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Free Poker! Texas Hold'em Poker Tournaments in Northern Virginia and DC

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Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament Rules

Texas Hold'em Overview

In hold'em, players receive two downcards as their personal hand (holecards), after which there is a round of betting. Three boardcards are turned simultaneously (called the 'flop') and another round of betting occurs. The next two boardcards are turned one at a time, with a round of betting after each card. The boardcards are community cards, and a player may use any five-card combination from among the board and personal cards. A player may even use all of the boardcards and no personal cards to form a hand (play the board). A dealer button is used. The structure is to use two blinds. 

Object: The best possible five card poker hand, using any combination of hole cards and community cards, wins the pot.

Betting Rounds

1. The dealer deals each player their own two cards face-down (pocket cards)
2. 1st betting round
3. The dealer burns a card then turns over three community cards face-up (the flop) 
4. 2nd betting round
5. The dealer burns another card then turns over 1 more community card (the turn, 4th street)
6. 3rd betting round
7. The dealer burns another card then turns over 1 final community card (the river, 5th street )
8. Last betting round
9. Showdown (Every remaining player shows hand with bettor showing first)

All remaining players must use one of the following choices at the showdown:

1. Two pocket cards & three boardcards
2. One pocket card & four boardcards
3. No pocket cards & five boardcards (called playing the board)

Texas Hold'em Dealing and Card Rules

1. If the first holecard dealt is exposed, a misdeal results. The dealer will retrieve the card, reshuffle, and recut the cards. If any other holecard is exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues. The exposed card may not be kept. After completing the hand, the dealer replaces the card with the top card on the deck, and the exposed card is then used for the burncard. If more than one holecard is exposed, this is a misdeal and there must be a redeal.
2. If the flop contains too many cards, it must be redealt. (This applies even if it were possible to know which card was the extra one.)
3. If the flop needs to be redealt because the cards were prematurely flopped before the betting was complete, or the flop contained too many cards, the boardcards are mixed with the remainder of the deck. The burncard remains on the table. After shuffling, the dealer cuts the deck and deals a new flop without burning a card.
4. If the dealer turns the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round, even if subsequent players elect to fold. The betting is then completed. The dealer burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card's place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burncards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns the final card without burning a card. If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner. 
5. If the dealer mistakenly deals the first player an extra card (after all players have received their starting hands), the card will be returned to the deck and used for the burncard. If the dealer mistakenly deals more than one extra card, it is a misdeal.
6. You must declare that you are playing the board before you throw your cards away; otherwise you relinquish all claim to the pot.

No-Limit Betting Rules

A no-limit betting structure for a game gives it a different character from limit poker, requiring a separate set of rules in many situations. All the rules for limit games apply to no-limit and games, except as noted in this section. No-limit means that the amount of a wager is limited only by the table stakes rule, so any part or all of a player's chips may be wagered.

1. The number of raises in any betting round is unlimited.
2. All bets must be at least equal to the minimum bring-in, unless the player is going all-in.
3. All raises must be equal to or greater than the size of the previous bet or raise on that betting round, except for an all-in wager. A player who has already checked or called may not subsequently raise an all-in bet that is less than the full size of the last bet or raise. (The half-the-size rule for reopening the betting is for limit poker only.) Example: Player A bets $100 and Player B raises $100 more, making the total bet $200. If Player C goes all in for less than $300 total (not a full $100 raise), and Player A calls, then Player B has no option to raise again, because he wasn't fully raised. (Player A could have raised, because Player B raised.)
4. A wager is not binding until the chips are actually released into the pot, unless the player has made a verbal statement of action.
5. If there is a discrepancy between a player's verbal statement and the amount put into the pot, the bet will be corrected to the verbal statement.
6. If a call is short due to a counting error, the amount must be corrected, even if the bettor has shown down a superior hand.
7. Because the amount of a wager at big-bet poker has such a wide range, a player who has taken action based on a gross misunderstanding of the amount wagered needs some protection. A bettor should not show down a hand until the amount put into the pot for a call seems reasonably correct, or it is obvious that the caller understands the amount wagered. The decision-maker is allowed considerable discretion in ruling on this type of situation. A possible rule-of-thumb is to disallow any claim of not understanding the amount wagered if the caller has put eighty percent or more of that amount into the pot. Example: On the end, a player puts a $500 chip into the pot and says softly, "Four hundred". The opponent puts a $100 chip into the pot and says, "Call". The bettor immediately shows the hand. The dealer says, "He bet four hundred". The caller says, "Oh, I thought he bet a hundred". In this case, the recommended ruling normally is that the bettor had an obligation to not show the hand when the amount put into the pot was obviously short, and the "call" can be retracted. Note that the character of each player can be a factor. (Unfortunately, situations can arise at big-bet poker that are not so clear-cut as this.)
8. A player who says "raise" is allowed to continue putting chips into the pot with more than one move; the wager is assumed complete when the player's hands come to rest outside the pot area. (This rule is used because no-limit play may require a large number of chips be put into the pot.)
9. A bet of a single chip without comment is considered to be the full amount of the chip allowed. However, a player acting on a previous bet with a larger denomination chip is calling the previous bet unless this player makes a verbal declaration to raise the pot. (This includes acting on the forced bet of the big blind.)
10. If a player tries to bet or raise less than the legal minimum and has more chips, the wager must be increased to the proper size. (This does not apply to a player who has unintentionally put too much in to call.) The wager is brought up to the sufficient amount only, no greater size.
11. All wagers may be required to be in the same denomination of chip (or larger) used for the minimum bring-in, even if smaller chips are used in the blind structure. If this is done, the smaller chips do not play except in quantity, even when going all-in.
12. The house has the right to place a maximum time limit for taking action on your hand. The clock may be put on someone by the poker host, if a player requests it. If the clock is put on you when you are facing a bet, you will have one additional minute to act on your hand. You will have a ten-second warning, after which your hand is dead if you have not acted.