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Below is a definitive guide on how to play the most popular classic poker games, we have included some basic rules and examples to give you an edge on winning at poker whilst playing at our tables.

Texas Holdem Limit

Playing Texas Holdem: Just as in live Holdem poker games, in online holdem the table numbers can vary from heads up (2 players) to a full table (10 players). Each game includes a button on the table also known as the dealer button. This button indicates that the two players sitting to the immediate left must post the small blind and big blind respectively The button indicates who is the dealer and determine who is first to act.
Blinds: In order to guarantee money (and action) in the pot for whoever wins the game or round, blinds are posted before the pocket cards are dealt. The two players sitting to the immediate left of the dealer button must go first, but to maintain fairness, the dealer button moves counter clockwise after each hand so that every player post blinds at some point during the game. The "small blind" or SB is equivalent to half of the minimum stake (e.g. $2.5 for a $5/$10 game) and is posted by the player sitting to the left of the dealer button. The "big blind” or BB is equivalent to the full amount of the minimum stake (e.g. $5 for a $5/$10 game) and is posted by the player sitting to the left of the SB.

Pocket Cards: Once the blinds have been posted, players are each dealt two cards face-down

1st round of betting: The player sitting to left of the big blind begins the betting round, which proceeds in a clockwise direction. Players may choose to either "fold", "call" or "raise". At this stage, the maximum raise is set according the lower table stake, e.g., $5 in a $5/$10 game.

The Flop: Three community cards, known as "the flop", are dealt face-up.

2nd round of betting: Same rules as round 1 above.

The Turn: The fourth community card, known as "the turn", is dealt face up.

3rd round of betting: Proceeds similarly to rounds 1 and 2 above, however table stakes are set according to the higher amount, e.g., $10 in a $5/$10 game.

The River: The fifth community card, known as the "the river" is dealt face-up.

4th round of betting: The final betting round. Same rules as round 3 above.

The Showdown: If you prefer not to show your hand you can opt to "muck" at this stage, which simply means to fold your cards. In order to win you must have the highest ranking 5-card hand, which can be made up of your pocket cards and/or any of the community cards. In the event that players have equal ranking hands, the pot will be split between them. You can of course bet out all the other players and take the pot, if you do this you are under no obligation to show your hand

Betting System: The betting round always proceeds in a clockwise direction, beginning with the player sitting to the left of the big blind.

Fold: Choosing to fold after you have posted a blind, bet, or raised, effectively means you have lost that money, and that you cannot re-enter the game until the next hand.

Check/Call: Checking does not require placing any extra poker chips in the pot, and is only possible if no other player has placed a bet before you. If they have placed a bet, and you would like to continue, you must either "call" (bet the same amount), or raise.

Bet/Raise/Re-raise: In each betting round a maximum of one bet and three raises may be made (bet, raise, and two re-raises), at which time the round is capped and the next community card is dealt. As mentioned above, betting amounts are determined by the table stakes. The first two rounds are limited to the lower stake and the latter two rounds to the higher stake, e.g. $5 and $10, respectively, in a $5/$10 table

All-in: If you run out of chips but would like to continue playing a hand that you believe stands a chance of winning, you can choose to go "all-in" instead of folding. The pot will then be divided into main and side pots, and any further chips are placed in the side pot. In the event that you win the game, you'll receive the main-pot and the second best hand will receive the side pot. If more than one player chooses to go all-in, then additional side pots are created and divided according to the top-ranked hands and the order in which the players went all-in. If a player who did not go all-in has the top-ranking hand, that player wins both the main and side pots.

Texas Holdem No Limit

It was once said that “No Limit Texas Holdem is the Rolls-Royce of Poker” (Doyle Brunson) The rules are the same as limit poker (read the above rules) when it comes to how it is played with the exception that there are no limits on what you can bet each round, a player may at any time move his entire stack into the pot. This makes it the most exciting poker game you can play and is also the format of the WSOP main event.

