Texas Holdem Tournament All-in Rules

Posted on 7/16/2022 by admin

Texas Holdem Tournament All-in Rules Game

These rules apply to tournaments on our platform.

The Tournament Rules as listed here are intended to complement the Terms of Service, not replace them. In the event of a discrepancy between the Tournament Rules and Terms of Service, the Terms of Service shall take precedence.

Note: Rules 1.5, 2.4 and 2.5 are relevant only to tournaments which use blinds and/or a dealer button.

Texas Hold’em tournaments, regardless of format, all usually follow the same general guidelines. Players will pay a fixed entry fee and then compete until one player has all of the chips. Players are not usually allowed to cash in any of their chips as they would in a live cash game. The game must be played out until completion. Jan 25, 2020 Courtesy rules: Players may get up anytime during the tournament to take a break. This will not stop the tournament. When raising a bet, clear verbal communication between the player and dealer is important before proceeding with your bet. Most important Have Fun! You may go all-in at anytime. Learn Texas Hold Em » Texas Holdem Betting Strategies » All In Bet. N all in bet or all in raise can really rattle your opponents. Among good players, risking all of your chips on a single poker hand is rare until they get short stacked. Everything you need to know to play your first game of Texas Holdem. Texas Holdem Guide » Part 2 » Part 3 » Part 4. Good luck and enjoy! Texas Holdem Rules. Your first task is to learn the rules of Texas Holdem. The game appears to be complicated because there are 4 rounds, each with a new card and opportunity to bet.

1. General

We will, at all times, consider the best interests of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that decisions in the interest of fairness take priority over the technical rules.
All tournaments will begin promptly at the scheduled time stated in the Tournament Lobby. We reserve the right to delay or cancel a tournament without prior notice.
Important information about each tournament, including the blind structure, length of rounds, rebuy and break information, can be found by selecting the tournament in the lobby and double-clicking on it (desktop), and by clicking the tournament itself via the Lobby (mobile). We reserve the right to change the parameters of any tournament at any time without notice.
Seats are assigned at random. Seat changes are not permitted.
The button will be positioned at Seat 1 to start play.
A bet and three raises are permitted in Fixed Limit tournaments. There is no limit to the number of raises permitted in Pot Limit and No Limit tournaments.
Prizes will be awarded as stated in the Tournament Lobby, except when a deal is made (see Rule 8.1 or the tournament is cancelled (see our tournament cancellation policy below). The prize structure is not finalized until registration has closed and the rebuy and/or add-on period is over.
In order to be eligible to rebuy in a rebuy tournament, you must have the funds available in your account. Funds currently in play in other games, or held in a currency not matching the tournament currency are not considered to be available.
Late Registration: Late Registration is available in most tournaments. The length of the late registration period varies, but will always be shown in the tournament ticket in the Quick Seat lobby, in the details panel of the Tournaments tab, and in the header of the Tournament lobby for that tournament. Late registration time is measured in clock time (as opposed to tournament play time). For example, if a tournament starts at 09:00 and has 90 minutes of late registration, registration will close at 10:30. Late registration will close early if enough players are eliminated to begin payouts.
Please note that players are only allowed to participate in a tournament once, unless re-entry is permitted, as specified in the tournament lobby. One player using multiple accounts to enter multiple times into a single tournament is not permitted, and may result in penalties including a warning, disqualification from the tournament (with partial or full forfeiture of winnings), and barring from our platform.
Unregistration: Most tournaments allow unregistration until a time specified in the tournament lobby of each tournament, which may vary from event to event. Players who have won their seats through a satellite may unregister if the event allows it; however, they will receive tournament money (T-Money) or an entry ticket in exchange for their seat. T-Money can be used to buy in to our other tournaments. See here for more information.
Note that some satellites will end after the start of the target tournament but during Late Registration. In such cases, the satellite winners will be seated directly into the target event at the conclusion of the satellite.
Note: Registration and unregistration times may vary, and not all tournaments allow unregistration. Check the Tournament Lobby for the exact registration details for each tournament. We reserve the right to alter registration and unregistration times without prior notice.
Players who self-exclude themselves during a tournament will nevertheless still be able to complete any tournament already in progress in which they are playing. This also means that players who request to be self-excluded from playing on our platform after qualifying for Day 2 of a Multi-Day Tournament or Phased tournament will still be able to play in that tournament on any subsequent day of that tournament, even after their period of self-exclusion begins. Players who choose not to play on subsequent days will receive no compensation.

