Texas Holdem Poker

This section will inform you on gaming procedures, rules, policies and limits of AtHomeSportsbook.com’s game of Texas Holdem Poker. Click here for a screen shot.

is an abbreviation for Rules.

• Dealing the Game of Texas Holdem Poker

• Texas Holdem Poker Blind Rules

• AtHomeSportsbook.com Poker Games

Before the Deal:

• Players will buy-in for the posted amount.

• Selected players will post blinds.

The first blind is called the “small blind”. This bet is usually half the minimum bet of the game, although in some games, the fraction is slightly different. In $15-30, the small blind is $7, and in $5-10, the small blind is $2.

So, in a $2-4 game the small blind will be $1. The second blind is called the “large blind” and is always the same size as the game’s minimum bet, e.g., in a 5-10 game, the large blind is $5.

The player directly left of the button will have the “small blind.” The player directly to the left of the small blind will have the “large blind” of the full amount or the lowest game limit.

The game will now advance to each player seated asking to fold, call, or raise until we reach the large blind for an action decision. If no one has raised by the time the play comes back around to the large blind, the large blind has the option to “check” his own BLIND wager or raise.

Once all players have completed the first round of wagering, they will proceed to the flop.

But before we “flop” anything, we must burn a card. The dealer will deal face down one card into the pot. After the burn card, the dealer will deal three cards face up in the center of the poker table. These three cards are called “community cards” which are available to all players for potential use to make a poker hand. The area in which these cards lie on the table is commonly referred to as the “board”.

The look of the flop:

Now the flop has landed on the “board” and all players now have five cards available to make their hand, the two “hole” cards that were dealt on the opening round and now three “community cards” which all players may use. The rule of the determination of the action is as follows.

After the opening deal, the player who is seated closest to the left of the button shall have the initial action for the remainder of the game. If the player who has the button folds, then the button is still active and will remain in front of that player’s seat to keep position a constant throughout that game.

The player that has the action may check or bet. As soon as one player chooses to bet, then the other players in the hand can no longer check; they can only fold, call or raise the amount that is proper for that round (the lower betting limit on the first round and on the flop, and the higher betting limit on the turn and the river).

At this point the players have access to the four cards on the board and their two hole cards. The game will now declare who has the action, which always begins with the player still remaining in the hand who is closest to the left of the button.

The bet on the turn is the higher level of the betting limit. In a $2-4 game, this would be $4. All raises will be in $4 increments with a cap of three raises. If there are just two players remaining, the number of raises is unlimited at our real money tables.

However, in tournament play, the three-raise limit applies even if there are only two players left in a hand.

The Flop Cards turn River

River Look:

At this point, five cards are on the board and two hole cards are in the players’ hands. The action again starts with the first player still remaining in the hand who is closest to the left of the button. All checks, bets, raises, and folds will be completed and then a showdown will begin.

• If in the event we have a new player to the game, then three (3) actions will occur.

  1. If the new player is seated left of the blind, then he/she may choose to “post” the large blind or “wait.” If the player does post, then his/her wager is active.
  2. If the new player is seated in the large blind, then he/she is treated as such.
  3. If the player is seated between the button and any blind, then he/she must wait for the button to pass.

• Missed large blind. If a player misses the large blind for any reason, then that player may not play in any hands until the sum of all blinds are made up. The game will place a “ML” button in that seat to declare the missed large blind. The game will ask the next active player to the left to post the large blind for the hand. If the missed player returns to the game before the large blind comes back to his/her seat, the player is required make up the sum of all blinds. “Post all.” The small blind portion is dead and must be put into the pot before the hand is dealt. However, a player may avoid posting dead by waiting for the large blind to arrive at his/her seat naturally.
  
• Missed small blind. If a player misses the small blind for any reason, then that player may not play in any hands until the small blind is made up. The game will place a “MS” button in that seat to declare the missed small blind. The game will ask the next active player to the left of the large blind to post a large blind for the hand as well. The original large blind player will “catch a break” and get the button on the next hand. The player who had missed the small cannot return until after the button has passed. If the missed player returns to the game before the large blind comes back to his/her seat, the player is required make up the small blind. The small blind is dead and must be put into the pot before the hand is dealt. However, a player may avoid posting dead by waiting for the large blind to arrive at his/her seat naturally.

1. A bet that a player makes that uses up all of the chips he has remaining at the table. For example, in a 15-30 game, a player who only had $7 left at the table would be allowed to use that $7 to call or bet. If there is only one other player left in the hand at that point, the betting has ended for that hand, and the system will deal out the remainder of the cards quickly and automatically. If there are three or more players remaining in the hand when someone runs out of money and goes all in, a “side pot” is created, which is contested only by the players who still have money. It is possible, in multi-way hands, for more than one side pot to be created, if more than one player runs out of money at different times. If you are involved in a side pot, you may win that, even if you cannot beat the all-in player for the main pot.
   
   Note that even if you have more chips in your account at the cashier, you cannot add more money in the middle of a hand. We suggest, if your funds run very low, that you add more chips to those you have at the table before the next hand begins.
   
   Finally, note that using an all-in in this manner—running out of money in the middle of a hand—does not use up one of the two all-ins you are allowed per day, as explained below. Type 2 all-ins are used up only by a failure to respond, not by running out of money.
   
   
2. If a player fails to act in time—for example, if an emergency calls him to another room in the house, or if he loses his connection—he is treated as if he were all-in for that hand. This feature protects the money the player already has in the pot in case of a bad connection or a home emergency.
   
   Players in AtHomeSportsbook.com games are given two “emergency” all-ins per 24 hour period. If you use up your two all-ins, AtHomeSportsbook.com strongly suggests that you not play until you have sent an email to AtHomeSportsbook.com support explaining why you used up two all-ins, and requesting an all-in reset. If you play with zero all-ins in your account, you could lose the money you have in a pot if you lose your connection.

AtHomeSportsbook.com Texas Holdem Poker Games

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