Aces Up To be holding two pairs, one of which is aces

Action the betting activity

Add-on in a tournament, you may be offered the opportunity to add to your chips by buying extra chips after the first session of play

All-in to place all your remaining cards into the pot

Ante bet made before the cards are dealt on each hand

Back Door to make a hand you were not originally planning

Bad beat a hand where you lose to a player against the expected odds

Bankroll Current total betting funds available

Belly-buster also known as a Gutshot, is an inside straight draw

Bet to make the first movement of chips on any betting round

Big blind the bigger of the two ante bets placed before each hand of Texas Holdem

Blind a compulsory ante to open the betting

Bluff to attempt to steal the pot by representing a hand stronger than the one actually held

Board the community cards showing on the table

Broadway an Ace high straight – A K Q J 10

Bubble the bubble is the position one below the prize-winning positions, and is therefore the least enviable spot in which to be eliminated

Burn to discard; the dealer ‘burns’ the top card before dealing the ‘flop’, ‘turn’ and ‘river’

Button the dealer button which denotes the position of the dealer; also sometimes referring to the player in that seat

Buy-in the exchange of cash for chips; the amount required to sit at a given table

Call to match the highest bet made to date

Calling Station a player who often calls most bets

Calling the Clock To warn a player that he is under the clock (time limit) if he has taken excessive time in acting

Cards Speak A rule that states at showdown the hand values are determined by the cards and not the players’ declaration

Case Card the fourth and final card of a particular rank

Cash in to leave the table and exchange your chips for cash

Change Gears to change your style of play to suit the game

Check when no other player has bet, to check is to make no bet at that stage (sometimes indicated by tapping the table)

Check-raise a play that is usually strong. To check at first and then, once an opponent bets, to raise him

Chip, chips these are circular plastic or clay discs which represent different financial values and which are used instead of cash in almost all poker games

Community the “flop”, “turn” and “river” cards dealt cards face up in the middle of the table

Dealerthe player who deals (or for whom a paid dealer deals) the deck before this honour moves on to the next player in a clockwise direction

Dog short for underdog

Double through a chance to double your chips on one hand (usually by taking a bit of a gamble)

Down cards your “hole” or “pocket” cards

Draw to improve your hand with the community cards

Drawing Dead is when no cards that may come on the turn or river will help you win the hand

Early position the player positions closest to the left of the dealer; the first players to decide what to do

Fifth Street the fifth and final community card, also known as “the river” final table the last table of ten players (sometimes eight) in a tournament when all other players have been eliminated

Fish a player who stays in pots hoping to catch the right cards to create a winning hand – but against the odds

Flat Call to just call the minimum amount of a bet

Flop the first three community cards

Flush five cards of the same suit

Flush draw when you have four cards of the same suit and you are hoping that the subsequent card(s) will produce a fifth card to complete the flush

Fold to throw away, or muck, one’s cards

Fourth Street the fourth community card, also known as “the turn”

Freeroll a tournament, usually online, where there is o buy-in

Freeze-out a tournament where there is no option to re-buy or add-on

Heads-up head-to-head play at a table containing only two players

High-roller a player who competes for very high stakes

Hole cards the player’s two secret cards, dealt face down

Home game poker played at home

Hook a Jack

Housethe casino or club in which you are playing

Kicker card or cards not involved in the formation of a poker combination, but still part of the five-card poker hand

Late position player(s) closest to the dealer’s right, last to act on each round of the betting

Lay down to concede or give in; often a good play in poker if you feel that you are beaten

Limp in to call a small bet in “late position” when you are unlikely to be raised

Loose a loose player is likely to play too many hands, remain in pots for too long and make speculative plays which will result in chips being lost mid position in the middle of the table between the big blind and the dealer

Main Pot the primary pot where all active players participate

Misdeal a hand that has been dealt incorrectly and must be re-dealt

Muck a collection of cards, placed near the dealer, including burn cards and folded cards

No-limit a game with no maximum limits on the amount which can be bet

Nuts the best possible hand; a “nut” flush would be an ace-high flush, with no chance of a straight flush

Off Cards that are unsuited

Out, outs card or cards which will complete your hand and improve it, usually to winning status