Omaha Hi

Below is an example of how a game round would proceed according to the rules of Omaha Hi poker. Omaha Hi is similar to Texas Holdem, barring the following two deviations:

1. Instead of two cards players a dealt a total of four hole cards

2. Players must use two, no less and no more of their hole cards when playing their hand

The differences may appear slight to Texas Holdem, however the game play is entirely different, especially the starting hands whereas AA in the hole cards still are the best hand, these can easily be outdrawn in Omaha, therefore players have to weigh their hands carefully looking at all the aspects..
Before the Game: This is exactly the same as Texas Holdem, with two players posting their small and big blinds left of the dealer

Hole Cards: Four hole cards (also known as pocket cards) are dealt, face-down.

1st round of betting: The player immediately clockwise from the small blind posts the "big blind". Now, each player receives his or her four hole cards. Betting action proceeds around the table, starting with the player immediately clockwise from the big blind

The Flop: As soon as betting for the first round is over, (once all players have had an opportunity either to fold or match the total betting) the dealer deals three cards face up in the centre of the table.

2nd round of betting: the same as the 1st round .

The Turn: The fourth community card, known as "the turn", is placed face up on the table.

3rd round of betting: Follow the rules in rounds 1 and 2 above, however, table stakes are now raised to the higher stake amount, e.g., $10 in a $5/$10 game.

The River: The third and final community card, known as the "the river" is placed face-up on the table.

4th round of betting: The final betting round. Follow rules in round 3 above.

The Showdown: The first player to show their cards is the last one to have placed a bet or made a raise. In the event that no bets were made during the hand, the player to the right of the dealer button shows their cards first and the winner is determined according to the best five-card hand.

Omaha Hi/Lo

Omaha High/Low follows the same rules as regular Omaha, but there is an additional way to win a share of the pot. The Hi winner is the player with the best poker hand, as in Omaha High Only. But in addition to a Hi winner, there can be a Low winner. The Low hand is a hand with 5 different cards below a 9. You must use two pocket cards and three community cards to make a low hand. For example, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 of any suit would be a Low hand. The lowest Low hand is the Low winner. In case of a Low winner, the pot is split 50/50 between the Low and High winner. In case of multiple Low hands, the Low winner is determined by comparing the highest of the low cards, then the second highest, etc.

If the two or more Low hands are equal, the Low pot is split between them. Because there must be at least three different low cards (under 9) on the board at the end to enable a qualifying low hand there may not be a Low winner every hand. Also, a player may use different pocket cards for Hi and for Low, from the four cards dealt to him along with any three community cards, where again different cards may be used for the high hand to the low hand. In Hi Low Omaha the lowest possible hand is 5, 4, 3, 2, A of any suits (flushes and straights do not count against you for the low hand). Ace counts as high and low and therefore the same ace can be used to make a high hand and a low hand.

Omaha Hi/Lo Poker Game Round

Provided below is an outline of a typical game round for Omaha Hi/Lo limit poker.

Blinds: The game begins with blinds being posted by the two players positioned to the left of the dealer's button. This is done before the players receive their cards in order to make sure that the player with the winning hand wins money. On each of the game's rounds, the dealer button rotates its position so that players take turns posting blinds. The small blind is posted by the first player to the left, in the amount of half the minimum stake (e.g. $1 on a $2/$4 game). The big blind is posted by the second player to the left, in the amount equal to the full minimum stake (for example, $2 on a $2/$4 game).

Pocket Cards: The four cards that are dealt face down once the blinds have been posted.

Bet Round 1: The game begins in a clockwise direction. The first bet is placed by the player sitting to the left of the big blind. At this stage, players can opt to either raise, call or fold. The minimum raise amount is equivalent to the table's lower stake (for example, $2 on a $2/$4 game).

The Flop Cards: The three flop cards are placed in the centre of the table, face up. The flop cards are also known as community cards because each of the players can choose to use them in their hand.

Bet Round 2: Bets are placed again according to the same rules as the first round.

The Turn Card: At this stage of the game, another community card (the turn card) is placed in the center of the table, face up.

Bet Round 3: The third round bet differs from the first two rounds, in that players choosing to raise can only do so according to the higher stake (for example, $4 on a $2/$4 game).

