how to play poker

Texas Hold’em
The game “Texas Hold’em can be played by five to ten players, with nine being the most commonly dealt full game.  A professional dealer distributes the cards but does not participate in the play.  The game begins by the dealer giving one player the “BUTTON”.

Before play begins, the first two players to the left of the button must post the “BLINDS”. Blinds serve a purpose similar to antes in stud games in that they put something into the pot for the other players to shoot at. The first player to the button’s left posts a small blind and the second player posts the large or big blind.

The dealer deals two cards (called hole cards) to each player. With blinds in place, the player sitting three seats to the button’s left is the first to act. He is facing a bet equal to the big blind. He can fold his hand (by throwing his hand in to the dealer), call (by betting that amount or raise (up to the table maximum for that round). Each player in a clockwise rotational order now faces the same decision. The dealer will control the action around the table until the pot is true with all raises being met by all players still holding cards.

With the first betting round complete, the dealer burns the top card on the deck and then deals the next three cards simultaneously face up in the center of the table. These three community cards are called the flop and in kind, belong to all players equally. The first player to the button’s left, still in the hand, acts first after the flop. He can check, bet or fold. If he checks, the next player’s options are the same. If during the round any player bets, all players must call or raise to stay in the round or fold.

With the second round of betting complete, the dealer now burns another card and then deals a fourth community card face up. This card is commonly called the “TURN” or “FOURTH STREET”. Betting continues as is rounds two and three.
With the third round of betting complete, the dealer burns one more card and deals the fifth and final card. This card is commonly called the “RIVER” or “FIFTH STREET”. At this point, the players determine what their best FIVE-CARD HAND is by using any combination of the two cards in their hand and the five community cards. Betting continues as in previous rounds.

The “SHOWDOWN” is the final step of the game. The players will turn over their hole cards and a winner will be determined. The pot will be pushed to that player by the dealer. In the case of a tie, the pot will be split. All cards will be collected and shuffled by the dealer for the next round of play. The button will be moved to the next seat to the left and blinds will move around the table accordingly.

A poker hand at the showdown consists of precisely five cards (possibly the best five selected from a greater number by some pre-determined rule) ranked accordingly to the following list from highest to lowest, in the order of their probability of occurrence (from rarest to likeliest):

  1. Royal Flush –Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of the same suit.
  2. Straight Flush- - 5 cards of the same suit in sequence. An Ace- High straight flush is nicknamed a “Royal Flush”.
  3. 4 of a Kind - 4 cards of the same rank.
  4. Full House - 3 cards of the same rank and two cards of the same rank.
  5. Flush - 5 cards of the same suit
  6. Straight - 5 cards in sequence
  7. 3 of a Kind - 3 cards of the same rank
  8. 2 Pair - 2 cards of the same rank and two other cards of the same rank
  9. 1 Pair - 2 cards of the same rank
  10. High Card - The highest ranking card in the hand

Suits are ranked: Spades (highest), Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.

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Omaha and Omaha High/Low
The game “Omaha or Omaha High/Low” can be played by five to ten players, with nine being the most commonly dealt full game. A professional dealer distributes the cards but does not participate in the play.  The game begins by the dealer giving one player the “BUTTON”.
Before play begins, the first two players to the left of the button must post the “BLINDS”. Blinds serve a purpose similar to antes in stud games in that they put something into the pot for the other players to shoot at. The first player to the button’s left posts a small blind and the second player posts the large or big blind.

The dealer deals four cards (called hole cards) to each player. With blinds in place, the player sitting three seats to the button’s left is the first to act. He is facing a bet equal to the big blind. He can either, fold his hand (by throwing his hand in to the dealer) call or raise (up to the table maximum for that round). Each player in a clockwise rotational order now faces the same decision. The dealer will control the action around the table until the pot is true with all raises being met by all players still holding cards.

With the first betting round complete, the dealer burns the top card on the deck and then deals the next three cards simultaneously face up in the center of the table. These three community cards are called the flop and in kind, belong to all players equally. The first player to the button’s left, still in the hand, acts first after the flop. He can check, bet or fold. If he checks, the next player’s options are the same. If during the round any player bets, all players must call or raise to stay in the round or fold.

With the second round of betting complete, the dealer now burns another card and then deals a fourth community card face up. This card is commonly called the “TURN” or “FOURTH STREET”. Betting continues as in rounds two and three.
With the third round of betting complete, the dealer burns one more card and deals the fifth and final card. This card is commonly called the “RIVER” or “FIFTH STREET”. At this point, the players determine their best FIVE-CARD HAND by using 2 cards from their own hand and 3 of the community cards. Betting continues as in previous rounds.

The “SHOWDOWN” is the final step of the game. The players will turn over their hole cards and a winner will be determined. The pot will be pushed to that player by the dealer. In the case of a tie, the pot will be split. For Omaha High/Low the pot will be split with half going to the high hand and half to the low hand. The lowest ranking hand is Ace, deuce, trey, four and five. All cards will be collected and shuffled by the dealer for the next round of play. The button will be moved to the next seat to the left and blinds will move around the table accordingly.