Overcard or overcards which are higher than those showing among the community cards

Pocket rockets AA “in the hole”

Position a player’s location at the table, measured in terms of the order in which action must be taken on each round of the betting

Pot the collection of chips (sometimes cash) which will be awarded to the winner of the raise increase the size of the biggest bet at the table

Premium Hand the best possible starting hands such as a pocket pair or AK, AQ

Rags small to medium unsuited cards

Rake a small percentage of the pot taken by the house in order to cover costs and make profit in exchange for hosting the game

Re-buy in a tournament, when you lose all your chips early on, you may be offered the opportunity to pay the entry fee again for another chance and another set of starting chips

Re-raise as above, once a player has already raised; considered a very strong intimidating move

Ring Game a cash game where players can come and go at will

River the fifth and final community card, sometimes known as ‘fifth street’

Rock a player who chooses only the best hands to enter the action and bets only when he is sure that he is best

Rush a roll, a sequence of successful plays

Satellite a qualifying event for a big poker tournament

School a regular poker game, acknowledging that you never stop learning; a poker school

Set three of a kind, “trips”

Short-handed a poker game containing four players or fewer; the value of hands often changes as a result of having fewer players at the table

Short-stack when you have less than the average amount of chips in front of you

Showdown when a bet (or bets) is called after the river card, all players must show their hole cards; the best hand wins

Side pot a secondary (sometimes tertiary) pot, formed because one player is all-in and cannot bet any more into the pot, contested by the remaining players

Slow play to give the impression of weakness or uncertainty by checking or calling bets rather than raising them

Slow-rolling to turn over a winning hand slowly after another player believes that he has won; poor form at the poker table

Straight five cards of mixed suits in sequence

String Bet an illegal way of betting in different actions after gaining a reaction from other players

Stud 5-card an old variation of poker where you are dealt five cards and there is then betting. Not popular these days

Suited of the same suit

Super-satellite a satellite event from which the winner(s) gain a seat in a satellite tell an indication, often subconscious or unrecognised by the player himself, by which other players may gain an insight into the strength of a player’s hand

Tell a mannerism that gives away your hand to opponents

Tilt, on tilt usually a sign of frustration or anger, a player may go “on tilt” by playing too many hands of poor quality and subsequently showering opponents with chips

Top pair a pair formed by the highest card on the board and one in your hand

Trips a “set”; three of a kind

Turn the fourth community card, sometimes known as “fourth street”

Under the Gun The first person to act in a round of betting

Value Bet a small bet to get calls and increase size of the pot

Wheel also known as a Bicycle – a straight of A 2 3 4 5

WSOP the World Series of Poker – the World Championships of the game, held each summer in Las Vegas.

Pre-Flop
The size of the blinds is determined by the table’s betting limits – the small blind is equal to half the lower bet amount, and the big blind is equal to the lower bet amount. For example – in a $2/$4 Fixed Limit Texas Hold’em game, the small blind (SB) would be $1 and the big blind (BB) would be $2. At the start of a hand, the player to the left of the dealer button posts the small blind, and the player to his left posts the big blind. Then, starting with the small blind, two cards are dealt face down to each player, and the action begins with the player to the left of the big blind, who is referred to as being “under the gun”. He may fold (muck his hand and take no further action in the pot), call (put in an amount equal to the big blind) or raise (put in an amount twice the big blind).

Play continues in this manner around the table until all players have matched the current bet amount or folded. The blinds posted at the start of the hand are considered live and contribute to the players’ bet – if no one raises before action gets round to the big blind, he has the option of checking and seeing a flop, or raising and re-opening the betting. Normal fixed limit poker rules dictate there is a maximum of 3 raises on any betting round.

The Flop

Once all pre-flop betting is complete, it’s time to move on to the flop. Three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are community cards which anyone can use as part of their final five card poker hand. Now, the betting begins with the first player left of the dealer button who remains in the hand, who has the option to check or bet. Bets at this stage are of the lower betting limit, which is the same as the big blind (so $2 in the same $2/$4 game). A check is simply declining the opportunity to bet, and can only be done if there have been no bets so far. Play continues in a clockwise direction until all players have matched the required bet or folded, and then we continue to the turn.