2. Eliminations

The tournament ends when one player accumulates all the chips in play, or when all remaining players will receive the same prize (for example, if the tournament awards 5 identical prizes, the tournament may end when there are 5 players left).
If two or more players are eliminated on the same hand, a player with more chips at the start of the hand finishes higher than a player with fewer chips. If all players started the hand with an identical number of chips, all players tie for that rank, and any prizes due to those players will be equally distributed between them. During hand-for-hand play (as described in rule 2.3), two or more players eliminated during a single 'synchronized' hand are treated as having been eliminated simultaneously, even if they are at different tables. Finishing order is then based on comparing stack sizes.
At certain stages of the tournament (for example, where the prize money jumps significantly with the next few players eliminated) and when there is more than one table remaining, the tournament may be played ‘hand for hand’. This means that if one table finishes its hand before the other table(s), that table waits for the other table(s) to finish before the next hand is dealt.
We use a ‘forward-moving button’ rule in tournaments. According to this rule, no player ever receives the button twice in a row; at the completion of every hand, the button is moved clockwise. The implication of this rule is that when players are eliminated, there may be players who get a reprieve from one or both blinds. Since these are basically random occurrences, no player will receive any long-term advantage.
When two players remain at the final table, the button will post the small blind, and act first on the opening round.
As players are eliminated from the tournament, the software will “break” tables to fill available empty seats or balance tables to ensure all tables have an equal (or as close to equal as possible) number of active players. The re-seating of players at broken tables is performed randomly and, although rare, may result in a player having to post multiple big blinds in a row. Players moved individually to balance tables will, when possible, be moved to similar positions relative to the blinds. When enough players have been eliminated, all players are brought together at the ‘final table’.

3. Breaks

The break schedule for a tournament can be found in the ‘Tournament Information’ section of the ‘Structure’ tab in the Tournament lobby. Break length and timing may vary from one event to the next. We offer two varieties of breaks:
1. Tournaments with synchronized breaks will go on break at 55 minutes past the hour. For example, a tournament which begins at 07:25 will go on break at 07:55, 08:55, 09:55 and every hour thereafter until the tournament ends. There can also be tournaments where the synchronized break only takes place every two hours. For example, a tournament like this, starting at 08:35, could go on break 08:55, 10:55, and every other hour thereafter.
  In rebuy tournaments of this type where add-ons are permitted, there will be an additional short break (usually 3 minutes) at the conclusion of the rebuy period, to allow for add-ons to be made.
2. Other tournaments will go on break at regular intervals throughout play. For example, a tournament beginning at 07:25 may go on break after every hour’s play, in which case the first break would begin at 08:25.
In all cases, the tournament will wait for hands at all tables to complete before the break period begins. This means that at some tables, the break will last slightly longer than at other tables.
Note that not all tournaments offer breaks (for example, Hyper-Turbo and some Heads-Up or Shootout-style events).

4. Disconnects and Sitting Out

By participating in a tournament, a player accepts the risk of Internet disconnection, due to problems with the connection between their computer and the servers, lag or freeze or some other problem in the player's computer or the Internet.
1. We do not accept any responsibility for a player disconnect except in the case of a server crash.
2. While each user is responsible for their own Internet connection, we make an effort to protect players who are disconnected during the final stages of a real money tournament, by allowing extra time to reconnect.
3. If a player times out during a hand, whether connected or disconnected, his or her hand will be folded if facing action, or may be checked if facing no action.
4. If a player is not connected before a hand starts, he or she will be dealt cards, and a blind and/or antes will be posted. There is no rule against a single player choosing to sit out; the player doing so will continue to have blinds and antes posted and cards dealt. Two or more players may not make any agreement to sit out simultaneously, whether at the same table or different tables.
5. In Shootout and Heads-Up events, if all players at a table are disconnected and / or sitting out for a large number of hands (typically 250 hands or more in real money tournaments), the match will end and the player with the most chips will advance to the next round.
While each user is responsible for his or her own Internet connection, we make an effort to help a player if he is disconnected during the final stages of a tournament that has a buy-in. We give the player disconnect extra time (DET) to act before his hand is folded.
For regular multi-table tournaments, the DET is available only at the final table. The DET is as follows:
- First action: 240 seconds
- Second action: 120 seconds
- Third action: 60 seconds
- Fourth (and subsequent) actions: No extra time added, but as the player is 'sitting-in', he/she will get the regular time to act before being folded.
For sit and go tournaments with fewer than forty-five players, the DET is available when you are down to the number of players that will be paid plus one. The DET is as follows:
- First action: 120 seconds
- Second action: 60 seconds
- Third (and subsequent) actions: No extra time added, but as the player is 'sitting-in', he/she will get the regular time to act before being folded.
For heads-up tournaments, the DET is available throughout the tournament. The DET is as follows:
- First action: 120 seconds
- Second action: 60 seconds
- Third (and subsequent) actions: No extra time added, but as the player is 'sitting-in', he/she will get the regular time to act before being folded.
For all actions above, the player will remain in 'sitting-in' state after being folded, and will therefore be given the indicated amount of time when action returns to them.
Note that for all tournaments, the DET is reset each time the user reconnects. So suppose a player is at the final table of a multi-table event, disconnects, and is down to 30 seconds per action, then reconnects. If they disconnect again, they'll start with 240 seconds for their next action.
During any time that the system is waiting on a disconnected player, the tournament clock (that raises blind levels) is stopped.
Note: The rules described above may vary between tournaments. DET may not be provided for each tournament; we reserve the right to change these rules without prior notification.

