Official Poker Rules

Official Rules of Poker - Official Rules of Texas Holdem Poker

Official Poker RulesThe game of poker is as versatile as any card game. There are so many rule variations you’d think some of these poker professionals went to night school or earned a scholarship to Las Vegas. The variety of games that fall under the umbrella of “poker” is astounding and that’s not where the confusion of poker ends. The rules of Poker vary from house to house, from private game to casino, even from country to country. Since there is no “official” governing body for the game of poker it can be difficult to find specific information on poker, the rules of various styles of poker, even details like official poker chip colors, table dimensions, and even the order of winning hands.

Here then is a definitive collection of poker ins and outs – from rules and etiquette to table height and lists of hands that beat two pair. The next time you have a poker-related question, don’t go running to just any old website for unreliable or biased information. This is the straight dope on the world’s favorite card game.

Official Poker Rules Book 

I wish I could tell you that you could march down to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of the new edition of The Official Poker Rules Book but so far that just isn’t possible. For one thing, there’s no official governing body for the rules and regulation of poker. Also, there’s no consensus worldwide about those rules.  There simply can’t be an official book of poker rules until one or both of these happen. Until then, there’s always Hoyle’s Rules of Games. This book, currently in its third revised and updated version, has been the go-to for rules on games of all kinds since the first Hoyle text came out in the 18th century. While not universally accepted as a rule book for poker, it is the most acceptable stand-in until an official book on poker rules is written.

But who is this Hoyle character? His book has inspired an expression based on his name and his practices – “according to Hoyle”, which means doing something strictly by the book.  Edmond Hoyle (born 1672, died 1769) was an English lawyer and writer of short texts who was the author of a variety of books on card-games. He (and the book granted his name) is usually considered the final authority when disputes on the rules of card games come up. To this day, my family keeps a copy of Hoyle’s Rules close at hand when we play any game.

Hoyle's first important text for lovers of games was the pamphlet Short Treatise on the Game of Whist. This text gave not only the rules of the game of Whist but also provided strategy tips, attempting to teach people how to win the game. The book carried a hefty price (at that time) and because of that there were lots of bootleg copies going around. To combat these counterfeits, all real copies came with the statement 'No copies of this book are genuine but what are signed by Edmond Hoyle' – thus, a reputation (and a cliché) were born. Hoyle continued writing books on card games and the revised text we hold in our hands today still bears his trademark.

So if you’re looking for an official poker rules book, the best you’re going to do is to pick up a copy of Hoyle’s Rules.

Official Poker Rules and How to Play

It is difficult to come up with a basic “how to play” for poker, mostly because there are so many different versions of the game. Poker, according to Hoyle, refers to any version of a card game in which five cards are used by each player to form the highest possible hand. There is no such thing as “poker” – you have to name a variety of poker in order to know the betting rules, order of play, number of rounds, number of cards dealt, etc. Here’s a partial list of all poker varieties, just to demonstrate how different one game can be from another. This list is by no means definitive, as various regions have different versions and different names for the same game.

Poker Rules for Beginners

Remember, beginners, that poker is a card game where you form the best possible hand of five cards. Even when you’re playing a poker variation that uses a larger number of cards (7 Card Stud, etc.) you will always be using a core hand of five cards to build your final hand.

The order of cards in poker goes from lowest numerical number (two, or “deuce”) up to the ace, which is usually considered the highest face card. Face cards are the royalty of the poker world – Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces are usually referred to as “face cards”. This means that the lower the number of your card, the less value it has on its own. When combined with other cards, however, these low value cards can be worth more.

A basic hand of poker will start with an “ante” (a small bet amount paid into a pot to allow game play to start) and sometimes a bid right from the start. After initial bidding, game play continues through some kind of alteration to player’s hands. This change in the hands is crucial as it allows for more bidding later. In Hold ‘Em, for instance, the change to your hand happens right out in the open, and the same change occurs for all other players – the big difference is that only you know what two cards you’re holding. In 5 Card Draw or other Draw poker games, the change to your hand comes through drawing cards from a pile and discarding others. Regardless of how, the game of poker is a series of bids and reveals, leading ultimately to a winner.

Official Poker Rules Texas Hold ‘Em

Like we’ve said time and again, there is no official poker rules for the game of Texas Hold ‘Em. This is a shame, really, since Texas Hold ‘Em is easily the most popular of all poker variations. Part of this game’s popularity is due to its standing in the world of professional poker. The World Series of Poker (and almost all other big name poker tournaments) plays a no limit version of Texas Hold ‘Em and since that contest is now in the spotlight in our culture, private games and casinos are offering more and more Texas Hold ‘Em. 

Giving a blow for blow description of the history of Texas Hold ‘Em would take up enough space for its own article – suffice to say that a little known version of poker invented in small-town Texas around 1900 made its way to Las Vegas and was quickly recognized as the most strategically rich version of the popular gambling game.