Turn & River
A fourth community card, called the turn, is now dealt face up next to the flop, and another round of betting ensues. In Fixed Limit Hold’em, the betting is almost identical to the flop, except now the larger betting limit comes into play, so all bets are doubled (making bets $4 in our $2/$4 game). Once this is done, a fifth and final community card, called the river, is now dealt face up and there is a final round of betting; identical to the turn, with one exception – if only two players remain then an unlimited number of raises are permitted. Once all bets are matched then it’s time for the showdown.

Showdown
All players still left in the hand at this stage now turn their cards over, starting with the first player to the left of the button. In Texas Hold’em, each player may use any combination of the two cards in his hand and the five face-up cards on the board to form the best possible five card hand using standard poker rules. The best hand at the showdown wins the pot, and if there are two or more hands of the same value, then the pot is split up into equal parts.

No Limit/Pot Limit Texas Hold’em Poker Rules
If No Limit or Pot Limit Hold’em is being played, the game plays in the same way with the following poker rules exceptions:

Bets can be of any size above the amount of the big blind (up to the current pot size in a PL game)

Raises can be of any size above the size of the previous (up to the current pot size in a PL game)

There is no limit to the number of raises permitted.

The table stakes ($0.25/$0.50, $3/$6 etc.) represent the size of the blinds, not bet sizes.

Pre-Flop
The size of the blinds is determined by the table’s betting limits – the small blind is equal to half the lower bet amount, and the big blind is equal to the lower bet amount. For example – in a $2/$4 Fixed Limit Omaha game, the small blind (SB) would be $1 and the big blind (BB) would be $2. At the start of a hand, the player to the left of the dealer button posts the small blind, and the player to his left posts the big blind. Then, starting with the small blind, four cards are dealt face down to each player, and the action begins with the player to the left of the big blind, who is referred to as being “under the gun”. He may fold (muck his hand and take no further action in the pot), call (put in an amount equal to the big blind) or raise (put in an amount twice the big blind).

Play continues in this manner around the table until all players have matched the current bet amount or folded. The blinds posted at the start of the hand are considered live and contribute to the players’ bet – if no one raises before action gets round to the big blind, he has the option of checking and seeing a flop, or raising and re-opening the betting. Normal fixed limit poker rules dictate there is a maximum of 3 raises on any betting round.

The Flop
Once all pre-flop betting is complete, it’s time to move on to the flop. Three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are community cards which anyone can use as part of their final five card poker hand. Now, the betting begins with the first player left of the dealer button who remains in the hand, who has the option to check or bet. Bets at this stage are of the lower betting limit, which is the same as the big blind (so $2 in the same $2/$4 game). A check is simply declining the opportunity to bet, and can only be done if there have been no bets so far. Play continues in a clockwise direction until all players have matched the required bet or folded, and then we continue to the turn.

Turn & River
A fourth community card, called the turn, is now dealt face up next to the flop, and another round of betting ensues. In Fixed Limit Omaha, the betting is almost identical to the flop, except now the larger betting limit comes into play, so all bets are doubled (making bets $4 in our $2/$4 game). Once this is done, a fifth and final community card, called the river, is now dealt face up next to the turn card and there is a final round of betting, which is identical to the turn with one exception – if only two players remain then an unlimited number of raises are permitted. Once all bets are matched then it’s time for the showdown.

Showdown
All players still left in the hand at this stage now turn their cards over, starting with the first player to the left of the button. In Omaha, each player must use exactly two cards from his hand, and three cards from the board to form the best possible five card poker hand. The best hand at the showdown wins the pot, and if there are two or more hands of the same value, then the pot is split up into equal parts.

Pot Limit Omaha Poker Rules
If Pot Limit Omaha is being played (No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo is rarely, if ever, played), the game plays in the same way with the following poker rules exceptions:

Bets can be of any size between the big blind and the current size of the pot.

Raises can be of any size between the size of the previous bet and the current size of the pot.

There is no limit to the number of raises permitted.
The table stakes ($0.25/$0.50, $3/$6 etc.) represent the size of the blinds, not bet sizes.

