The objective is to have the highest-ranking hand of cards and to win the pot of bets.
GWUPS Poker hands are easier to memorize than those in traditional Poker, making it faster to learn and easier for novices to play.
Before beginning the game, players should agree on a minimum bet, and whether the minimum will increase at regular intervals throughout the game, as in a tournament.
Dealer (noted by a
Button) thoroughly shuffles the cards and the player to the right cuts the deck, after which the dealer deals two cards face down to each Player clockwise starting with the player to the left of the dealer. These are called the
Hole or
Pocket cards.
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First round of betting (Pre-Flop)
Players may do one of the following:
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FOLD (discard the hand and forfeit your chance to win)
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CALL (match a bet)
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RAISE (increase the bet. A player can Re-raise another player’s raise but not his or her own. Any time a Raise is not met, the player who Raised automatically wins.)
All bets are placed in the center of the table, called the Pot, and bets are always equal to or greater than the last bet (except for the Small Blind’s second turn). Once any player Raises, the other players must either Call or Raise the bet to stay in the game. Betting ends once all active players Check, which they can only do if they have contributed equally to the pot.
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Small and Big Blinds: The Exceptions for this betting round
The player to the left of the dealer starts off by posting a Small Blind (usually half the minimum bet). The player to his or her left must post a Big Blind (usually equal to the minimum bet). The Small Blind and the Big Blind refer to the bets and the players who posted them.
If the Small Blind Calls on his or her second turn, he or she must place an additional bet to match the latest bet, including his or her Small Blind bet.
If it’s the Big Blind’s second turn and no other player has raised, then he or she can Check ($0 Raise) and the betting ends. If the Big Blind Raises or Calls, the betting continues.
The Blinds ensure that there is always money in the pot to be won in every hand.
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FLOP
Next, the Dealer Burns a card, by taking the top card of the deck and placing it at the bottom (minimizing the possibility of cheating when the top card is marked). Then the Dealer deals 3 cards face up on the center of the table, called the Flop.
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Second round of betting
The minimum bet will be equal to the Big Blind, though neither Blind applies to the remaining betting rounds, during which any player may Fold, Call, or Raise.
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TURN
Dealer burns a card, and deals a fourth card (Turn, or Fourth Street) face up on the center of the table.
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Third round of betting
(same as second)
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RIVER
Dealer burns a card, and deals a fifth card (River, or Fifth Street) face up on the center of the table.
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Fourth, and final round of betting
(same as second)
If there are two or more active players left, they go into a Showdown, where they choose the best five-card combination using any five of their own two Hole cards and the five Community cards (Flop, Turn, and River):
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both player's Hole cards and three Community cards
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one of the player's Hole card and four Community cards
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all five Community cards (known as "Playing the Board" and usually results in splitting the pot)
The winner is determined by the Best Hand ranking. All players claiming the pot must reveal their cards, but any player conceding defeat may choose to discard and not reveal own cards.
In the event of a tie, the pot will be equally split, and any extra chips will go the player left of the dealer. Or you can use Kickers to break the tie. Kickers are the “extra” cards in hand that complete the five-card combination when holding a four-of-a-kind, three-of-a-kind or lower-ranking hand. If two players are tied with equally ranked hands, the winner can be determined by whose Kickers are rated higher.
You can also win, of course, by bluffing and convincing the other players to fold, but this is risky.
Once one hand is complete, the player to the left of the current dealer takes the deck of cards and the button and becomes the new dealer.
In the event that there are two players and Player 1 makes a bet too large for Player 2 to match, Player 2 can go “All In” and bet everything he or she has, and Player 1 can take back the difference in his or her bet, so that the bets are even.
If there are three players and one cannot match the bet, there can be two pots—one worth the “All In” total of the poorest player, and worth equal amounts from all three players, and a second pot the higher bet between the two players who can afford it—but which can only be won by the two of them.