When people start digging around for official Texas Hold ‘Em rules they are often surprised to learn that such a rule book doesn’t exist. Hoyle’s Rules contains a detailed section on Hold ‘Em (and Texas Hold ‘Em specifically) which means that the game does have some recognized standard of play. If you’re looking for official rules for Texas Hold ‘Em, Hoyleis probably your only safe bet.

According to Hoyle, the basic game play of Texas Hold ‘Em is as follows – “Each player is dealt two face-down cards and a round of betting follows; then three cards are dealt face-up in the center of the table for another betting round; next two cards singly, each with a betting round so that there are four betting rounds in all. The center hand, called ‘the flop’, is common to every hand. So are the two last cards.” Makes the game sound really simple, right? Trust me – the rules go on from there, I just wanted to give you Hoyle’s basic description.

Poker Rules 5 Card Draw

5 card draw is sometimes considered the “standard” game of poker. It is the first poker game that most people learn, and (in my family) it is the poker game that is used to teach all other poker games and concepts. Even though 5 card draw isn’t a casino or tournament game, it is an important introduction to the game of poker. Because of this it is important to establish a standardized version of the game.

Hoyle’s Rules describes the game of 5 Card Draw very succinctly. According to Hoyle, the game of 5 Card Draw starts when each player is dealt five cards, all face down. From these five cards, the player can choose to discard a number of cards and draw the same number of cards to replace them. Hoyle sets the limit to three discards, but most home games are more casual, allowing four out of your hand’s five cards to be discarded. The game is very simple – a winner is determined based on who has the highest-ranking hand of five cards after the discard.

Betting on 5 Card Draw (if you can find a house that’ll take a bet on this pretty simple game) is just as easy. The game of 5 Card Draw requires a blind open and a blind raise with no ante. The first bet comes after the initial five cards have been dealt, with a second bet following each player’s discard and re-deal. The simplicity of this game means that betting strategy is pretty basic, and though you may not find 5 Card Draw in Vegas it is a great primer in poker betting.

Official Poker Hands and Official Poker Hand Rankings

Each poker game requires knowledge of different poker hands. When we talk about “hands”, we mean the way that cards are grouped into winning combinations. Since the object of every poker game is to come up with the “best hand” (or best combination of card types) you need to know what makes up a hand.

Please note that each of these hands are described in a game in which there are no “wild cards”. Hoyle established a standard order of poker hands which is still in use today. In fact, most new packs of cards come with this very order printed inside them.

Flushes – a “flush” means a run of cards in numerical or value order. Some flushes are made up of the same suit – these are called “straight flushes” and are quite powerful. An example would be if a player is holding five Spades in his hand of the value 10-9-8-7-6. Since all of the cards are of the same suit and they form a run, this hand is called a “straight flush”. Important note – if you possess a flush that contains the Ace down through the 10, this is called a “Royal Flush” and is the highest hand possible in poker.

Card multiples – when you hold multiple version of the same card regardless of the suit, this is called “three of a kind” or “four of a kind”. Different numbers of cards represent different hand strengths – with “four of a kind” being a pretty decent hand while “three of a kind” or “two of a kind” (a pair) are not really all that powerful.

Full House – this is a combination of any “three of a kind” with another pair. This hand may look something like this – K-K-K-9-9.

Straight – like a straight flush (see above) but without any attention paid to the suits of the cards. If you held 8-7-6-5-4 all in different suits, you’d be the proud owner of a straight.

High card – when a player doesn’t have enough cards to form any of the above hand types, his hand is ranked by its highest card. If you are holding the following cards (4-5-8-10-Q) of different suits, your hand would be ranked as a “Queen high card” hand. High card is the weakest play in poker but sometimes when there’s lots of bluffing going on, high card can decide the outcome of a game.

Official Poker Rules - What Beats What

When trying to determine which hand in a game of poker is the highest, you’re really looking for whose hand beats everyone else’s. The value of different poker hands is directly related to the probability of a player forming those hands.

This is one aspect of poker that is pretty much standard the world over – since a Royal Flush is the least likely hand (the odds of being dealt or drawing a Royal are 649,740 : 1 against) it is the most valuable. There’s no poker game in the world that would put something like a Full House (whose odds are a much more likely 694 : 1) ahead of a Royal Flush in value.

Here’s a list of “what beats what” as well as the odds of drawing or being dealt that hand. This list comes from Hoyle and is accepted as the standard worldwide.

Royal Flush -- 649,740 : 1
Straight Flush -- 72,193 : 1
Four of a Kind -- 4,164 : 1
Full House -- 694 : 1
Flush -- 508 : 1
Straight -- 254 : 1
Three of a Kind -- 46 : 1
Two Pair -- 20 : 1
One Pair -- 1.5 : 1
No Pair / High Card -- n/a

Look at the big jump between the odds for a Full House and the odds for a Four of a Kind. Once you get above the Full House level, the chance that anyone has a better hand than you are slim to none. Just from looking at the odds for different hand ranks in poker, you can extract some strategy information. Keep this table around when you’re first learning the game, as you don’t want to place bets on a hand on which you’re unsure of the value.

