Texas Holde'm Rules
Each game is played with a standard 52-card deck. There can be a
minimum of 2 to the maximum of the screens available. Each player is dealt a
card; the highest card will then be assigned the “dealer button”. A “dealer
button" (a red graphic shown above the players name on the screen: 
) is used to indicate the position of the player who would be dealing the cards
as if the players were actually dealing the cards themselves. In the event of a
tie, the first player to join the table gets the button.
The player holding the button acts last and thus has a positional advantage
that remains throughout the hand. After each hand, the button is moved one
position clockwise, so that all players in the game have, after a full round,
had exactly the same number of opportunities to hold positional advantage.
The two players on the button's immediate left must post "blind"
bets...that is, amounts they place in the pot before they see their cards. The
Administrator predetermines the size of the blinds. Typically, the player in
the very first position posts a blind bet one-half the size (called the "small
blind") of the player in the second position who bets
a full minimum bet (called the "big blind").
In No Limit games there is an option to specify
the amount to be raised as well (described below).
All participants in the Texas Hold'em game are now dealt two cards
which appear beneath the flap on the lower left of the players screen. These
cards belong exclusively to their "owners," and are not seen by the
other players at any time until the showdown at the end of the hand. You can
see your cards by lifting the flap and using the other hand to hide them from
other players.
A round of betting takes place during this point, which is called "before
the flop" or "pre-flop."
In the pre-flop betting round, the player in third position begins because a
blind wager has already been made by the players to the immediate left of the
dealer. The choices will appear to the lower right of the players screen.
The player can do any of the following:
a) Fold. If a player folds, is out of the hand permanently,
and cannot participate again until the next deal of the cards. His cards will
no longer show on his screen and the cards on the upper screen will be also
removed.
b) Call, by matching the size of the last bet, which may be the big
blind (the amount will be displayed on the “Call” button)
c) Raise,
• Limit Hold’em: The allowed amount of the raise will be displayed
on the “Raise” button for a “Limit”
• Pot Limit Hold’em: Buttons will appear for both the minimum raise and the
maximum raise.
• No Limit Hold’em: Buttons will appear for both the minimum raise and for
other than minimum. When the other than minimum raise button is activated a
numeric keypad will appear in the screen area with which the player can enter
the amount. Error messages will indicate reentry for illegal entry or entry
over the table stake of the player.
The action continues in clockwise fashion around the table, with
each player in turn having the option to fold, call or raise. The limit to the
number of raises is defaulted to four raises for limit Hold’em games and is
unlimited for pot limit and no limit Hold’em games. When a game has only two
players (heads-up) the number of raises is unlimited, regardless of the type of
Texas Hold'em game being played.
Play continues on each betting round until all players have matched the total
raises in the round or folded. If no one had raised, the player in the big
blind would have an opportunity to raise, called "the option".
With the pre-flop betting complete, (the Flop) three cards appear face-up in
the upper screen of all players. In Texas Hold'em, these "community"
cards belong to everyone,
A second round of betting follows.
In the second betting round, the player closest to the left of the button, who
is still in the hand, acts first. His screen will indicate his turn by
displaying the options available to him.
a) Check, which means to decline to wager now but to retain the
option to call or raise bets made by other players; or
b) Bet, The same buttons will appear as above depending on the game.
After the second round of betting concludes, a fourth community
card (the Turn or Fourth Street) appears in the upper screen of each player.
The third round of betting is initiated at the active player to the immediate
left of the dealer button. The size of the minimum bet doubles in this round.
After this third round of betting concludes, the fifth and final community
card, called "the River," or "Fifth Street". Betting is
identical to the pattern used on the third (Turn) round.
At the end of this fourth round of betting, any players still remaining in the
hand turn their cards over. (If at any point during the hand, one player makes
a bet that all others decline to call (thus they folded), the hand is over
immediately, and the player who made the final wager takes the pot with the
option of showing his/her cards or not.)
In Texas Hold'em, the player who can assemble the best five-card hand, out of
the seven possible (the two in their hands and the five in the middle) wins the
pot. The players can thus use two, one, or none of their "private"
first two cards. Although it is unusual to use none of one's private cards, it
is possible, if the five cards on the board form a strong hand such as a
straight, flush, or full house. (see pay table for details)
The winning combinations are based on the Texas Hold'em Pay
table structure.
Fat Diamond game is based on the Dead button rule – The big
blind is posted by the player due for it, and the small blind and button are
positioned accordingly, even if this means the small blind or the button is
placed in front of an empty seat, giving the same player the privilege of last
action on consecutive hands.
There is one special case, where the player who was supposed to get
the dealer button leaves the hand, then the empty seat will get the button; in
this case the dealer button will be assigned to an empty seat. From that moment
on, the button will follow the next player to the left.
During the betting sequence, one or more player may have not enough
credits to match a bet, thus goes all-in. All-in players are only eligible to
win up to the point where they were actively playing; meaning that once a
player goes all-in with less credits than the rest a side pot is created and
amounts exceeding the max amount bet per player, in a way that they all
contributed the same amount, will go to the newly created pot.
Each pot requires a decision on who wins it; therefore not all players are
eligible to win all pots, although some players may be eligible to opt for all
pots and win them accordingly. The final winning decision will be given on per
pot basis.
Rules to join a game once it has started:
Before a player can join a game, he/she must pay the equivalent to the big
blind. Two options are given to the player:
a) Pay big blind and join next hand.
The player is allowed to join the next hand and is prompted to post the big
blind. There could be multiple big blinds in this hand and one or none small
blind.
b) Wait until big blind turn falls in your seat.
The player must wait until the turn to post the big blind falls in his/her
seat.
c) If a player move to another seat then the options above will also apply
One special case when joining a game is when only two players are
sitting at the table and a third is looking to join. In this case the small
blind is omitted and two big blinds are posted.
Another case is when there is at least one player joining in a seat
between the small blind and the big blind, this player is paying the
"blind" fee instead of waiting for a big blind turn; when this
happens the dealer button will go back to the player who in the last hand
posted the big blind. The basis of this case is to follow the player due for
big blind rule. The dealer button could be at an empty seat. From that moment
on, the button will follow the next player to the left.
The house will take a rake off the pot on every hand or may decide to charge a
session fee after a certain period of time, or perhaps a collection fee taken
from the pot at the end of a hand; always complying with the rules and
regulations for the jurisdiction.
The Blinds and Antes are going to the pot and not to the house. The
house usually will not take a rake out of any tournament game winnings.
Some jurisdictions may have a limit on the amount of winnings
before a tax will apply; in the event of winning a taxable amount then a
preset percentage will be deducted automatically from the winnings.
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