Titan Poker Rules

All these games are played by two to ten people (plus a virtual dealer), with a card deck of 52 cards. The players place bets into the pot throughout the game, until the best poker hand wins the game.

Although all three variations are quite similar in their basic concept, each features its own unique and important strategic solutions. We present these three different poker games, so that each player can choose his or her favorite. First in the line will be Texas Hold'em, the most popular poker game in the world. Then, we shall move to Omaha and its offspring, Omaha Hi-Lo.

This is how the game round goes (examples are taken from a limit poker):

As soon as the round starts, the two players left of the dealer button must post "blinds", that is to place a bet before getting their cards. This being done to ensure that every winning hand wins some money. Since the dealer button moves on every game round, everyone has to post blinds at some point in the game. The player to the immediate left of the dealer button posts the "small blind," equal to half of the minimum stake (e.g. $5 for a $10/$20 game), while the player to the left of the small blind posts the "big blind," equal to the amount of the minimum stake (e.g. $10 for a $10/$20 game).

Once the blinds have been posted, first cards are dealt. Every player gets two cards face down, which are called pocket cards.

the player directly to the left of the big blind gets to bet first, while the others bet subsequently in a clockwise direction around the table. Every player can fold, call or raise. Raising is possible by the lower table stake ($10 in a $10/$20 game) only.

After the bets have been placed, three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These cards are called the flop cards. These are "community" cards and can be used by all the players to make up their hand.

Second round of betting follows, which is exactly like the first round.

After the second round of betting, a fourth "community" card is dealt face up in the middle of the table, after the flop cards. This is called the "Turn card", and it is followed by a third round of betting.

This round, again, is carried out just like the first and the second, with one exception: raising is possible only by the higher table stake ($20 in a $10/$20 game).

Finally, a fifth and final "community" card is dealt. It is called the "River card" and is followed by a fourth and final round of betting.

This final betting round is carried out exactly as the third.

As soon as the final betting round ends, the best five-card hand is determined. Both the pocket cards and the community cards can be used to make up the final hand. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. A split-pot is also possible, if it happens that several players have hands of same worth. There can also be a situation when the best five cards are the "community" cards, in which case the pot is divided between all the players who are left in the pot at the showdown. If a player sees that you he/she is losing, and does not want to show his/her cards, he/she can Muck, that is to give up his/her hand and lose the pot. Otherwise players can Show to compare their hand with others.

After a hand is completed and the pot won by the player(s), the dealer button is moved one player to the left, and the next hand starts over again.

If you think that you have a weak hand which is not worth playing, you can fold your cards. You will lose all the money you have placed in bets, as well as the blinds, but you will not lose any more. After folding, you are out of the game until the next round.

If you do not want to bet, you can stay in the game by checking or calling. If no bet has been made before you, you can check without placing any money in the pot. If a bet has been made, you can call by placing the same amount in the pot.

If you think you hand is strong enough, you can make a bet. If another player has already made a bet, you can raise it. The amounts of raising are fixed by the table stakes. For example, in a $10/$20 table, bets are $10 in the first two rounds and $20 in the last two. There can be one bet and three raises in each round (bet, raise, re-raise, re-raise). After three raises the betting round is over and the next card is dealt (or, if it is the final betting round, the best hand is determined).

If or when a player runs out of chips during the course of a game, he/she does not have to fold. Instead the player may choose to go All-in. When you are all-in, you call or bet (depeding if the game is limit, pot-limit or no-limit) all your chips and the pot is divided into the main pot and a side pot. All subsequent chips are hereafter added to the side pot. If the "All-in" player has a winning hand at the showdown , the main pot goes to the "All-in" player, and the side pot goes to the next best hand. When several players go All-in, multiple side pots are created.

Omaha poker follows the same rules as Texas Hold'em poker, but with two exceptions:

Omaha Hi-Lo follows the same rules as regular Omaha, but there is an additional way to win a share of the pot. The Hi winner is the player with the best poker hand, as in Omaha High Only. But in addition to a Hi winner, there can be a Low winner. The Low hand is a hand with 5 different cards below a 9. You must use two pocket cards and three community cards to make a low hand. For example, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 of any suit would be a Low hand. The lowest Low hand is the Low winner. In case of a Low winner, the pot is split 50/50 between the Low and High winner. In case of multiple Low hands, the Low winner is determined by comparing the highest of the low cards, then the second highest, etc. If the two or more Low hands are equal, the Low pot is split between them. Because there must be at least three different low cards (under 9) on the board at the end to enable a qualifying low hand there may not be a Low winner every hand. Also, a player may use different pocket cards for Hi and for Low, from the four cards dealt to him along with any three community cards, where again different cards may be used for the high hand to the low hand. In Hi Low Omaha the lowest possible hand is 5,4,3,2,A of any suits (flushes and straights do not count against you for the low hand). Ace counts as high and low and therefore the same ace can be used to make a high hand and a low hand.

Pot Limit games differ from the Limit games by the betting and raising amounts allowed: The minimum raise amount is the previous bet or raise in the same hand. For example, if the first player bet $10, the second player can raise a minimum of $10. The maximum raise amount is the total betting pot + total bets of other players in the betting round + the call amount of the player. For example, if the pot is $50, the first player bets $10 and the second player calls $10, the third player can raise up to $80 ($50 in the main pot + $20 from past bets in the round + $10 of the player's own call).

No Limit games differ from the Limit games in the fact that there is no maximum to each raise (apart from the player's table balance).