Official Poker Rules

If you are unfamiliar with the general rules of playing poker, please read this page thoroughly. Online poker is a game of skill, mixed with the element of chance (the shuffled deck of cards). In poker, you strive to get the best five card hand. Online poker games all present the player with more than five cards. Players will use the five best cards from the community and their hand. The following Terms and Rules will apply when playing any online games.

Poker Alias - Players cannot have multiple Aliases. Each Player has only one Alias across all Poker Rooms on the Poker Network. No offensive Aliases are permitted. If you select an Alias that is considered offensive, your Alias will be rejected, and you must select another Alias. Players cannot change their Alias. Aliases can be composed of upper and lower case characters (a to z), the numbers 0 to 9, the (–) character and the(_) character. The Alias must be a minimum length of 3 characters and a max length of 12 characters.

Chip Dumping - Players will be disqualified and removed from the game. Players will forfeit all buy-in amounts. Players will be permanently banned from the Multi-Player Casino.

Coffeehousing - No chat among Players, that could influence the play or outcome of the game, is allowed. This includes chat about the play of their hand, or their opponent's hand. Players will be disqualified and removed from the game. Players will forfeit all buy-in amounts. Players will be permanently banned from the Multi-Player Casino.

Collusion - Players will be disqualified and removed from the game. Players will forfeit all buy-in amounts. Players will be permanently banned from the Multi-Player Casino.

Dealer
To determine the Dealer in the first round, one card is dealt face up to all Players. The Player with the highest card by suit starts the game as the Dealer.

Disconnection - If a Player is disconnected during the play of a hand and have placed a bet, they have thirty seconds to reconnect. If they do not reconnect within thirty seconds, the following happens:

• If the Player can check, their hand is automatically checked.
• If the Player cannot check, but has All-In's available, their hand is considered All-In.
• If the Player does not qualify to check their hand, or be considered All-In, their hand automatically folds.
• All-In's are not allowed for disconnections in Pot-Limit and No-Limit games.
• If there is an issue on the gaming server preventing the completion of a game, the game play for the current hand is cancelled. And the player balance for the table is returned to its state at the start of the hand.

House Rules - Poker Host will disqualify any Players who do not follow our Game rules or that act inappropriately during a game. Poker Host management will make final decisions on all game related issues as they occur. All decisions are at the discretion of the House and are final.

Individual Play - Poker is a game that Players may play for their own interest. Partnerships or any kind of cooperation among Players is not permitted.

Chat - Communication between Players at the table is in English or the allocated Table Language only. No mention of or advertising for other Poker Rooms or Poker Casinos is permitted. The sending of multiple and frequent messages to the chat window is not permitted. No foul, abusive or insulting language is permitted. The use of such language may result in the following:

• Players chat feature will be disabled.
• Players will forfeit all buy-in amounts.
• Players will be disqualified and removed from the game.
• Players will be banned from the Multi-Player Casino.

Raked Hands - Raked Hands are accumulated as you play Non-Tournament games. Raked Hands qualify you to enter certain tournaments, such as a Free-Roll Tournament.

Sitting Out - Players can leave the table for a few hands by clicking the Sit Out button. Players may be removed from a table if they sit out and have missed two rounds of blinds.

Slow Play - If the Player has not placed a bet in the hand, they have twenty seconds to respond. Failing this, the Player's hand automatically folds. If the Player has placed a bet in the hand, they have twenty seconds to respond. Failing this, the Player's hand automatically folds or is considered All-In.

Note: Repeated instances of slow play may be grounds for a Player to be removed from the table. This decision is at the discretion of the House. There is a sit out option for Players that want to exit the table. Players must use this option to avoid the consequences.

Soft Play - Players will be disqualified and removed from the game. Players will forfeit all buy-in amounts. Players will be permanently banned from the Multi-Player Casino.

Betting and Payout Rules

All-In - If a Player does not have enough chips to bet during a hand, they are not forced to place the full bet amount. However, the Player must put all of their chips into the pot - this is calling All-In. The game play that continues among other Players is put into a side pot. The All-In Player has no share in this pot. There is a limit to the number of times that a Player can be All-In through disconnection in a 24-hour period. When this limit is exceeded, the Player's hand folds and any chips the Player contributed to the pot is forfeited. Players must be aware of their All-In status. When a Player reaches the All-In limit, they must request that the limit be reset.

All-In's are not allowed for disconnections in Pot-Limit and No-Limit games. Abuse of All-In protection, or suspicion by the House that a Player is purposely disconnecting from the Multi-Player Casino, may result in the following: Players will be disqualified and removed from the game. Players will forfeit all buy-in amounts. Players will be permanently banned from the Multi-Player Casino.

Note: The House monitors the circumstances and frequency of All-In's.

Antes, Bring-ins and Corresponding Limits - For Stud games, the antes, bring-in bets and corresponding bet limits are not increased every few hands.

Bet Limits - Players cannot bet less than the minimum, or more than the maximum amount displayed. For example, in a $10 / $20 game, the minimum bet limit is $10 and the maximum bet limit is $20.
Bet limits are determined by the House per game and per table.

Bets and Raises - The betting is capped at four bets - one bet and three raises, per betting round. When the betting is capped, Players may only call or fold. There is no limit to the number of raises per betting round for Pot-Limit and No-Limit games.

Blinds and Posts - In Texas Hold 'em and Omaha blind bets are used to start the game play. The Player to the immediate left of the Dealer posts the small blind. The next Player to the left posts the big blind. The small blind is half of the minimum bet limit. The big blind is a full bet at the minimum bet limit. For example, in a $10 / $20 game, the small blind is $5 and the big blind is $10. When new Players enter a game they are given a choice to post now or wait for the big blind. Players that decide to wait, receive no cards until it is their turn to post the big blind.

Players that decide to post, bet the equivalent of one big blind and receive cards immediately. Both the big blind and the post are considered live blinds. This means that Players on the big blind and Players that posted can raise their own blind bets. Players that sit out, miss one or more blinds, and then sit in again, must either wait for the big blind to reach them again before receiving cards, or post both a big blind and a small blind to receive cards immediately. Blinds and Bet Limits are increased every few hands, up to the maximum set for the game. If the Player on the small blind or big blind is eliminated, the dealer-button moves and the blinds skip a Player for that round. When a Player is seated at a cash game and does not have enough chips to post a blind, he can not play the hand. However, if the Player is in a Tournament, the residual chips are automatically posted to the required blind.

Buy-in - There is a minimum buy-in amount for each game. The minimum buy-in for any game is ten times the minimum bet limit. For example, the minimum buy-in in a $3 / $6 game is $3 x 10 = $30. The buy-in amount from all Players in the game is added to the pot.

Checking and Raising - Check-raising is permitted in all games.

Pot - The pot accumulates as each Player antes, bets, calls and raises. The pot goes to the winner of the hand. If two or more Players have the same winning hand, they split the pot equally. The House takes a small percentage of the pot. This is known as the rake.

Table Stakes - All games are played Table Stakes. This means that if a Player does not have enough chips on the table to complete or call a bet or a raise, the Player may bet or call All-In for the number of chips they have left.

Note: To begin a hand, a Player must have enough chips remaining to place an ante or a blind bet, and a bet. Calling or betting All-In applies only when the hand is in progress. All-In cannot be used to post a short blind or ante.

Ties - If Players tie at the showdown, they split the pot.