5. Chat

Players, whether in the hand or not, may not discuss the hand or their cards until the action is complete. Players are obligated to protect the other players in the tournament at all times. Discussing cards discarded or hand possibilities is not allowed. A penalty may be given for discussion of hands during play.

6. Unethical Play

Poker is an individual (not a team) game. Any action or chat intended to help another player is unethical and is prohibited. Unethical play, such as soft-play (playing less aggressively against a partner) and chip dumping (intentionally losing chips to a partner), may result in penalties, including seizure of funds from the offender's account and/or termination of the account. We routinely review game play to look for violations of our rules and to ensure the integrity of our games. It may be necessary to withhold player winnings until the completion of game play reviews.
With some exceptions (described below), a player may play on only one account during a tournament and may not ‘hand off’ his seat in mid-event to a different player. Violation of this rule may result in penalties including a warning, disqualification from the tournament (with partial or full forfeiture of winnings), and barring from our platform.
Examples of permissible exceptions that we give below are intended to describe examples of unplanned but serious events which are beyond your control.
Examples of things which are not beyond your control and therefore prohibited include:
1. Going to bed and letting someone else finish the tournament.
2. Entering a tournament then getting on an airplane, or embarking on any other pre-planned trip, while asking a friend to play your account while you change location.
3. Deciding that it would be fun to finish the Sunday Million at Joe's house then asking Joe to take over your account, while you make the 30-minute trip to his house.
4. You and a friend are playing in the same tournament. You agree that if he busts out before you do, he will take over playing your account.
5. Your husband is out of town for the weekend, but gives you his password. You log into both his account and yours and play both accounts in the same tournament.
6. You have progressed to the final few tables of a tournament and somebody offers you cash equity for your seat. You allow the other player to sign into your account, or you continue to finish the tournament following the explicit instructions given by him.
Examples of things which are beyond your control and therefore allowed, subject to us being able to corroborate with evidence, include:
1. A thunderstorm strikes your location and takes the power down for the surrounding area, so you call a friend to take over your account while you make alternative arrangements.
2. Your child is taken ill and you have to attend hospital, so you call a friend to take over your account.
3. You are playing in a tournament and lose internet access in your home due to a failure of your ISP. You call a friend and he takes over while you make alternative arrangements.

7. Server Issues

In the event of a server crash, the hands in progress at every table will be restored by rolling back those hands. Each player's chip count will be reset to the amount at the beginning of the hand. In special circumstances, when a tournament needs to be cancelled because of a crash or some other reason, players will be compensated according to the tournament cancellation policy (see below).

