Robert's Rules of Poker

The Standard for Home Games

These rules represent the standard for home poker games, adapted from Robert Ciaffone's widely used rule set. They cover the most common situations you will encounter running a cash game or tournament at home.

Conduct and Etiquette

Players should be courteous to other players and the dealer at all times.
Avoid slow play and unnecessary delays. Act in turn and be prepared to act when it is your turn.
Keep your cards on the table and visible at all times. Protect your hand with a chip or card protector.
Do not discuss your hand or another player's hand while a hand is in progress.
Do not reveal cards you have folded, or the contents of your hand during play.
Electronic devices should not be used at the table in a manner that slows the game.
Angle shooting — attempting to gain an unfair advantage through deceptive or unethical actions — is not acceptable.
Splashing the pot (throwing chips in an uncontrolled manner) is not allowed.
String bets — announcing a call and then adding a raise, or making a bet in multiple motions without first announcing a raise — are not permitted.

Procedures

Making Decisions

Act in turn. Acting out of turn is penalized in a casino; in a home game, it is strongly discouraged.
A verbal declaration (call, raise, fold) is binding when it is your turn to act.
A player who acts out of turn may be required to honor their action if the game state has not changed, at the discretion of the table.
Players have the right to know the amount of a bet before acting.
You may ask to see the remaining players' chip counts before acting.

Playing Procedures

Cards speak: the best hand wins the pot even if a player miscalls their hand.
Players are responsible for protecting their own hand. A hand that is mucked or otherwise unreadable cannot win.
A player must show all cards at showdown to be eligible to win. A player may not show only part of their hand.
The winning player must show all cards to claim the pot. A losing player is not required to show.
In all-in situations, all cards must be turned face-up before the last card is dealt or the remaining street is run.

Poker Rules

Buy-In

The minimum buy-in is typically 20 times the big blind; the maximum is set by house rules.
Players may not take chips off the table during play (going "south" is not permitted).
Rebuys are permitted between hands. A player who has gone all-in may rebuy for the next hand.

Shuffle and Cut

The deck must be shuffled before each hand. A riffle shuffle (at least twice) followed by a cut is standard.
Any player may request a reshuffle before the cut.
The player to the dealer's right cuts the cards. The cut must result in at least five cards in each portion.
If the cut is performed incorrectly, the deck must be reshuffled and recut.

Misdeals

A misdeal occurs when the hand cannot be played fairly due to a dealing error. A misdeal requires a redeal before any player has looked at their cards (in most cases). Misdeals include:

Two or more cards exposed during the deal.
Cards dealt out of order (in community card games, this is the dealer's position that matters).
An incorrect number of cards dealt to any player before action starts.
A card dealt to a non-active seat that should not have received one.

Dead Hands

A hand may be declared dead if:

A player throws their cards away in a forward motion (mucks).
A player's cards intermingle with the muck pile.
The hand is not protected and is picked up by the dealer.
A player acts out of turn and the action changes before it returns to them.

Irregularities

An exposed card (flashed) during the deal is dealt face-up; the player may accept it or request a replacement (house rule varies).
A joker found in the deck renders the hand a misdeal.
Extra cards introduced into the deck (a boxed card) that are discovered during play: the hand is declared dead; chips remain in the pot and carry over to the next hand.
If the deck is found to be short of cards, the burn cards and/or discards may be reshuffled (without the muck) to complete the board in community card games.

Betting and Raising

Check, call, bet, raise, and fold are the available actions depending on the current betting state.
A bet or raise must be at least equal to the previous bet or raise in the same round.
In No-Limit: a raise must be at least as large as the previous raise. Minimum raise = size of previous raise.
In Limit: bets and raises are fixed at the specified increment.
In most home games, raises are capped at three or four raises per betting round (except heads-up play, which is uncapped).
Putting a single chip in the pot that is larger than the bet required is a call unless the player verbally announces a raise.
An all-in bet less than a full raise does not reopen betting for players who have already acted.

Showdown

The last player to bet or raise must show first at showdown. If there was no bet on the final street, the player to the left of the dealer shows first (or the first active player to the dealer's left).
Cards speak: if a player shows a better hand than they announced, the hand counts.
Players may request to see any called hand (a hand that was called at showdown) even after the pot has been pushed.
Deliberately miscalling a hand to induce an opponent to muck is unethical and may result in a penalty.

Ties

When two hands are identical in rank, the pot is split equally.
Suits are never used to break ties in standard poker.
An odd chip when splitting the pot goes to the player closest to the dealer's left.

Button and Blinds

The button (dealer puck) designates the nominal dealer position, rotating clockwise after each hand.
The small blind is posted by the player immediately to the left of the button.
The big blind is posted by the player two seats to the left of the button (immediately left of the small blind).
If a player is away from the table when it is their turn to post a blind, they post upon return or sit out until the big blind reaches them.
In a new game or when a player is seated, the player must post a big blind equal to the current big blind, or wait for the big blind to reach them.
The big blind counts as a full bet; the big blind player has the option to raise even if there has been no raise before them.

Specific Games and Variants

No-Limit

Any player may bet any amount up to all of their chips at any time.
A raise must be at least as large as the previous raise in that round. Minimum raise = the amount of the previous raise.
In heads-up play: if the small blind is all-in for less than the big blind, the big blind may raise.

Texas Hold'em

Each player receives two hole cards. Five community cards are dealt in three stages: the Flop (3 cards), Turn (1 card), River (1 card).
Players make the best five-card hand using any combination of their two hole cards and the five community cards.
A player may play the board (use all five community cards as their hand), but they must declare it at showdown.
See the full Texas Hold'em rules page for detailed play-through.

