|
The 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 PartyPoker.net system generates a fresh deck of cards
for the hand. On PartyPoker.net, 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 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 PartyPoker.net the
small blind is rounded down to the nearest value chip. For example – at
5/10 value chips Hold’em per the formula the small blind should be 2.5-value
chip. Instead, it is rounded of to the lower value chip, so the small
blind would post 2-value chip. 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 10/20-value chips Hold’em game, value of each bet is 10-value chip
for the first round. When we say the bets are limited to 10- value chip,
it refers to: a Bet (single bet) of the value of 10- value chip, so when
a user places “BET” then it is 10- value chip, “RAISE” would be 20- value
chip – 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 chips bet the value of each bet is 10-value chip for the
second round. When we say the bets are limited to 10-value chip, it refers
to: a Bet (single bet) of the value of 10-value chip, so when a user places
“BET” then it is a 10-value chip, “RAISE” would be a 20-value chip – 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- chips bet, 20-value chip would be the upper stake). When we say
the bets are limited to a 20-value chip, it refers to: a Bet (single bet)
of the value of a 20-value chip, so when a user places “BET” then it is
a 20-value chip, “RAISE” would be a 40-value chip – 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-value chips bet, 20-value chip would be the upper
stake). When we say the bets are limited to a 20-value chip, it refers
to: a Bet (single bet) of the value of a 20-value chip, so when a user
places “BET” then it is a 20-value chip, “RAISE” would be a 40-value chip
– 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 chips from his account
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 PartyPoker.net 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 chips 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 chips that are bet on the table are added to a side pot,
over which the all-in player does not have any rights (if he wins).
For more details on the disconnection policy at PartyPoker.net, please
visit:
http://www.partypoker.net/games/disconnection_policy/index.htmlAfter
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)
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 ranks that are possible,
click here
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.PartyPoker.net 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.
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-value chip then the second player must raise
a minimum of 100 (total bet of 200-value chip).
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-value chip then the second player
must raise a minimum of 100 (total bet of 200-value chip).
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.
As an example, if the active pot is 200-value chips and the
first player to act in the round bets 150-value chip and the next player
calls 150-value chip, the third player has a maximum eligible total bet
of 800-value chip. The 800-value chip total is made up of the 150-value
chip call and 650-value chip raise.
The 650-value chip max raise portion is equal to the pot of 200 + first
player's 150 + second player's 150 + his own call of 150.
|