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Poker Rules / POKER / BETUS HELP

Welcome to the BetUS.com Poker Rules page, if you have any questions about the games we offer, the following information should answer them. Online Poker is a game that combines both skill and chance; you can't find long-term success with out knowing how to play the game but of course, most skilled poker players will acknowledge luck was on their side after winning a big pot.

The rules for each game are a little different but the goal remains the same, you want to finish with the best five-card poker hand. In the game of poker, the hands are ranked by the probability of having those specific cards in your final hand. To see how the hands rank, check out our Hand Rankings page.

How Dealing Works

In the BetUS.com Poker room, the poker software deals the cards but each player will have a turn in the dealer position, the dealer button – represented at the table by a small disc labeled "D" - that moves around the table in a clockwise manner after each hand represents this position.

In some games such as Stud Poker, the dealer position has little impact on the game. However, in a game such as Texas Hold'em there are certain benefits to being the dealer, namely the opportunity to bet last after seeing how all of your opponents have bet for the round.

How Betting Works

When playing poker in the BetUS.com poker room - like the card rooms in Las Vegas - we use the standard bet and three-raise model. What that means is in any betting round there can be an opening bet and a maximum of three raises. Unless otherwise state we permit check and raise betting. This means that if a player checks, that player still have the opportunity to raise if a subsequent bets and betting has not been capped when the betting returns to him.

Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold’em is a relatively simple concept, each player is dealt two cards face down (called the hole cards) and then over the course of the hand the dealer will deal five card face up in the middle of the table (called the community cards). The players will use a combination of their hole cards and the community cards to create a five-card poker hand; the winner is the player with the best five-card combination.

What separates the sharks from the fish are the betting rounds, the cards are dealt over the course of four rounds and in between each round players are given the opportunity to place bets on there chances of having the best hand at the end of the game.

We offer 10-seat, 6-seat, and head-to-head Hold'em games.

Game Play

• The game begins with the posting of the small blind by the person to the left of the virtual dealer.
• The player to the immediate left posts the big blind.
• Each player is dealt two cards, face down, at the start. These are called the hole cards.
• Following the dealing of the hole cards is a round of betting, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind. This first round of betting is at the lower level of the table stakes. In a $10/$20 game, each bet in this round is $10.
• Next, three community cards are dealt, face up. These are called the flop.
• Now there is another round of betting. This second round is again at the lower stakes level.
• A fourth card, called the turn is dealt face up.
• Once again, there is a round of betting. Now betting in this third round is at the higher stakes level. Using the $10/$20 game example, all bets are now $20.
• A fifth and final face up card, called the river is dealt.
• A final round of betting is held. Once again, the betting in this fourth round is at the higher stakes level.
• Beginning with the last player to bet, players must show or muck their hands. This is called the Showdown.

Omaha Poker

Omaha is a variation of Texas Hold'em. In Omaha, players are dealt four hole cards instead of two and when making their hand they must use two and only two of the hole cards as well as three of the community cards. The wider range of hand possibilities can generate some big pots and big pots can cause a lot of excitement at the table.

Omaha Hi-Lo (8 or Better)

Omaha Hi-Lo and Omaha are the same game but with one exception that can change the strategy in a big way. In Omaha Hi-Lo, there is the possibility of two winning hands per game, the highest ranked hand and the lowest ranked hand providing that a hand qualify as a low hand.

In order to qualify as a low hand the player's hand cannot have any card higher than an eight. Straights and flushes are not considered when judging a low hand, therefore best possible low hand is A-2-3-4-5 as Aces are counted as both a high and a low card. The straight Ace to five gives the player the unique possibility to win both the high and low pot.

The game play follows the same format as Texas Hold'em but instead of two hole cards, each player receives four hole cards.

Fixed Limit

In a Fixed Limit game, the bet and raise amount are a pre-set amount. The betting is equal to the big blind in the first two rounds of betting but doubles for the last two rounds. There is a maximum of four bets per betting round, a bet and up to three raises. For example in a $5/$10 the players must bet $5 and raise by $5 up to a maximum of $20 for the pre-flop and flop rounds, they must bet $10 and raise by $10 up to a maximum of $40 for the turn and river round.

Pot Limit

In a Pot Limit game, the maximum bet/raise cannot exceed the total amount of money in the pot. Therefore, if the pot is $45 you cannot bet more than $45. If you are raising another players bet, your call is already included in the pot. For example if your opponent opens with a $100 wager, your maximum wager could be $300.

No Limit

No limit poker as the name suggests has no maximum bet or raise amount. The only limits in no limit poker are the size of your chip stack. The minimum bet amount must be at least equal to the big blind or that of the last bet on the table.

Exceptions To Betting

All ins

When a player wishes to call a bet or indeed wishes to make a bet but does not have enough funds to do so, the player can remain in the game by going all in (betting all their remaining money). The player will take no further action in the hand but will still be eligible to win the share of the pot up to and including their last contribution. They will not be eligible to win any money staked thereafter which goes into a separate (side) pot and can only be won by those players remaining in the game.

Joining a table

When a player joins a game mid-table, they will be given an option to either play in the next hand or to wait until it is their turn to post the big blind. If the player opts to join the game at any time prior to their turn on the big blind they must post an equivalent amount to the big blind. In these circumstances, the player would also be given the option to check so long as a previous raise has not been made.