Online Poker is a fun and exciting way to play poker that
is quickly becoming loved by millions of people around the world. At our site,
you can play a number of different varieties of poker online. Our online
poker games range from "play money" tables to high stakes games
where advanced players are testing their luck and skill for big pots.
Much of the information within this support document assumes
that you have some familiarity with basic poker rules. Online poker rules
are usually exactly the same rules that you will find in any 'brick and
mortar' poker room.
If you're new to online Poker and don't remember the basic
poker rules, we recommend that you check out one of the following sites
to learn more of the basic poker rules: Search for Poker Rules
Dealer Button
Dealer Button | Table
Limits and Buy In | Buy-Ins | Antes,
Blinds, and Forced Bets
Community Cards | Number of Raises
| Deciding Who Wins | Going All-In
In poker rooms, the players do not deal the cards. In
all the Online poker games except stud games, you'll see a Dealer Button
(also called "the button") in front of one of the players for
each hand. That is where the action will begin for that hand. You'll notice:
• Cards are dealt starting to the left of the Dealer
Button.
• When blinds must be posted, they are posted
by the player(s) to the left of the Dealer Button.
• In most cases, each round of betting starts to the left of the
Dealer Button and proceeds clockwise around the table.
• After each hand, the Dealer Button moves to the next active player
to the left.
Table Limits and Buy In
Dealer Button | Table
Limits and Buy In | Buy-Ins | Antes,
Blinds, and Forced Bets
Community Cards | Number of Raises
| Deciding Who Wins | Going All-In
Every poker table will have the limits
clearly posted. There are three categories of table limits:
• Fixed Limit Poker - Bets and raises on each round
are limited to a fixed amount
• Pot Limit Poker- Bets and raises are limited by the size of the
pot and the preceding bets
• No Limit Poker- Your entire bankroll can be bet at any time.
For a Fixed Limit game, there will be two limit
amounts specified, i.e. $1/$2 or $5/$10. The lower limit will be the size
of all bets and raises in the earlier rounds of betting. The higher limit
will be the size of all bets and raises in the later rounds of betting.
For example in a $3/$6 Texas Holdem game, a player may
bet $3 in the first two rounds of betting. If someone wants to raise,
they must raise by $3. In the last two rounds of betting, if player bets,
he or she must bet $6 and any raiser must raise by $6.
Pot-Limit
and No-Limit
have different rules. Please go HERE for
more information on these types of tables.
Buy-ins
Dealer Button | Table
Limits and Buy In | Buy-Ins | Antes,
Blinds, and Forced Bets
Community Cards | Number of Raises
| Deciding Who Wins | Going All-In
When you sit down at a table, you must purchase chips to
play. The "Buy-In" is the amount of chips you must purchase
to begin playing at the table. You must purchase at least 10 times the
size of the small bet. For example - to join a $3/$6 game, you must purchase
at least $30 in chips to play. To join a $5/$10 game, you must purchase
$50 in chips. Games that don't have a fixed limit have a maximum buy-in
amount.
During a game in progress, you may want to purchase more
chips. You must purchase at least the minimum buy-in. Remember
- any chips purchased during a hand will not be available until the next
hand.
Antes, Blinds, and Forced Bet
Dealer Button | Table
Limits and Buy In | Buy-Ins | Antes,
Blinds, and Forced Bets
Community Cards | Number of Raises
| Deciding Who Wins | Going All-In
In every form of poker, you need to get some money into
the pot to start things off. There are three ways in which this may happen
on Pokertropolis, and every poker game uses one or two of them.
Antes
Some games require an ante. Here, each player is
required to post (pay) an ante before receiving cards. The ante is the
same for each player, and the antes are gathered up to form the initial
pot.
Blinds
In many poker games, there are "blind" bets
to start the pot. A blind bet is a required bet made before the player
sees his/her hand. Blind bets are different from antes in two ways:
1. A blind bet is a "live" bet. Others must call
or raise the bet to remain in the pot.
2. Not all players make the blind bet in every hand. A
small number of players (usually two players) make the blind bet every
hand. This requirement passes from player to player to insure that the
game is fair and starts to the left of the dealer button.
Typically, there are two blind bets:
• The Small Blind is equal to half of
the minimum bet, (Ex. $3-$6 game, small blind = $1.50) and is posted by
the player to the left of the Dealer Button
• The Big Blind is equal to the minimum
bet. (i.e. $3-$6 game, big blind = $3) and is posted by the player to
the left of the Small Blind
Since the blinds are live bets, all other players must
call the Big Blind in order to stay in the hand. After the other players
have acted, the blinds act on their hands.
The blind counts toward calling any bet. If a player has
put in a $1 blind, and the pot has been raised to $4, then the player
needs to only put in $3 to call.
When you first take a seat at an active table, you must
post a blind bet before you receive your first hand. At this point
you have the choice of posting an amount equal to the big blind at the
start of the next hand (even if you are not the "designated"
blind better for the hand) - or - you may wait until you are in the normal
position (two seats to the left of the button) to post the big blind.