Razz is a game that requires a full 52 card deck. Once players have paid the antes they are dealt two down-cards and one up-card before the first betting round. There are then three more betting rounds with players being dealt one up-card. The seventh card is a down-card and a final round of betting follows. Razzis a fixed limit game and the smaller bet is wagered on the first and second betting rounds, and the larger bet is wagered after the betting rounds on the last three betting rounds.

Ante

Razz is normally played with an ante. This is a predetermined amount that is around 1/5 of the low limit bet. The ante is paid before the cards are dealt and if the ante isn’t paid the player won’t receive any cards. The ante does not count towards any future betting.

Bring-in

The first round of betting starts with a forced bet known as the “bring-in”. This is decided by the highest upcard by suit. The highest rated suit is spades, followed by hearts, diamonds and clubs. Therefore the highest possible card is the {Ks}. The player with the highest upcard decides to either bring-in (half of the low bet) or complete the bet (put in the full low bet).

The bring-in counts towards your bet. If nobody raises, you will not have to contribute further to the pot. If a player raises, that bet will count towards calling the raise if you chose to call.

Betting Rounds

There are five rounds of betting. As discussed earlier, the first two rounds of betting are small bets and the final three betting rounds are big bets. The most common rule is that a bet and three raises are all that is allowed per round of betting.

Betting Round One (3rd Street)

Before 3rd street begins, every player is dealt three cards, two down and one up. As mentioned earlier, the player with the highest upcard will commence betting with a forced bet known as the bring-in. The bring-in determines if he wants to put in a half bet or a low limit bet. Once the bring-in occurs all players determine if they want to fold, call or raise in a clockwise direction. If the bring-input in the half bet, then the first raise can only “complete” the bet. However, if the bring-in completes the bet, then a standard raise of the low bet is required. If a player folds, then they will turn the up card face down, and throw the hand into the middle of the table. Once betting is completed the players are dealt another upcard and 4th Street begins.

Betting Round Two (4th Street)

At this point, the lowest hand showing is first to act. The player decides if he wants to bet or check. If he bets, the bet must be the full low bet. If he checks, the action will then move clockwise to the next person. If a player is showing a pair at this point, then he and all the other players have the option to bet the larger bet. Otherwise, all bets and raises must be equal to the low bet.

Once betting concludes another upcard is dealt to the remaining players and 5th street commences.

Betting Round Three (5th Street)

5th street is the same as 4th street. However all bets and raises are the high bet size.

When betting concludes another upcard is dealt to the remaining players and 6th street commences.

Betting Round Four (6th Street)

Play on 6th street is identical to the play on 5th street.

When betting concludes the remaining players are dealt their last card. This card is the third downcard. Play then moves onto 7th street.

Betting Round Five (7th Street)

The player who has the lowest visible hand acts first. Like 5th and 6th street, all bets and raises must be equal to the high limit bet size. When betting concludes the remaining players expose or muck their hands and the winning player is awarded the pot.

5 Card draw requires a standard 52 card deck. The game begins with the dealer shuffling the cards and then dealing in a clockwise direction. Following a “draw”, and two rounds of betting, the players will show their hands, with the highest hand winning the pot.

Blinds or Antes

As with most forms of poker, there is required to be some sort of forced bet in the pot prior to the cards being dealt. This can occur in two ways. The first, which usually applies in home games, is for all players to place an “ante” (fixed amount) into the pot. This means that every player has contributed to the pot. The alternative to this, similar to Holdem, is to have the two players to the left of the dealer place “blinds” into the pot. As with Holdem, this is a “small blind” and a “big blind”. The big blind is usually double the amount of the small blind.

Following the placing of blinds or antes into the pot, the dealer then deals the cards out in a clockwise direction, giving 5 cards to each player.

The First Round of Betting

A round of betting then takes place following the deal. The amount you may bet or raise will depend whether you are playing a No-limit, Pot-limit, or Fixed-limit game.

How this is done depends on whether you are playing with antes or blinds. If using antes, play will begin with the player to the dealers immediate left. The player then has the option to “check” (a bet of 0), bet or fold. Once all players have either called or folded their hands and more than one player is remaining, the ‘draw’ takes place.

If the game is being played with blinds, then the player to the left of the big blind (known as under-the-gun) is the first to act. They must then call, raise, or fold. Once again, when every player has called or folded and there are at least two players in the hand, the ‘draw’ takes place.

