Rules & Games

• Texas Hold 'Em Poker
• Omaha Poker
• Seven Card Stud
• Poker Rank Of Hands
• Table Stakes - All-In
• Poker Terms

Texas Hold 'Em Poker

• A maximum of ten players are allowed per table.
• A flat disk called “Button” shall be used to indicate an imaginary dealer.
• At the commencement of play, the dealer will deal each player one card face up to determine the placement of the Button. Whoever receives the highest ranking card will start with the Button.
• The Button will move around the table in a clockwise manner after each round of play. The player to the immediate left of the Button is required to place a small Blind Bet.
• The player to the immediate left of the small Blind Bet is required to place a big Blind Bet. The amount and number of Blind Bets will be posted on a Poker table sign.
• Starting with the player to the immediate left of the Button and continuing in a clockwise rotation around the Poker table, the dealer shall deal two rounds of cards face down to each player, the player with the Button being the last player to receive a card each time.
• Each player in turn, in a clockwise rotation starting with the player to the left of the big Blind Bet, has the option to Call, Raise or Fold. If no player has raised the bet, then the option to raise is given to both Blind Bets. After the last player has responded to the most recent bet, the betting round shall be considered complete.
• The dealer will tap the table in front of the rack, burn the top card of the deck, place it under the pot and proceed to deal three community cards (the Flop) face-up in the center of the table. The next betting round will begin with the option to bet or check belonging to the first player to the left of the Button who has not folded. Each player may, in clockwise rotation, fold, call, raise the bet or, if preceding players have not made a bet, make an opening bet or check. The betting round shall be considered complete when each player has either folded or called in response to the most recent bet.
• Upon completion of the betting round the dealer will again burn the top card of the deck and then deal a fourth community card (the Turn) face up to the right of the Flop.
• The next betting round will begin with the option to bet or check belonging to the first player to the left of the Button who has not folded.
• Upon completion of the betting round the dealer will again burn the top card of the deck and then deal a fifth community card (the River) face-up to the right of the Turn card.
• The final betting round will begin with the option to check or bet belonging to the first player to the left of the Button who has not folded. If more than one player remains in the round of play after the final betting round has been completed, a showdown shall be used to determine the winner of the pot.
• Each player remaining in the game will turn his cards over and the dealer will read the cards to determine the highest ranking five-card high Poker hand using, in any combination, their own two cards and the five community cards.
• The winner of the pot will be the player with the highest-ranking five-card high Poker hand.
• In the event of a tie the excess chip is awarded to the player to the left of the dealer Button that is in the pot.

Omaha Poker

• A flat disk called “Button” shall be used to indicate an imaginary dealer.
• At the commencement of play, the dealer will deal each player one card face-up to determine the placement of the Button. Whoever receives the highest ranking card will start with the Button.
• The Button will move around the table in a clockwise manner after each round of play.
• The player to the immediate left of the Button is required to place a small Blind Bet. The player to the immediate left of the small Blind Bet is required to place a big Blind Bet. The amount and number of all Blind bets will be posted on a Poker table sign. Starting with the player to the immediate left of the Button and continuing in a clockwise rotation around the Poker table, the dealer shall deal four rounds of cards face down to each player, with the player with the Button being the last player to receive a card each time.
• Each player in turn, in a clockwise rotation starting with the player to the left of the big Blind Bet, has the option to Call, Raise or Fold. If no player has raised the bet, then the option to raise is given to both Blind Bets. After the last player has responded to the most recent bet, the betting round shall be considered complete.
• The dealer will tap the table in front of the rack, burn the top card of the deck, place it under the chips in the pot and proceed to deal three community cards or (the Flop) face-up in the center of the table.
• The next betting round shall commence with the option to bet or check belonging to the first player to the left of the Button who has not folded. Each player may, in clockwise rotation, fold, call, raise the bet or, if preceding players have not made a bet, make an opening bet or check. The betting round shall be considered complete when each player has either folded or called in response to the most recent bet.
• Upon completion of the betting round the dealer will again burn the top card of the deck and then deal a fourth community card (the Turn) face-up to the right of the Flop.
• The next betting round will begin with the option to bet or check belonging to the first player to the left of the Button who has not folded. Upon completion of the betting round the dealer will again burn the top card of the deck and then deal a fifth community card (the River) face-up to the right of the Turn.
• The final betting round will begin with the option to bet or check belonging to the first player to the left of the Button who has not folded.
• If more than one player remains in the round of play after the final betting round has been completed, a showdown shall be used to determine the winner of the pot.
• Each player remaining in the game shall form a five-card Poker hand by using two of the four cards dealt to the player and three of the five community cards.