Official Poker Chip Weight

If you’ve ever bought poker chips for your home game, you know that many brands of chips meant for home use are marketed as being “official casino weight”. This is a big misnomer, as there is no standardized poker chip weight in casinos – and if there were, they certainly wouldn’t be the same weight as cheap plastic coated chips sold at toy stores.

The difference between the poker chips used in casinos and the poker chips you and your buddies got at Wal-mart is the materials used. Casino chips are usually made of ceramic, clay, or some combination of the two. Many casinos insert a heavy “coin” into the chip as an identifier for that casino, or just to add a little weight and make the chips seem more official. The chips you use at home are most likely injection-molded plastic between 8 and 11.5 grams – though some home sets are injected around a slug to give them some weight. Casino chips vary in weight from as low as 10 grams on up to 16 grams or even more, depending on materials used.

Simply put – you’re not going to be able to buy casino-style poker chips for use at home.

Official Poker Chip Colors

Since the color of a poker chip determines its value, knowing casino chip colors seems like a good idea when you’re planning a trip to a casino. Depending on the state in which you’ll be gambling, you may be able to find a standardized chip color system and you may not. New Jersey and Illinois are examples of two states that use a standard chip color for different bet amounts while Nevada is the most notable on the list of states that don’t require a standard color pattern for poker chips. Fortunately for the gambler, almost all casinos do follow a sort of pattern for poker chip colors in chips valued at $5 and above. In Vegas, for instance, the $1 chip you buy may be white, blue, gray, or any number of colors. Meanwhile the $5 chip and up are generally standard.

The “standard” colors are as follows --

$5 – red
$10 -- blue
$20 -- grey
$25 -- green
$50 -- orange
$100 -- black
$250 -- pink
$500 -- purple
$1000 – burgundy

Official Poker Table Dimensions

Finally, we come to a poker detail that actually does have some kind of standard. Outside of specific design features like color, all poker tables are the same. Sure there are different sizes of table for different game styles, but even these variations in game specific tables are standard.

You may have seen home game poker tables in all kinds of shape, from perfectly round to octagonal monstrosities that look like pool tables or boxing rings. Poker tables in casinos are all oval-shaped. This is to facilitate game play as well as to give the dealer some semblance of privacy on their side of the table. 

Standard dimensions for different poker tables are --

7 Card Stud Table -- 44" x 84"

10-person Hold ‘Em Table -- 44" x 96" 

Casino Standard Hold ‘Em Table -- 44" x 102"

Official Poker Rulings

There are sometimes disputes about the rules of poker, the way those rules are carried out, the order of betting or of winning hands or any number of other conflicts caused by the lack of an “official poker rule book”.

Different venues will respond to these conflicts differently. Your private home game will probably turn to good old Hoyle when a conflict arises – whatever Hoyle says goes. In fact, many home or private games will decide beforehand that the rules of Hoyle are in play. 

These conflicts happen regularly at poker tournaments and even in casino play. A lack of an official guide to poker means that everyone sees the game a little differently. In the case of a conflict about rules in a tournament or casino setting, the official ruling will come from whatever authority has been identified as “in charge”. In casinos, whatever the floor man says goes. If you dispute a floor person’s decision, you will most likely be tossed out onto the sidewalk. That’s just how it goes.

To avoid disputes like this at your home or private game, decide ahead of time what poker authority your game will turn to in time of dispute.

Official Poker Websites

Just like with the rule book, there is of course no "official" poker website. With so many poker-related websites popping up, it can be difficult to establish a standard. Here’s a short list of our favorite poker websites, some of which come damn close to being authoritative voices on the game of poker.

World Series of Poker

Yes, this is the website for the World Series of Poker, and as such it provides all kinds of information about upcoming WSOP events, players, and past year’s winners. On top of that, though, there are articles on strategy, tips, hand order, poker basics, etc. This is one of the best places to start your search for Internet poker material.

World Poker Tour

Less of a “one stop shop” than its WSOP counterpart, WorldPokerTour.com is still a reliable source of poker news and information, and WorldPokerTour.com is just full of videos and highlights from past events. If there is any better way to learn poker strategy than watching the big boys do it, I haven’t heard of it.

The explosion in poker popularity at the end of the 1990s has continued through this first decade of the 21st century. Poker in all forms is still broadcast on cable television, popular culture is chock full of poker references and expressions, there’s good money to be made on the game, and casinos aren’t losing any money opening up new poker tables. As long as poker is one of the worlds’ most popular card games (let’s be honest, one of the most popular games in general) people will be in search of official rules and regulations. Until a governing body exists that regulates and informs people of poker rules and restrictions, we’ll have to depend on the next best thing – a collection of references and rules passed on through the years.