Texas Hold Em Dealer Rules
General concepts to keep in mind:
- Some hands don’t have a possible tie breaker scenario in Texas Hold’em Poker. Which may be different in other forms of Poker.
| HAND:Royal Flush |
| TIE BREAK POSSIBILITIES: Not Possible |
| RULES: – A tie break is not possible as two players cannot have a Royal Flush in Texas Hold’em Poker. – If the dealer deals a Royal Flush via the 5 community cards, then the pot is split amongst all players. |
| HAND: Straight Flush |
| TIE BREAK POSSIBILITIES: Not Possible |
| RULES: – A tie break is not possible as two players cannot have a Straight Flush which is ranked the same in Texas Hold’em Poker. – If the dealer deals a Straight Flush via the 5 community cards, then the pot is split amongst all players provided no player holds a Royal Flush (meaning the Straight Flush is the strongest hand on the table). – If two Players have a Straight Flush, then the higher Straight Flush wins (the Straight Flush ending in the highest ranked card). |
Texas Hold em dealer must have at least a pair to qualify. Before the Flop, the River and, finally the dealer’s two cards are revealed, players must place an equal Ante and Blind bet. Then they have three opportunities to make one raise with the Play bet. The earlier they raise, the more they can risk and win. Nothing will slow a Texas Hold’em game down more than a player who is throwing their bets into the middle of the pot. If you do this, you will most likely be warned by the dealer and then ejected from the table if you continue to splash the pot.
| HAND: Four of a Kind |
| TIE BREAK POSSIBILITIES: 1 Kicker |
| RULES: – A tie is not possible as two players cannot have a matching Four of a Kind except in the case where a dealer deals Four of a Kind via community cards. – If this happens, then the Kicker comes into place, whichever player holds the highest ranked card when looking at their hole cards wins. – If the 5th community card the “Kicker on the board”is higher than any of the players hole cards, then the pot is split. |
| HAND: Full House |
| POSSIBLE TIE BREAKERS: Not Possible |
| RULES: – If two players have the same Full House, the pot is split always. – The strength of the Full House is determined by the 3 matching cards first, followed by the 2 matching cards (pair). Example of Full House K-K-K-A-A beats K-K-K-9-9 and so fourth. A-A-A-K-K beats K-K-K-A-A. – A Kicker is not used to determine a winner for and identical Full House in Texas Hold’em Poker, therefore the pot is split. |
| HAND:Flush |
| POSSIBLE TIE BREAKERS: 2 Kickers |
| RULES: – It’s not possible for two or more players to have the same Flush in Texas Hold’em Poker. – If two players have a Flush, the highest Flush wins (the Flush with the highest Ranked Card taking into account the players Hole Cards and Community Cards). If the dealer deals a Flush via Community Cards and it’s the highest Flush when taking into account all Players Hole Cards, the pot is split amongst all players in the hand. – Highest Flush is determined by the players cards combined with the board cards taking into account the highest combination of the two. – For example the board shows a Flush of Ah-Jh-8h-7h-6h. Player A has a Kh and 2h. Player B has a 10h and 9h. Player A wins because we supplement their Kh to complete the hand making his flush the highest. |
| HAND: Straight |
| POSSIBLE TIE BREAKERS: 2 Kickers |
| RULES: – In the event that two players or more have the same Straight via community cards the pot is split. – If two or more players make a Straight using their hole cards and community cards, then the highest Straight wins. The Straight ending in the highest ranked card. – In any case where a Straight ends in the highest ranked cards among all players regardless of suit, the pot is split. |
| HAND: Three of a Kind |
| POSSIBLE TIE BREAKERS: 2 Kickers |
| RULES: – If two or more players have the same Three of a Kind (suit does not matter in this hand) Then the fourth highest card (one of the players Hole Cards or a community card, whichever is higher ranked) is used to determine the winner. – If there is a tie between the fourth strongest card (highest ranked card) then the fifth card is used. – If there is a time between the fifth card, the pot is split (this would be extremely rare). |
| HAND: Two Pair |
| POSSIBLE TIE BREAKERS: 1 Kicker |
| RULES: – If two or more players have the same Two Pair (suit does not matter in this hand) Then the fifth highest card (one of the Players Hole Cards or a Community Card) is used to determine the winner. – If player have the same kickers, or if the community card is the highest card, then the pot is split. |
| HAND: High Card |
| POSSIBLE TIE BREAKERS: 2 Kickers |
| RULES: – In the event that all players have the same identical 5 cards in Texas Hold’em Poker the pot is split. This would be extremely rare. – In any other case the players hole cards are used to determine the winner. The highest hole card wins. |
In poker play, there seems to be a slightly different set of rules existing across every casino. There does not even seem to be consistency across the same casino chains and for casinos in the same area, either. Disputes at the poker table are another big problem.