Omaha

Each player receives four hole cards. Five community cards are dealt as in Hold'em.
A player must use exactly two of their four hole cards and exactly three of the five community cards to make their hand. This rule is absolute.
See the full Omaha rules page for examples and play-through.

Omaha Hi-Lo (8-or-Better)

Played like Omaha, but the pot is split between the best high hand and the best qualifying low hand.
A qualifying low hand must have five unpaired cards, each 8 or lower (aces count as low).
If no player qualifies for low, the best high hand wins the entire pot ("scoop").
A player may use different combinations of two hole cards for their high and low hands.

Seven-Card Stud

No community cards. Each player receives their own unique seven cards: two down, four up, one down.
Betting begins on Third Street with the player showing the lowest door card (who must "bring in").
From Fourth Street on, the player showing the highest visible hand acts first.
See the full Seven-Card Stud rules page for street-by-street play.

Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo / Razz

In Stud Hi-Lo, the pot is split between the best high hand and the best A-5 low hand (8-or-Better qualifier applies).
In Razz, the lowest A-5 hand wins the entire pot. Straights and flushes are ignored. The highest door card brings in on Third Street.
See the full Razz rules page for detailed low hand rankings and play-through.

Kill Pot

A kill pot rule can add excitement to fixed-limit games. See our Kill Pot rules page for the full rule set.

Glossary

A

Action — The act of betting, calling, raising, or folding. Also, a game where there is a lot of betting and raising.

All-in — A player who has put all remaining chips into the pot. They can win only the portion of the pot they are eligible for.

Ante — A forced bet posted by all players (or specific players, depending on the game) before cards are dealt.

B

Backdoor — A draw that needs both the turn and river to complete (e.g., backdoor flush draw).

Bad beat — Losing a hand when you were a significant statistical favorite.

Big blind — The larger of the two forced bets in Hold'em and Omaha, posted by the player two seats left of the button.

Blank — A community card that appears to help neither player's hand.

Bluff — Betting or raising with a weak hand, hoping opponents will fold.

Board — The community cards in Hold'em and Omaha; or the face-up cards in Stud.

Bring-in — The forced bet on Third Street in Stud games, posted by the player with the highest (or lowest in Razz) door card.

Button — The disk or token that marks the dealer position.

Buy-in — The amount of chips you purchase to enter a game.

C

Call — Match the current bet to stay in the hand.

Cards speak — The rule that the best hand wins regardless of what the player announces.

Check — Decline to bet while remaining in the hand (only possible when no bet has been made).

Check-raise — Check, then raise after another player bets.

Chop — Split the pot due to a tie; or agree to return blinds when all other players fold.

Community cards — Cards dealt face-up in the center of the table, shared by all players.

D

Dead hand — A hand that is ruled invalid and cannot win the pot.

Dead money — Chips in the pot from players who have folded.

Door card — The first face-up card in Stud games.

Draw — An incomplete hand that needs one or more cards to become a made hand.

F

Fish — An inexperienced or losing player.

Flop — The first three community cards dealt face-up in Hold'em and Omaha.

Fold — Discard your hand and forfeit your interest in the pot.

H

Heads-up — A hand played between exactly two players.

Hole cards — Cards dealt face-down to each player.

K

Kicker — An unmatched card used to break ties between hands of equal rank.

Kill — A forced overblind posted by a player who won the previous pot (or two consecutive pots). See Kill Pot rules.

L

Limit — A betting structure where bets and raises are fixed amounts.

Live blind — A blind that has the option to raise, even if no one else has raised.

M

Muck — The discard pile; or to discard your hand.

N

No-limit — A betting structure where a player may bet any amount, up to all their chips.

Nuts — The best possible hand given the cards on the board.

O

Outs — Cards that will improve your hand to likely win the pot.

Overpair — A pocket pair higher than any card on the board.

P

Position — A player's place in the betting order relative to the dealer button. Later position is advantageous.

Pot — The sum of all bets and antes in the center of the table.

Pot-limit — A betting structure where a player may bet up to the total amount currently in the pot.

R

Rake — A percentage taken from each pot by the house. Home games typically do not use a rake.

River — The fifth and final community card in Hold'em and Omaha; or the seventh (final) card in Stud.

S

Satellite — A small tournament in which the prize is an entry to a larger tournament.

Semi-bluff — A bet with a drawing hand that has potential to improve to the best hand.

Set — Three of a kind made with a pocket pair and one community card.

Short-stack — A player with relatively few chips.

Showdown — The point at which all active players reveal their hands to determine a winner.

Side pot — A separate pot created when a player is all-in and other players continue betting.

Small blind — The smaller of the two forced bets, posted by the player immediately left of the button.

Slow roll — Deliberately taking excessive time before showing a winning hand at showdown. Considered very poor etiquette.

Splash the pot — Toss chips into the pot in an uncontrolled manner. Not permitted.

String bet — A bet made in multiple motions (going back to your stack after beginning a bet) without a prior verbal declaration. Not permitted.

Stud — A family of games where players receive face-up and face-down cards individually (no community cards).

T

Tell — A physical or behavioral clue that reveals information about a player's hand.

Tilt — Playing poorly due to emotional distress, usually after a bad beat.

Turn — The fourth community card in Hold'em and Omaha.

W

Wheel — A-2-3-4-5, the best possible low hand in A-5 lowball (Razz).

Wired pair — A pair dealt to a player in their hole cards.