know what you are doing, this tactic could save you money in
the long run. Apart from allowing you to prepare yourself mentally by
waiting a full table rotation, this also gives you invaluable time to
evaluate your opponents. The worst thing would be to be dealt a strong
hand early in the game, and then to get caught up in a massive raising
war between two players you don't know. They could be two maniacs for
sure, but what if one of them is a maniac and the other player is super
tight? Most likely, that super tight player is holding the nuts while
you are bumbling by with a top pair or two pair. Not a good move. So be
patient, take notes and save money in the long run.
Learn to leave the table
This is really just a general poker tip, but it still catches
even the poker pros at times. At PokerRoyaleOnline, if you find that you are
being outplayed, outclassed or even if you are just unlucky at the
table, it's okay to leave. Don't think about getting your money back or
getting revenge on the player that rivered you for the 3rd time. If you
are losing money at your table, you do NOT have good table image - no
matter what you might think. Not only are you not in a good mood, which
puts you on tilt (admit it or not), but other players will be more
likely to make plays against you. This makes your game harder in more
ways than you could possibly be comfortable with.
If the game gets short-handed (6 players or less) and you are not
familiar with short-handed play, then you may want to leave the game.
Playing short-handed is an easy way to lose a lot of money if you don't
know what you are doing. This happens all the time when a table breaks
up and there are two solid players and three other guys who don't
realize they are about to get run over. Don't be road kill when all it
takes is a single click.
Buy in more than necessary at the poker table
If you've been doing your homework, you'll know that you should
always sit in with a minimum of 20 times the Big Blind at any poker
table. In online poker, this should be more along the lines of at least
40 times the Big Blind. You should think about starting with 100 times
the Big Blind. Why? First, don't ever be in the position of holding
the nuts and not having enough money to raise the pot. It happens too
often that a player will have flopped a full house in a $3/$6 game, but
has only $12 remaining in his bankroll. The player could have made a
killing if it weren't for the fact that he/she was playing with a small
stack.
Protect your computer
It never hurts to take extra precautions when it comes to
protecting your computer and poker information. Anti-virus software is
good, but the real threats are Spyware and Trojans. We recommend
getting the Ad-Aware software which is a very popular (and free!)
anti-spyware software that thoroughly cleans your system of tracking
junk. Firewall software is great, too, and highly recommended.
Admittedly, the odds of someone coming after you for your poker
passwords are slim, but why risk it?
Use a four-color deck
If you play poker long enough, you're going to
make mistakes. Everyone with enough experience has probably misread
their cards at some point or another (usually after a long stretch),
especially flushes. Using a four-colored deck makes it much easier to
identify flushes (and more importantly flush draw threats) and enables
you to focus your attention elsewhere.
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