Either way, you may not begin playing until your first blind bet is posted.
If you miss your turn to post the blinds, you can either
wait until it is your normal turn to post the big blind, or you can post
your blind at the start of the next hand. If you post the blind out
of position, you will be required to post an amount equal to the sum of
the big blind and the small blind. The amount of the big blind will
be treated as a blind and will apply to calling any wagers. The amount
of the small blind is considered "dead money" and is added to
the pot.
Forced Bets ("Bring Ins")
When you play stud poker, in addition to the ante, there
is also a forced bet called a "bring-in" after the first set
of cards is dealt. Each player will have one card face-up at this point.
The player with the lowest face-up card must bet an amount equal to
half the minimum bet for the table. (In a $2/$4 game, the low card
must bring it in for $1.)
The low card may also choose to start the betting with
a full bet instead of a half bet. For example, in a $2/$4 game, the low
card may bet either $1 or $2 when forced to bring it in.
If there are two cards tied for low, the suits are used
to break the tie. The order of the suits is from lowest to highest: Clubs,
diamonds, hearts, and then spades. (If one player has a 2 of diamonds
and the other has a 2 of hearts, the 2 of diamonds must "bring it
in" because that is the lower card.)
Community Cards
Dealer Button | Table
Limits and Buy In | Buy-Ins | Antes,
Blinds, and Forced Bets
Community Cards | Number of Raises
| Deciding Who Wins | Going All-In
Many popular forms of poker involve community cards. These
cards are dealt face up and can be used by everyone at the table to make
their best hand. If there are two aces included in the community cards,
then everyone in the hand has at least a pair of aces. If you have an
ace in your hand, you have three aces.
In Texas Holdem Poker, Omaha Poker, and Omaha High/Low
Poker, there are five community cards by the end of the hand. Together,
they are called "the board." The first three are called
"the flop", the 4th card is called "the turn,"
and the 5th card is called "the river."
Number of Raises
Dealer Button | Table
Limits and Buy In | Buy-Ins | Antes,
Blinds, and Forced Bets
Community Cards | Number of Raises
| Deciding Who Wins | Going All-In
When three of more players are in a pot, no more than a
bet and three raises will be allowed during any round of betting. After
the 3rd raise, the pot is said to be "capped", and players may
only call or fold.
At heads-up tables, or when there are two players left in a hand, a bet and five raises are allowed.
Deciding Who Wins
Dealer Button | Table
Limits and Buy In | Buy-Ins | Antes,
Blinds, and Forced Bets
Community Cards | Number of Raises
| Deciding Who Wins | Going All-In
At any point, if every player except one has folded, the
remaining player wins the pot. If, however, more than one player is left
at the end of the hand, then there will be a showdown and the best hand(s)
will win.
There are three forms of poker:
1. High hand wins
2. Low hand wins
3. High hand and Low hand split the pot.
High Hand Wins
The player with the highest hand wins the entire pot. (See
Poker Hand Rankings to see how the decision
is made.)
Low Hand Wins
In these games the player with the lowest hand wins the
entire pot. A flush or a straight does not count as high when determining
the lowest hand.
The best low hand:
(See Low Hand Rankings
for more information about this.)
High Hand and Low Hand Split
In these games the player with the highest hand and the
player with the lowest hand each win half of the pot.
A low hand must be an "8 or better" to qualify.
To be eligible to win the low, the highest card in the hand must be a
5, 6, 7, or 8. If there are no qualifying low hands, then the high hand
wins 100% of the pot.
The same player can have the best high hand and the best
low hand. In this case the player wins the whole pot.
As in games where the low hand wins, a straight or flush
does not disqualify a hand for low. Thus, 6-5-4-3-2 can be a straight
for high and a 6-5 for low, or A-7-5-3-2 of spades can be a flush for
high and a 7-5 for low.
You can use different cards to make a high hand and a low
hand. Suppose your hand is:
For your high hand you would have two pair (aces and sevens)
by selecting:
For your low hand you would have a 7-6 by selecting:
During the showdown, our system will always choose the right cards
to make the best high and low hand possible, so you will never "overlook"
your best possible hand.
Split Pot
All pots are always divided between all those with the best hands. When two or more
of the best hands tie, this is called a "split pot".
In high-low games if there is a tie for either high or low (or both), half
the pot is divided among all those who may tie for high and the other
half is divided among those who tie for low. For example, if one person
has the best high hand and two people have the best low hand, the holder
of the high hand wins one-half the pot. The two winners of the low hand
divide the other half of the pot and each gets one-quarter of the total
pot.
Going All-In
Dealer Button | Table
Limits and Buy In | Buy-Ins | Antes,
Blinds, and Forced Bets
Community Cards | Number of Raises
| Deciding Who Wins | Going All-In
If you do not have enough money to call a bet, you can
call with whatever money you have at the table. By calling with your remaining
pot, you have gone "all-in." At this point, you are still eligible
to win a portion of the pot. Please see the All-in
section for more info on how this works.