The sit-down, buy-in-for-cash games should apply to a player's initial and subsequent re-buys if all that player's chips are lost. Players buying in short (i.e. for less than the minimum) are the cause of many card room disputes. The player can sit down with any amount of money, no matter how much, as long as it is at least the minimum buy-in.
Texas Holdem Dealer Rules
A player with chips may add additional chips to his stack as he desires, when he is not involved in a pot, but he may not take chips off the table until quitting the game. Chips and/or money should be in clear view of every player and a player has the right to ask an opponent how much he is playing and to be told. Hidden cash, such as under a cigarette packet or ashtray, cannot be bet.
Money and/or chips from the table are not allowed to be transferred from one player to another (this makes collusion more difficult).
Courtesy should be paramount at the table but unfortunately it is sometimes lacking. Indeed, there are many examples of bad conduct witnessed at the Poker table. Here are a few tips on how to conduct yourself with courtesy in the game. Try to remember that when your conduct is above reproach players will respect your opinion and will seek your guidance when there is a dispute.
Texas Hold'em Rules For Dummies
Do not pass your cards out of turn, even if you are no longer interested in staying in contest for the pot. It can affect the fortunes of one player over another when the field is shortened and a player has a difficult decision to make. It usually gives an advantage to the players seated beside you who have yet to make their plays. You may see other players fold, or call out of turn, but please don't do it yourself. If you do, be assured you will be pulled up by the other players for it.
When discarding your hand, do so at a low level of flight so that no other player can see what you have discarded.
Leave your cards in plain view at all time, preferably on the table in front of you. Holding them against your shirt or showing them to 'railbird' friends (See Glossary) is not approved behavior.
Likewise keep your chips in plain view at all times.
Refrain from criticizing other player's methods standard of play.
Do not abuse the dealer, verbally or in any other way. Bad behavior, such as throwing cards at the dealer, while mercifully rare, is totally unforgivable. Remember it is not the dealer's fault you are losing.
Forget post-mortems. It is irritating for other players to have to listen to discussion on what happened in the last hand, or even several hands before.
If you are plagues by the need to show someone what a good hand you had, when not required to do so at a showdown, make sure all the players enjoy the same experience. The correct guideline often quoted is 'show one show all'.
Showing your cards, except at the showdown, even without bad intent is bad etiquette.
Players, must not show or reveal the contents of their hands when all-in before betting is over. A player who shows that he has a strong hand for the centre pot hinders the chance of a player who bets into a side pot. There is less likelihood of a call. If an all-in player shows that he has a weak hand he increases the chance of a call.
Likewise, please don't feel that you have to tell everyone what your last hand was and what you would have bet if only you had stayed in the pot, some polite people might feign interest, but few really are.
Do not splash the pot. This is where a player throws his chips into the pot when making a bet. It takes extra time fort he deal to re-stack and count the bet when you splash the pot. When you bet, place your chips directly in front of you. The dealer will then be sure you have bet the right amount and when betting is complete will place them into the pot.
Soft-play agreements have a negative effect on the game. This is where a player bets less than he normally would or checks good hands when against friends, husbands or wives. Don't enter into these types of agreements. Every player should play in his/her own self interest - it's the essence of poker.
Do not handle other player's chips or cards.
Speech play (often called 'coffee housing') is the term used to describe what happens when a player makes comments about a hand when it is in progress. This is not prohibited in the terms of the rules but is considered unethical in the UK (not so in the USA). So be careful what you say during the play of a hand and resist the urge to talk about a hand during the action or when someone is thinking.
Do not try to educate players at the table by pointing out what you think are mistakes. It's odd and they will resent it and mark you down as a smart Alec, or worse. Why not let people pay for their education - its how I had to learn.
Players should speak up and assist the dealer by calling attention to an error in the amount of the bet or the improper reading of the hand etc. Likewise, any player who sees an error about to be made, such as awarding the pot to the wrong person, has a duty to speak up.