Seven Card Stud

• Each Poker table shall be restricted to a maximum of eight players. Each player who plays in a round of play may be required to place an ante. Starting with the first player to the left of the dealer and continuing in a clockwise rotation around the Poker table, the dealer will deal two rounds of cards face down and one round of cards face up to each player. Once each player has received three cards, the first betting round shall begin by comparing the up-card of each player. The player with the lowest card will start the betting round. In the event that two or more up-cards are of the same rank, the up-cards shall then be ranked by suit with the highest to lowest ranked suits in order as follows: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.
• Following the bet placed by the player with the low card, each following player, proceeding in a clockwise rotation, may Fold, Call or Raise the bet. After the last player has responded to the most recent bet, the betting round is complete.
• Upon completion of the first betting round, the dealer will bring the chips into the center of the table and burn the top card of the deck and place it under the pot. Starting with the first remaining player to the dealer’s left, a fourth card face up will be dealt to each player remaining in the game. The player with the highest-ranking Poker hand showing will initiate the action by betting or checking. If the highest ranking Poker hand showing is held by two or more players, the player closest to the left of the dealer shall be required to bet or check.
• Following the initial bet or check, each subsequent player, proceeding in a clockwise rotation, may fold, call, raise or, if the preceding players have not made a bet, Check. Each player may check until a bet has been made. Once a bet has been made, the next player in the clockwise rotation may fold, call or raise.
• After the last player has responded to the most recent bet, the betting round is complete. The dealer will then deal two additional rounds of cards face up to each player remaining in the game. Each round will be followed by a betting round. Prior to each round of cards being dealt, the dealer shall burn the top card of the deck and place it under the pot. If there are enough cards remaining in the deck/stub, each remaining player will be dealt a seventh and final card. If there are not enough cards remaining in the deck to give each remaining player a seventh card, the dealer may shuffle the burn cards, burn a card, then deal a seventh card to each player. If there are not enough cards remaining, including the burn cards, to issue a seventh card the top card of the deck shall be burned and a common card shall be dealt face up in the center of the table. If there is one or no card remaining in the deck when a common card is to be dealt, the dealer shall shuffle the burn cards, burn a card and then deal the common card.
• If more than one player remains after the final betting round, a showdown will be used to determine the winner of the pot. Each player remaining in the game shall form a five-card Poker hand from the seven cards that they were dealt. The winner of the pot will be the player with the highest-ranking five-card high hand.

Poker Rank Of Hands

All games are played with a 52-card deck; a joker is not used.

After the final betting is completed, each player will select the best five cards from their hand according to the following table which lists the ranking of hands, from highest to lowest, for higher Poker.

1. Royal Flush - five cards of the same suit consisting of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and ten
2. Straight Flush - five cards of the same suit in sequence. An ace high Straight Flush is a “Royal Flush”, which is the highest-ranking straight flush; while an ace, two, three, four and five is the lowest-ranking straight flush
3. Four Of A Kind - four cards of the same rank, regardless of suit
4. Full House - three cards of the same rank and two cards of the same rank
5. Flush - any five cards of the same suit
6. Straight - five cards in sequence, regardless of suit: with an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and ten being the highest-ranking straight and an Ace, two, three, four and five being the lowest-ranking straight
7. Three Of A Kind - three cards of the same rank, regardless of suit
8. Two Pair - two cards of the same rank, regardless of suit, two different cards of the same rank, regardless of suit
9. One Pair - two cards of the same rank, regardless of suit
10. High Hand - the rank of a hand containing no pair is determined by the highest-ranking card (or cards) in the player’s hand

The ranking of the cards used in low Poker, for the determination of winning hands, in order of highest to lowest shall be: King, Queen, Jack, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two and Ace. All suits shall be considered equal in rank. The ranking of a low Poker hand as determined by the holding of a full five card hand shall be the opposite of the rankings for a higher Poker hand; provided, however, that straights and flushes shall not be considered for purposes of determining a winning hand at low Poker.