The Draw

During the ‘draw’ players may discard any amount of cards, specifying the amount, and be replaced with an equal amount of cards from the unused deck. These are dealt out beginning with the player to the dealers left.

A common ‘house rule’ in some games is that you may only request 4 cards if you are holding an Ace (some games require you to show the Ace). This is, however, generally not used in casinos. As well as this rule, another ‘house rule’ is that the last card of the deck shall not be given as a replacement card. If a player requires more than are available in the deck, all discarded cards (except those discarded by that particular player) are shuffled, and the required amount is then given to that player.

Casinos do employ a rule that states a player may not draw 5 consecutive cards from the deck. If a player requests 5 cards, they will be dealt 4, then the remaining players will be dealt their cards, and finally the original player receives their last card. If no other player is ‘drawing’ any cards, the dealer will ‘burn’(discard the top card) first. A player is not required to trade any cards should they already have a good hand.

The Second Round of Betting

Following the draw, a second and final round of betting takes place. Regardless of whether you are playing antes or blinds, this round begins with the player to the dealers left.

As with the first round of betting, players have the option to check, bet/raise or fold and play continues until all players have called or folded. If only one player remains, that player wins the pot, and is not required to show their cards.

Should two or more players be left in the hand, they expose their cards in what’s known as the “showdown”. The highest exposed hand then wins the pot.

The rules for Omaha Hi-Lo are similar to that of Omaha, however Hi-Lo is a split pot game with half the pot awarded to the player with the best high hand and half the pot going to the player with the best low hand. If there is no qualifying low hand then the entire pot goes to the high hand. If you manage to get the best high and low hand you “scoop” the pot.

The High Hand

The high hand is exactly the same as Omaha. The player makes the best five card hand using three community cards and two of their four hole cards.

The Low Hand

The low hand again requires a player to use three community cards and two hole cards. In order to qualify the low hand must be 8 or lower. The best low hand is known as the wheel and is Five high, 5-4-3-2-A. Another example of a low hand is 8-5-4-3-A. This example would be known as an Eight low.

For a low to be possible there must be three cards in the middle that are of different values and 8 or lower.

The Blinds

In most Omaha games play commences with two players putting a forced bet into the pot. These players are located in the two positions left of the Dealer Button. The player on the left of the Dealer Button posts the Small Blind and the player on his immediate left posts the Big Blind.

Once the blinds are posted all players at the table are dealt four cards face down. These are known as the “hole cards.” There will eventually be five community cards in front of Dealer. These are community cards and the principle of the game is to combine your two cards with three of the five community cards to make the best possible hand high and low hand.

Betting – Pre-Flop

Once all the players have been dealt their four cards a round of betting takes place. The first player to act is the player seated to the left of the Big Blind. This position is referred to as Under-The-Gun. Players can fold, call or raise the current bets and the Big Blind might be given the option to “Check” his bet. The size of the raise is determined by what structure game you are playing. In Fixed Limit Omaha Hi-Lo the player is only allowed to raise a fixed amount and in Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo the player can only raise the amount that is in the Pot. In No Limit Hi-Lo the player is only limited by the amount of chips he has in front of him.

If a bet is called in this first round of betting and play is still active after the first betting round, the Dealer burns a card (discards the top card) and then turns over three community cards. This is known as “The Flop”.

The Flop

After the flop another round of betting takes place. Betting begins with the first player located to the left of the Dealer Button. As was the case pre-flop, players can call, raise or fold. The difference with the betting post-flop is that there is no forced bet and players can all check. With three community cards currently available, all the remaining players have five cards to make the best hand available.

After this round of betting the Dealer will burn another card and turn over a fourth community card. This is known as “The Turn” or “Fourth Street”.

The Turn

The betting is the same as on the flop. The first player located on the left of the dealer begins the betting.

After this round of betting the Dealer will burn another card and turn over a fifth and final community card. This is known as “The River” or “Fifth Street”.

The River

After “The River” is dealt the final round of betting takes place. The players use their own two cards and the five community cards to make the best five-card hand. After the betting is completed the remaining players reveal their hands to determine the winner of the pot. As mentioned earlier the players remaining cannot play the board. Two of the four hole cards must be used to make the best five card hand. Half the pot is awarded to the best high hand and half the pot awarded to the best qualifying low hand. If there is no low hand then the entire pot goes to the high.