8. Deal Making

Deal making is allowed in tournaments, unless otherwise specified in the tournament lobby.
1. If all remaining players in a tournament agree to split the prize money according to a formula of their choosing, we will accept this agreement, and alter the originally published tourney payouts to reflect the numbers agreed to in the deal.
2. If all players remaining wish to make a deal, they should check the ‘Discuss A Deal’ box in the ‘Info’ tab of the Chat Box on the table. When all remaining players have checked this box, the table will automatically pause at the end of the current hand, and our customer support team will be notified. A staff member will come to the table to ensure a smoothly arranged deal. We cannot guarantee that a staff member will arrive in a timely fashion although every effort will be made to avoid delays.
3. Deal making is not available in all tournaments, but when deal making is available the ‘Discuss A Deal’ checkbox will be available in the ‘Info’ tab at the final table.
4. We will not participate in the deal making process, but will serve as a facilitator to ensure that everyone is in complete agreement before executing the transfers per the above conditions.
5. We reserve the right to require that any deal leave some money ‘on the table’ as the first place prize. This money required to be left in play will usually not be more than 5% of the total tournament prize pool, and ensures the integrity of the tournament's finish. The amount of money required to be left in play, if any, will usually be specified in the tournament lobby message.
6. Players may agree to leave more money ‘on the table’ for first or for other finishes.
7. It is the players' responsibility to determine total agreement. In the absence of oversight at the table by our support personnel, chat records alone will not necessarily validate an agreement. However, we may enforce a deal if it was clearly agreed to by all parties.
8. Only players at the final table may deal for the money, and all deals must include all remaining players.
9. Deals will only be enforced for real money tournaments.
10. Players may discuss any deal they wish. If the players request it, our staff will provide ICM, Chip Count or Even Split numbers to the players as possible deals.
  - ICM is the ‘Independent Chip Model’, a method of calculating each player’s equity in the remaining prize pool, based on the chip counts, the remaining payouts (less any money ‘on the table’), and the likelihood of each player winning each remaining prize in the tournament. This is the default method which will be offered to players.
  - Chip Count is a distribution of remaining prizes (less any money ‘on the table’) based solely on chip counts.
  - An Even Split divides the remaining prizes (less any money ‘on the table’) to all players.
  All deal numbers provided by our staff are not final until clearly agreed to by all players in Chat. Players may discuss variations on those numbers if they want; our staff will then repeat the agreed deal in Chat and ask the remaining players to all confirm their agreement.
11. Players are obligated to play out their heads-up matches in a normal way, regardless of the identity of their opponent. Any 'flipping', chip dumping, or other activity classified as ‘abnormal’ game play is prohibited. Violation of this rule may result in penalties up to and including barring from our platform with forfeiture of funds. This rule does not apply to the final match of a scheduled heads-up tournament.
Dealing for Tournament Leader Board or Sit & Go Leader Board points is not allowed. Doing so may result in the revocation of all awarded Leader Board points for the deal-making players in the tournament.

9. Bounties

In some specially designated tournaments, a cash ‘bounty’ will be placed on some or all of the tournament participants. A player who eliminates such an opponent wins the cash bounty.
There are three types of Bounty Tournament:
Knockout:
A bounty is placed on every entrant. You win a cash prize for each opponent you eliminate. There are also Progressive Knockouts, where your bonus increases as you eliminate players.
Team Pro Bounty: A bounty is placed on every member of Team PokerStars Pro who enters the tournament.
Fixed Bounty: A bounty is placed on a specific player in the tournament.
The bounty is awarded to the player who wins the ‘relevant pot’ for the hand in question, which may be the main pot or one of several side pots. ‘Relevant pot’ means the pot in which the bounty player was all-in for their final chips.
- For example:
  Daniel (100 chips), Barry (200 chips), Vanessa (400 chips), and Jake (1000 chips), are playing a hand in a No-Limit tournament.
  Daniel moves all-in, and Barry, Vanessa and Jake call. The pot which Daniel is eligible for is known as the ‘main pot’. Betting continues ‘on the side’, in side pot 1.
  Barry moves all-in, and Vanessa and Jake call. Betting continues between Vanessa and Jake in side pot 2.
  Vanessa moves all-in, and Jake calls.
  Barry shows the best hand. He wins side pot 1 and the main pot, eliminating Daniel. He receives the bounty for Daniel.
  Jake shows the next best hand, and wins side pot 2, eliminating Vanessa. Jake wins the bounty for Vanessa.
  Note that although Barry had the best hand overall, he didn’t have as many chips as Vanessa and therefore could not eliminate her. Jake however did have enough chips, and therefore wins Vanessa’s bounty.
In a split pot poker variant, such as Omaha Hi/Lo or Stud Hi/Lo, the bounty will always be awarded to the high hand. This is because a player cannot be eliminated by a low hand only.
In the event that two players show identical winning hands and therefore split the ‘relevant pot’ (or, in the case of a split pot poker variant as described in rule 9.2, split the high half of the ‘relevant pot’), any bounty awarded will be divided equally between the winners. Odd cents will be awarded in turn to the players in the earliest positions.
If a bounty player wins the tournament:
1. In a Knockout tournament, the player is awarded their own bounty.
2. In a Team Pro or Fixed Bounty tournament in which the Team Pro or Fixed Bounty player wins, the bounty is not awarded.
If a tournament advertises a bounty on a particular player, but that player does not register for the tournament, no bounty will be paid for that player.
Players may not make any agreement amongst themselves to eliminate a particular player in order to claim their bounty award. Such agreements are considered collusion, and are grounds for disqualification from the tournament or other penalties. For more information, see rules 6.1 and 6.2 above.