A poker hand at the showdown consists of precisely five cards (possibly the best five selected from a greater number by some pre-determined rule) ranked accordingly to the following list from highest to lowest, in the order of their probability of occurrence (from rarest to likeliest):

  1. Royal Flush –Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of the same suit.
  2. Straight Flush- - 5 cards of the same suit in sequence. An Ace- High straight flush is nicknamed a “Royal Flush”.
  3. 4 of a Kind - 4 cards of the same rank.
  4. Full House - 3 cards of the same rank and two cards of the same rank.
  5. Flush - 5 cards of the same suit
  6. Straight - 5 cards in sequence
  7. 3 of a Kind - 3 cards of the same rank
  8. 2 Pair - 2 cards of the same rank and two other cards of the same rank
  9. 1 Pair - 2 cards of the same rank
  10. High Card - The highest ranking card in the hand

Suits are ranked: Spades (highest), Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.

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7 Card Stud
Seven Card Stud has five betting rounds instead of the four found in Hold’em and Omaha. 
Each player is dealt two cards down and one card up beginning with the player to the immediate left of the dealer button. The two face down cards are called the hole cards and the up card is referred to as your “door card.”

The first betting round is called Third Street. After the cards are dealt the first betting round begins. The player with the lowest door card showing is required to make a forced bet known as the “Bring In” bet. It is advisable to ask about the size of the antes and bring in bets before you sit down in a game. After the bring in bet is made the next player on the immediate left of the player making the bring in bet has the option of folding, calling or raising the bet
With the first betting round complete, each player is dealt a second card face up and the second betting round begins. This round of betting is called “Fourth Street”. From this point on the action starts with the player showing the highest. The player with the highest hand is not forced to bet. He can check and the player to his left then has the option of betting or checking. If there is a bet, the player acting after the bet must fold, call or raise.

With the second round of betting complete, each active player is then dealt a third card face up. This round of betting is called “Fifth Street” The player with the highest hand showing acts first and can bet or check. The betting proceeds clockwise around the table.

With the third round of betting complete, the dealer burns one more card and deals the fifth and final card. This card is commonly called the “RIVER” or “FIFTH STREET”.

At this point, the players determine their best FIVE-CARD HAND by using any combination of the two cards in their hand and the five community cards. Betting continues as in previous rounds.

The “SHOWDOWN” is the final step of the game. The players will turn over their hole cards and a winner will be determined. The pot will be pushed to that player by the dealer. In the case of a tie, the pot will be split. All cards will be collected and shuffled by the dealer for the next round of play. The button will be moved to the next seat to the left and blinds will move around the table accordingly.

A poker hand at the showdown consists of precisely five cards (possibly the best five selected from a greater number by some pre-determined rule) ranked accordingly to the following list from highest to lowest, in the order of their probability of occurrence (from rarest to likeliest):

  1. Royal Flush –Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of the same suit.
  2. Straight Flush- - 5 cards of the same suit in sequence. An Ace- High straight flush is nicknamed a “Royal Flush”.
  3. 4 of a Kind - 4 cards of the same rank.
  4. Full House - 3 cards of the same rank and two cards of the same rank.
  5. Flush - 5 cards of the same suit
  6. Straight - 5 cards in sequence
  7. 3 of a Kind - 3 cards of the same rank
  8. 2 Pair - 2 cards of the same rank and two other cards of the same rank
  9. 1 Pair - 2 cards of the same rank
  10. High Card - The highest ranking card in the hand

Suits are ranked: Spades (highest), Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.

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Player Funded Progressive Jackpot Rules

  1. In all jackpot games, when the pot reaches $10, one dollar ($1) is taken for the jackpot.
  1. Jackpots my only be won at table with jackpot contribution.
  1. There are three Bad Beat Jackpots.
  1. Texas Hold’em:
    A) Aces Full of jacks or better beaten by four of a kind or better.
    B) Players must use both hole cards in Hold’em.
    C) Community cards may not contain three Aces.
    D) Two of the four of a kind must be hole cards.
  1. Omaha Hi & Lo:
    A) Four jacks or better beaten by any better hand.
    B) Two of the four of a kind must be hole cards.
  1. Seven Card Stud:
    A) Aces Full of Kings or better beaten by any better hand.
    B) Community cards do not play in stud.
  1. Only the top two hands at the showdown are eligible for the jackpot and both hands must be the best possible combination of five cards.
  1. At least 4 players must be dealt in on a qualifying table. A table with less than 4 players will not have a jackpot drop.
  1. 9. The prize pool will be awarded from the primary jackpot as follows:
    A) 50% will go to the qualifying losing hand
    B) 25% will go to the qualifying winning hand
    C) 25% will be divided among the players at the table who were dealt cards when the qualifying hand was dealt
  1. Once the Primary jackpot is hit, the Secondary jackpot becomes the Primary.
  1. There will be four royal jackpots as follows:
    A) Spades
    B) Hearts
    C) Clubs
    D) Diamonds
  1. Players must use both hole cards
  1. All the money going to the progressive royal flush will be divided equally among all four jackpots.
  1. When one of the royal flushes is hit it is no longer in play until the following day
  1. Jackpot Fund Allocation:
    A) 100% of the funds collected are added to the progressive prize pool for each type of game daily
    B) The funds are divided as follows:
    1. 50% to the Primary
    2. 30% to the Secondary
    3. 20% to the royal flushes
  1. Players must play their hands independently. Mardi Gras Racetrack & Gaming Center reserves the right to declare a jackpot null and void due to any irregularities and/or collusion
  1. All Managements decision are final.
  1. 18. Players must be 18 years of age or over.

*Tournament players are not eligible for Player Funded Progressive Jackpots.

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