Once the cards are revealed it is possible to be quartered. This occurs when a player ties for the high or low and gets beaten in the high or low.

Seven Card Stud Rules

Seven-card stud is a game that requires a full 52 card deck. Once players have paid the antes they are dealt two down-cards and one up-card before the first betting round. There are then three more betting rounds with players being dealt one up-card. The seventh card is a down-card and a final round of betting follows. Seven card stud is a fixed limit game and the smaller bet is wagered on the first and second betting rounds, and the larger bet is wagered after the betting rounds on the last three betting rounds. If there is an open pair on the fourth card, any player has the option of making the smaller or larger bet.

Ante

Stud is normally played with an ante. This is a predetermined amount that is around 1/5 of the low limit bet. The ante is paid before the cards are dealt and if the ante isn’t paid the player won’t receive any cards. The ante does not count towards any future betting.

Bring-in

The first round of betting starts with a forced bet known as the “bring-in”. This is decided by the lowest upcard by suit. The lowest rated suit is clubs, followed by diamonds, hearts and spades. Therefore the lowest possible card is the {2c}. The player with the lowest upcard decides to either bring-in (half of the low bet) or complete the bet (put in the full low bet).

The bring-in counts towards your bet. If nobody raises, you will not have to contribute further to the pot. If a player raises, that bet will count towards calling the raise if you chose to call.

Betting Rounds

There are five rounds of betting. As discussed earlier, the first two rounds of betting are small bets and the final three betting rounds are big bets. The most common rule is that a bet and three raises are all that is allowed per round of betting.

Betting Round One (3rd Street)

Before 3rd street begins, every player is dealt three cards, two down and one up. As mentioned earlier, the player with the lowest upcard will commence betting with a forced bet known as the bring-in. The bring-in determines if he wants to put in a half bet or a low limit bet. Once the bring-in occurs all players determine if they want to fold, call or raise in a clockwise direction. If the bring-input in the half bet, then the first raise can only “complete” the bet. However, if the bring-in completes the bet, then a standard raise of the low bet is required. If a player folds, then they will turn the up card face down, and throw the hand into the middle of the table. Once betting is completed the players are dealt another upcard and 4th Street begins.

Betting Round Two (4th Street)

At this point, the highest hand showing is first to act. So whoever has the highest pair acts first. If no one has a pair, then whom ever has the highest two cards acts first. If there are two or more players with the same high hand, then the suit of the highest card determines who acts first. The player decides if he wants to bet or check. If he bets, the bet must be the full low bet. If he checks, the action will then move clockwise to the next person. If a player is showing a pair at this point, then he and all the other players have the option to bet the larger bet. Otherwise, all bets and raises must be equal to the low bet.

Once betting concludes another upcard is dealt to the remaining players and 5th street commences.

Betting Round Three (5th Street)

5th street is the same as 4th street. However all bets and raises are the high bet size.

When betting concludes another upcard is dealt to the remaining players and 6th street commences.

Betting Round Four (6th Street)

Play on 6th street is identical to the play on 5th street.

When betting concludes the remaining players are dealt their last card. This card is the third downcard. Play then moves onto 7th street.

Betting Round Five (7th Street)

The player who has the highest visible hand acts first. Like 5th and 6th street, all bets and raises must be equal to the high limit bet size. When betting concludes the remaining players expose or muck their hands and the winning player is awarded the pot.

The Blinds

In most Crazy Pineapple games play commences with two players putting a forced bet into the pot. These players are located in the two positions left of the Dealer Button. The player on the left of the Dealer Button posts the Small Blind and the player on his immediate left posts the Big Blind. The amount posted is pre-determined. If you are playing a tournament the amount of these bets increases as the tournament progresses, whilst the amount generally stays the same in cash games.

Once the blinds are posted all players at the table are dealt three cards face down. These are known as the “hole cards.” There will eventually be five community cards in front of Dealer. These are community cards and the principle of the game is to combine two of your “hole cards” with the five community cards and make the best possible hand.