10. Cancellations

If we have to cancel a tournament for any reason, we make a concerted effort to compensate players in the fairest and most equitable way possible. There are three different possible compensation methods, depending on the exact circumstances and timing of the cancellation. Which method is applied is the sole discretion of the tournament Management.

Rollback: In this case, we are 'rolling back' the tournament as if it never happened - if you were registered for the tournament, you get your buy-in and fees (including rebuys, add-ons, and knockout entry if any) refunded. Also, the buy-in is refunded in exactly the same format with which you bought in. For instance, if you bought into a tournament using T$10 and $15 cash, then you would get back T$10 and $15 cash.
Roll Forward (No Players in the Money): If a tournament is cancelled and we do a 'roll forward' before the players are in the money, we refund each remaining player his tournament fee (and knockout bounty if appropriate), and then divide up the prize pool based on the following formula: 50% of the award pool is distributed evenly among all remaining players, and 50% of the award pool is distributed proportionally according to the chip count.
Roll Forward (Players are in the Money): When a tournament is cancelled, and players have already reached the money, we refund each remaining player his tournament fee (and knockout bounty if appropriate), and then divide up the prize pool based on the following formula: each player receives the minimum prize not yet awarded at the time of cancellation, and the remainder of the award pool distributed is distributed proportionally according to the chip count.
Heads-up Sit & Go tournaments (HU S&Gs) are handled differently because of their special nature. Particularly if one player stays connected while the other player does not, the first player can effectively win the tournament while the second player is disconnected. For that reason, we reserve the right to do a chip count distribution of any HU S&G that we believe was substantially affected by our site's downtime.
If a tournament with a guaranteed prize pool is cancelled, we will refund only the total buy-ins, not the guaranteed amount.
If a tournament with Fixed or Team Pro bounties is cancelled, we will refund only the regular prize pool (and knockout pool if applicable), not the Fixed or Team Pro bounties.
Tournaments which award tickets, satellite entries, or material prizes in addition to cash will only include the cash in the refund amount. Non-cash prizes will not be included in the roll forward or rollback equation.
We reserve the right to alter cancellation payouts or to alter this policy

11. Heads-Up Tournaments

In a Heads-Up tourney players compete in a multi-round event against a series of opponents until they are eliminated, or defeat the last player standing. Exact details of tournament structure and prize pool can be found in the tournament lobby.

Unless a tournament starts with exactly 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 players, some players in the heads-up tournament will have byes past the first round. Other players will play an extra first-round match, and the tournament will play down to 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 players before progressing to the second round. No players will have byes past the first round, and all byes are randomly selected from the field of entrants.

12. Early tournament payouts

Early payout tournaments work the same way as regular tournaments with one important exception:

Once the tournament reaches the paid positions, all eligible players willinstantly receive the minimum cash amount specified in the tournament's prize structure.
A pop-up message will appear on the table advising all eligible players they have received the prize.
The tournament will then carry on as usual. After a player is eliminated from the tournament (or wins it), a second payment for any difference between the minimum cash amount and the total prize earned will be credited to that player's account. If a higher prize hasn't been earned, there will be no second payment.

By making that initial tournament prize immediately available, players will have more options at their disposal to use their winnings.

Find out how the different hands compare in Texas Hold'em, Omaha and other games.

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Texas Hold’em is arguably the most famous of all poker games. If you are new to the game of poker, Texas Hold’em Poker is a great place to start. Hold ’em consists of two cards (“hole cards”) being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer — a series of three (“the flop”) then an additional single card (“the turn”) and another additional card (“the river”) – with players having the option to check, bet, raise or fold after each deal; i.e., betting may occur prior to the flop, “on the flop”, “on the turn”, and “on the river”.

Texas Hold’em Rules:

Texas Hold’em Poker is a community card game that can be played anywhere from 2-10 players.