The River Card: The river card is the last community card to be placed face up in the center of the table.

Bet Round 4: The fourth betting round is the last one of the game and follows the same rules as the third betting round.

Showdown: This is the final stage of the game where the winning hand is exposed. The pot is given to the player holding the best hand, made up of 5 cards that include various combinations of the two pocket cards and the community cards. If two players have hands of equal value (the best high hand, the best low hand), the pot is divided between them. If the same player has a combination of cards that qualify as both the best high hand and the best low hand, the entire pot is awarded to the holder of that hand. As part of their playing strategy, players have the option to either show their hand or to Muck which is to fold without showing one's cards.

5 Card Stud Poker instructions

Five-card stud is the basis of many different stud variations. It is very similar to 7 Card Stud variations and played by the same rules (but with up to 10 players). The difference is that only one card is dealt face down to each player; there are 2nd, 3rd and 4th streets, plus the River. To understand the basic rules of the game, you can refer to 7 Card Stud noting the above mentioned exceptions. We have outlined a example of the game below, to help you get started.

Example of 5-Card Stud Poker

Each player begins with two cards, one facing up and one facing down. The person sitting to the dealer's left begins. If the game is being played with a bring-in, this is done by the person with the lowest face-up card. A bring-in is a forced bet that is common in stud games. It's different from an ante because it only requires one person to post it and because it counts as a bet for the opening round. If playing without a bring-in, the game begins with a check made by the person holding the highest face-up card. If there is a tie in ranking between two face-up cards, the person sitting closest (clockwise) to the dealer should proceed.

When the first round is over, players are dealt another face up card. Whoever has the highest ranking hand with their two face-up cards places their bet first. Whoever goes first can choose to either bet up to the limit or check. This exact sequence continues on the third and fourth betting rounds, until showdown. Often times the game ends before reaching showdown, because no further calls will be made.

7 Card Stud

Below is an example of how a poker game round would proceed according to the rules of 7 Card Stud.
The most important difference between this and other poker game versions is that when you play 7 Card Stud, there are no "community" cards. Each player has his own individual hand, and in fixed limit games, there are two bet limits.

Playing a Round of 7 Card Stud

Before the Game: This poker game is played with up to 8 players (not including the virtual dealer). "Ante" and "Bring-in" minimums should be determined before the game begins.

Hole Cards: The first two cards dealt to each player in the game, placed face-down.

Ante: In Stud poker games, antes function similarly to blinds in Holdem or Omaha games; they guarantee money in the pot for whoever wins the hand. The ante is a fraction of the lower table stake and is placed at the start of the hand by each player in the game.

3rd Street: The next card to be dealt to each player after the two hole cards, placed face-up.

1st round of betting: The player who shows the lowest ranking face-up card (3rd Street) begins the first round of betting. In the event that players show cards of similar value, the order is determined by suit.
The beginning player can either place a complete bet (equal to the minimum table stake), or a bring-in, which is less than a complete bet and acts as an additional type of blind to guarantee money in the pot. If a subsequent player calls with a complete bet, the beginning player is required to add only the difference in order to complete the bet, should they decide to call. Other players can choose to call, complete the bet, or raise.

4th Street: The 4th Street cards are dealt face-up.

2nd round of betting: In this round the player with the highest ranking exposed cards begins the betting round, and bring-ins are not required. High limits are allowed at this stage and are mandatory on any subsequent bets in this round, if they are introduced.

5th Street: The 5th Street cards are dealt face-up.

3rd round of betting: Same as 2nd betting round above, however the high limit is now mandatory.

6th Street: The 6th Street cards are dealt face-up.

4th round of betting: Same as 2nd and 3rd rounds of betting above. The player holding the highest-ranking hand begins the next round of betting and high limits are mandatory. Each remaining player now holds 6 cards.

River: The final "River" cards are dealt face-down.

5th round of betting: This final round of betting proceeds similarly to round 4 above.

Showdown: After the 5th betting round has taken place, it is time to determine the winner. The last player to have placed a bet or raised shows their hand first and the highest ranking five-card hand takes the pot.