Table Stakes - All-In

All games at Live! Casino & Hotel are “table stakes” games. A player must first buy-in for the minimum amount (but not higher than) stated on the table play card. The player may draw down from the buy-in amount as the game progresses; however, the stake must remain openly visible on the table or it may not be considered a stake. A player may not remove any part of their stake from the table once it has been part of the table unless that player is quitting the game. Players may remove a small amount from their stake for the purpose of incidentals so long as it does not substantially alter their stake. Players may not add to their stake during a hand.

Poker Terms

• "All In" describes a player who has no funds on the Poker table to continue participating in a round of play but, who still retains the right to contend for that portion of the pot in which the player has already placed a bet
• "Ante" means a predetermined wager which each player is required to make, in some Poker games, prior to any cards being dealt, in order to participate in the round of play
• "Bet" means an action by which a player places gaming chips into the pot on any betting round
• "Betting Around" means a complete wagering cycle in a hand of Poker after all players have called or folded
• "Blind Bet" means a mandatory wager in some Poker games, which only players sitting in specific betting positions at the Poker tables shall be required to place prior to looking at any cards
• "Burn Card" means a card taken from the top of the deck that is discarded face-down, which is not in play and the identity remains unknown
• "Button" means an object which is moved clockwise around the table to denote an imaginary Dealer and thereby determines the betting and dealing sequence
• "Call" means a wager made in an amount equal to the immediately preceding wager
• "Check" means that a player waives the right to initiate the betting in a betting round but, retains the right to act if another player initiates the betting
• "Common Card" means, in any game of stud Poker, a card which is dealt face-up if there are insufficient cards left in the deck to deal each player a card individually and which can be used by all players at the showdown
• "Community Cards" means cards which are dealt face-up and can be used by all players to form their best hand
• "Cover Card" means a plastic card used during the cut process and then to conceal the bottom card of the deck
• "Fold" means the withdrawal of a player from a round of play by discarding the player’s hand of cards during a betting round and refusing to equal a wager
• "Forced Bet" means a wager which is required to start the wagering on the first betting round
• "Fouled Hand" means a hand that either has an improper number of cards or has come into contact with other cards in such a way as to render it impossible to determine accurately which cards are contained in the hand
• "High" means a game of Poker in which the highest hand wins the pot
• "High/Low Split Eight or Better" means a version of high/low split Poker in which a winning low hand must satisfy an eligibility requirement
• "High/Low Split" means a form of Poker in which there is a winner for both the highest and lowest ranking hands
• "Hole Cards" means any cards dealt to a player face-down
• "Low" means a game of Poker in which the lowest hand wins the pot
• "Opening Bet" means the first bet in a round of play
• "Pot" means the amount which is awarded to the winning player or players at the conclusion of a round of play and is equal to the total amount anted and bet by players during the round of play, less any rake extracted
• "Protected Hand" means a hand of cards which the player is physically holding or has placed under one or more gaming chips
• "Raise" means a bet in an amount greater than the immediately preceding bet in that betting round
• "Rake" means the amount of gaming chips or coins collected by the dealer as Poker revenue in accordance with the regulations
• "Round of Play" means, for ante games of Poker, the process by which cards are dealt. Bets are placed and the winner of the pot is determined and paid in accordance with the regulations
• "Showdown" means the action of revealing the hands of each player in order to determine who shall win the pot
• "Side Pot" means a separate pot formed when one or more players are all-in
• "Suit" means one of the four categories of cards including: Diamond, Spade, Club, or Heart
• "Up-Cards" means, in a game of Stud Poker, any card dealt to a player face-up