One player acts as dealer. This position is called the button and it rotates clockwise after every hand.
The two players to the left of the dealer are called the small blind and the big blind, respectively.
These two positions require forced bets of a pre-determined amount and are the only players to put money in the pot before the cards are dealt (if no ante in place).
Every player then receives two cards face down. These are called “hole” cards.
Once all hole cards have been dealt, the first betting round begins with the player sitting immediately to the left of the big blind. This player can fold, call (match the amount of the big blind) or raise.
Betting then continues clockwise, with each player having the option to fold, call the amount of the highest bet before them, bet or raise.
When the first betting round is completed, three community cards are flipped face up on the table. This is called the flop.
The betting resumes, clockwise, with each player having the option to check (if no bet is in front of them), bet (or raise if a bet is before them), call or fold.
When the second round of betting is finished, a fourth community card is flipped face up on the table. This is called the turn.
The third round of betting commences with the first remaining player sitting to the left of the button.
When the third round of betting is over, a fifth community card is flipped face up on the table. This is called the river.
The fourth round of betting starts with the first remaining player seated to the left of the button. The betting continues to move clockwise.

The Details

Texas holdem tournament all-in rules poker

Now here are some more detailed looks at aspects of Texas Hold’em.

A standard hold ’em game showing the position of the blinds relative to the dealer button.

Hold ’em is normally played using small and big blinds – forced bets by two players. Antes (forced contributions by all players) may be used in addition to blinds, particularly in later stages of tournaments. A dealer “button” is used to represent the player in the dealer position; the dealer button rotates clockwise after each hand, changing the position of the dealer and blinds. The small blind is posted by the player to the left of the dealer and is usually equal to half of the big blind. The big blind, posted by the player to the left of the small blind, is equal to the minimum bet. In tournament poker, the blind/ante structure periodically increases as the tournament progresses. After one round of betting is done, the next betting round will start by the person after the big blind and small blind.

When only two players remain, special ‘head-to-head’ or ‘heads up’ rules are enforced and the blinds are posted differently. In this case, the person with the dealer button posts the small blind, while his/her opponent places the big blind. The dealer acts first before the flop. After the flop, the dealer acts last and continues to do so for the remainder of the hand.

Play of the Hold’em hand

Each player is dealt two private cards in hold ’em, which are dealt first. Play begins with each player being dealt two cards face down, with the player in the small blind receiving the first card and the player in the button seat receiving the last card dealt. (As in most poker games, the deck is a standard 52-card deck containing no jokers.) These cards are the players’ hole or pocket cards. These are the only cards each player will receive individually, and they will only (possibly) be revealed at the showdown.

The poker hand begins with a “pre-flop” betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind (or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing clockwise. A round of betting continues until every player has folded, put in all of their chips, or matched the amount put in by all other active players. Note that the blinds in the pre-flop betting round are counted toward the amount that the blind player must contribute. If all players call around to the player in the big blind position, that player may either check or raise.

After the pre-flop betting round, assuming there remain at least two players taking part in the hand, the dealer deals a flop, three face-up community cards. The flop is followed by a second betting round. All betting rounds begin with the player to the button’s left and continue clockwise. After the flop betting round ends, a single community card (called the turn or fourth street) is dealt, followed by a third betting round. A final single community card (called the river or fifth street) is then dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if necessary.

In all casinos, the dealer will “burn” a card before the flop, turn, and river. The burn occurs so players who are betting cannot see the back of the next community card to come. This is done for historical/traditional reasons, to avoid any possibility of a player knowing in advance the next card to be dealt.

The Showdown

If a player bets and all other players fold, then the remaining player is awarded the pot and is not required to show his hole cards. If two or more players remain after the final betting round, a showdown occurs. On the showdown, each player plays the best poker hand they can make from the seven cards comprising his two hole cards and the five community cards. A player may use both of his own two hole cards, only one, or none at all, to form his final five-card hand. If the five community cards form the player’s best hand, then the player is said to be playing the board and can only hope to split the pot, because each other player can also use the same five cards to construct the same hand.

If the best hand is shared by more than one player, then the pot is split equally among them, with any extra chips going to the first players after the button in clockwise order. It is common for players to have closely valued, but not identically ranked hands. Nevertheless, one must be careful in determining the best hand; if the hand involves fewer than five cards, (such as two-pair or three-of-a-kind), then “kickers” (the highest other card) are used to settle ties. Note that the card’s numerical rank is of sole importance; suit values are irrelevant in Hold’em. The last player to bet is the first player to show his hand.