Poker Rules: A Complete Reference

A clear rules reference for every common poker variant — Texas Hold'em, Omaha, stud and beyond — plus betting structures and table etiquette.

This page covers the official rules of the most popular poker variants. If you're brand new, start with how to play poker first — this page is a more complete rules reference.

Texas Hold'em rules

Each player gets two hole cards; five community cards are dealt across the flop, turn and river. Make your best five-card hand from any combination of your two cards and the five on the board. Betting rounds occur pre-flop, on the flop, turn and river. Blinds rotate clockwise each hand.

  • Betting limits: games are played as No-Limit (bet anything up to your whole stack), Pot-Limit (max bet = size of the pot), or Fixed-Limit (bets are set increments). No-Limit Hold'em is the standard.
  • Minimum raise: a raise must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise.
  • All-in: if you can't cover a bet, you can go all-in for your remaining chips and contest a side pot.

Omaha rules

Omaha plays like Hold'em but you're dealt four hole cards and must use exactly two of them plus exactly three community cards. This single rule trips up most newcomers — you cannot play the board or use just one hole card. Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) is the most common form. Learn more in our PLO strategy guide.

Seven-card stud rules

No community cards and no flop. Each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards over five betting rounds, and makes the best five-card hand from their seven cards. Stud was the dominant game before Hold'em took over and rewards strong card memory.

Other variants

  • Razz — seven-card stud played for the lowest hand.
  • Short Deck (Six Plus) Hold'em — Hold'em with the 2s through 5s removed; flushes beat full houses and the action is wild.
  • Five-card draw — the classic home game: get five cards, discard and draw replacements once.

Common rules & etiquette

  • Act in turn. Acting out of turn gives information and is penalized.
  • One player per hand. No discussing your cards with others while a hand is live.
  • Table stakes. You can only wager the chips on the table at the start of the hand.
  • A verbal declaration is binding — say "raise" and you're committed.
  • Show one, show all. If you show your cards to one player, the table can ask to see them.
Quick tipThe exact house rules can vary slightly between casinos and poker sites — always skim the rules page of wherever you play. Our reviewed poker sites all use standard rules.