Betting – Pre-Flop

The action pre-flop is the same as in Texas Holdem. Once all the players have been dealt their three cards a round of betting takes place. The first player to act is the player seated to the left of the Big Blind. This position is referred to as Under-The-Gun. Players can fold, call or raise the current bets and the Big Blind might be given the option to “Check” his bet. The size of the raise is determined by what structure game you are playing. In Fixed Limit Crazy Pineapple the player is only allowed to raise a fixed amount and in Pot Limit the player can only raise the amount that is in the Pot. In No Limit Poker players can raise as many chips as they have, or move “All-In”.

If a bet is called in this first round of betting and play is still active after the first betting round, the Dealer burns a card (discards the top card) and then turns over three community cards. This is known as “The Flop”.

The Flop

There is a major difference between the play in Crazy Pineapple and Holdem after the flop. When it’s the players turn to act they must decide to check, call or raise or fold. In addition they must discard one of the cards in their hand. Betting begins with the first player located to the left of the Dealer Button. With three community cards currently available, all the remaining players have five cards to make the best hand available.

After this round of betting the Dealer will burn another card and turn over a fourth community card. This is known as “The Turn” or “Fourth Street”.

The Turn

The betting is the same as on the flop, however no more cards are discarded. The first player located on the left of the dealer begins the betting.

After this round of betting the Dealer will burn another card and turn over a fifth and final community card. This is known as “The River” or “Fifth Street”.

The River

After “The River” is dealt the final round of betting takes place. The players use their own two remaining cards and the five community cards to make the best five-card hand. After the betting is completed the remaining players reveal their hands to determine the winner of the pot.

Deuce-to-seven triple draw requires a standard 52 card deck. It is always played maximum six-handed. The game begins with the dealer shuffling the cards and then dealing in a clockwise direction.

Following three “draws”, and four rounds of betting, the players will show their hands, with the lowest hand winning the pot. Contrary to other forms of poker aces count only as high, and straights and flushes always play as high.

Blinds

As with most forms of poker, blinds are required to be placed in the pot before any cards are dealt. Similar to Holdem, Triple Draw is played with a “small blind” and a “big blind”, which are always the two players to the left of the dealer. The “big blind” is generally double the “small blind”.

Once the blinds have been put into the pot, the dealer then deals out 5 cards to each player in a clockwise direction.

The First Round of Betting

Upon completion of the deal, a round of betting takes place. The amount you may bet or raise will depend whether you are playing a No-limit, Pot-limit, or Fixed-limit game.

Similar to Texas Holdem, these three types are outlined in our Poker Rules section. The most common form used in Triple draw is Fixed-limit.

The first round begins with the player to the left of the big blind. This person is known as “under-the-gun”. This player may fold, call or raise. Once all subsequent players have called or folded, the first “draw” takes place. Usually the betting is capped at one bet and three raises.

The Draw (First, Second and Third)

During the ‘draw’ players may discard any amount of cards, specifying the amount, and be replaced with an equal amount of cards from the unused deck. These are dealt out beginning with the player to the dealers left.

In the game of triple draw, there are three separate ‘draws’, each followed by a round of betting, and players may discard anywhere from zero to five cards during all three draws.

If a player requires more cards than are available in the deck, all discarded cards (except those discarded by that particular player) are shuffled and cut, and the required amount is then given to that player.

Subsequent Round of Betting

Subsequent rounds of betting, following each “draw”, are similar to the first round however the action always starts with the person to the left of the dealer.

As with the first round of betting, players have the option to ‘check’ (a bet of 0), bet/raise or fold and play continues until all players have called or folded. During any round of betting, if only one player remains in the hand, that player wins the pot, and is not required to show their cards.

There is however one difference in the late betting rounds in the game, and that is, if playing a Fixed-limit game, similar to Holdem, the bets or raises following the second “draw” are doubled to equate to twice the big blind.

Following the third draw and betting round, if two or more players are remaining in the pot, they are required to expose their cards in what is known as the “showdown”.

The lowest exposed hand wins the pot. The best possible hand you can make is 2,3,4,5,7 with no flush. This hand is called a wheel. The next best hand is 2,3,4,6,7 and then 2,3,5,6,7. These hands are known as two and three.