Poker Rules Mucked Hand

At our site you'll find all the world's most popular poker games, including Texas Hold'em, Omaha and many more.

How Do You Win?

In the roberts rules the only ruling I could find where a player receives a bet back (after an accidental muck) is when the dealer is the one who mucks the cards. This makes sense because we can assume with reasonable confidence that when a dealer mucks a hand, it is legitimately an accident. Just looking for other opinions.

Rules for Poker Showdowns A player must show all cards in the hand faceup on the table to win any part of the pot. Cards speak, meaning regardless of what a player declares he has in his hand, he only has the hand denoted by his cards. The dealer reads all hands, and declares the winning hand. Lets you see hands that were not displayed in the poker software, if this information is provided to you in the hand history. This feature is called Mucked Cards, and is only available if the poker site provides the mucked cards to PokerTracker in the hand history. Poker etiquette, called hands and mucked cards To me, proper poker etiquette is pretty much a matter of common sense. I don't act out of turn and will keep my mouth shut in the middle of a hand I'm not in. Cards thrown into another player's hand are dead, whether they are faceup or facedown.

Typically, the winner of each hand of poker is the player that holds the highest ranked hand when all cards are shown at the end of the hand –known as the ‘showdown' – or the player that makes the last uncalled bet, thus winning without needing to reach a showdown.

Not sure whether a flush beats a straight? Can't remember how to make a full house? You can find all the information you need to know about hand rankings in the table below (click here for more). The strongest hands are in the top row, running from left to right, with the weakest possible hand being simply a high card.

Getting Started

Poker games typically feature a forced bet, such as the Big Blind and Small Blind in Hold'em and Omaha. These forced bets comprise the starting pot in any given hand of poker, which is the first incentive players have to win the hand. Action arising from the subsequent rounds of betting further increases the size of the pot.

Dealing Cards and Betting Rounds

Poker Rules Mucked Handbook

After any initial cards are dealt, players are usually called upon to act in turn, moving clockwise around the table.

Each player can usually take one of the following actions when it is their turn to act:

• Check – To check is to decline the opportunity to open the betting. Players can only check when there is no bet during the current round, and the act of checking passes the action clockwise to the next person in the hand. If all active players check, those players remain in the hand and the round is considered complete.
• Bet – Players may bet if no other players have bet during the current round. Once a bet has been made, other players must ‘call' by matching the amount bet, in order to remain in the hand.
• Fold – Players who fold forfeit their cards and cannot win or act again during the current hand.
• Call – Players can call if other players have bet during the current round; this requires the calling player to match the highest bet made.
• Raise – Players may raise if other players have bet during the current round; this requires the raising player to match the highest bet made, and then make a greater one. All subsequent players are required to call the raise or raise again (‘re-raise') to stay in the hand.

Different variants of poker have different betting rounds. Texas Hold'em and Omaha are the two most popular poker games in the world and have identical betting structures, with four rounds of betting known as pre-flop, the flop, the turn and the river.

The pre-flop betting round begins as soon as all players have received their hole cards, before any community cards have been dealt; betting on the flop occurs after the first three community cards are dealt; on the turn after the fourth community card; and on the river after the fifth and final community card.

On each betting round, betting continues until every player has either matched the bets made or folded (if no bets are made, the round is complete when every player has checked). When the betting round is completed, the next dealing/betting round begins, or the hand is complete.

Here's an example of a Texas Hold'em hand after all the cards have been dealt. As you can see, players may use any of their two hole cards with any of the five community cards to make the best five-card hand they can make - in this case, you can use both your hole cards and three of the shared community cards to make a straight.

1. Your opponents' hole cards
2. Community Cards
3. Your hole cards

Showdown

Once the last bet or raise has been called during the final round of betting, a showdown occurs; the remaining active players must show or ‘declare' their hands, and the player(s) with the best ranking hand(s) win the pot.

Players often show their hands in order, rather than all at the same time. Multiple players can share a single pot, with the pot divided in different ways depending on the game rules and how each player's hand ranks against their opponents.

Betting Limits

Betting limits refer to the amount players may open and raise. Typically, poker games are of the following types; no limit, pot limit or fixed limit.

• No Limit – in poker games with a no limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise by any amount up to and including their full stack (the total number of chips they possess at any given time) in any betting round, whenever it is their turn to act.
• Pot Limit – in poker games with a pot limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise by any amount up to and including the size of the total pot at that time.
• Fixed Limit – in poker games with a fixed limit betting structure, each player can choose to call, bet or raise, but only by a fixed amount. The fixed amount for any given betting round is set in advance.

For No Limit and Pot Limit games, the ‘Stakes' column in the PokerStars lobby indicates the Small Blind and Big Blind in that game, while for Mixed Games, the Stakes listed in the lobby are the betting amounts for Limit games; in Pot Limit and No Limit rounds, the blinds are usually half of the blinds in limit games.

Table Stakes and All-in

You may have seen a poker scene in a movie or on TV where a player is faced with a bet for more chips than they have at the table, and is forced to wager a watch, a car or some other possession in order to stay in the hand. This may make for good drama, but it is not generally the way poker is played in real life!

All games on our site are played ‘table stakes', meaning only the chips in play at the beginning of each hand can be used during the hand. The table stakes rule has an application called the ‘All-In' rule, which states that a player cannot be forced to forfeit a poker hand because the player does not have enough chips to call a bet.

A player who does not have enough chips to call a bet is declared All-In. The player is eligible for the portion of the pot up to the point of his final wager. All further action involving other players takes place in a ‘side pot', which the All-In player is not eligible to win. If more than one player goes All-In during a hand, there could be more than one side pot.

Now you've got the rules, what's stopping you? Download and play!

If you have any queries, please contact our Help Center as this is the most efficient route to getting your questions answered.

Find out how the different hands compare in Texas Hold'em, Omaha and other games.

The poker dictionary is your reference for poker jargon and the language of poker.

Poker Rules Mucked Handout

Make your first real money deposit and start playing at PokerStars. Deposits are fast and secure.

Poker rules are easier than you may think, and there's no better time to learn how to play poker than now, as this popular American game is played by many people today. The basic rules of poker are the same, and use the same 5-card poker hand ranking chart. There is one obscure poker game, named Badugi Poker, that uses a 4-card hand ranking chart, but the general rules of poker still apply.

Basic Poker Rules

Before you learn how to play poker games, you'll want to familiarize yourself with basic poker rules, such as how one poker hand ranks against another. Learning the rules of poker hands and how to determine a winner in poker might seem difficult at first, but with a little bit of studying and experience, you'll know how to play poker without having to think about it.

Table of Contents

Poker Hand Strength

The first thing to understand about poker rules is that each hand has its own strength. This strength is determined by how well the cards in your hand interact with each other. You want hands that create a run, are of the same suit, match each other's value, and are high in strength. Normal poker rules determine the strength of hands to be the higher value cards in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, and Two. The suit of each card does not determine any sort of strength in normal poker rules. There may be special poker rules for games where a suit is used to determine who gets to act first, but that is the only reason suit would be used.

Poker Rules Mucked Hands

Poker Hand Rank Chart

A normal poker hand must contain five cards. There are many games where more than five cards are used, but the winning poker hand is determined by the player who has the strongest five card poker hand. What is the best poker hand? Here is a list of basic poker hands. I've organized them from the strongest poker hands to the weakest poker hands: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card.

The printable poker hand chart on the right side of this page can be printed and brought with you to the casino and will help you learn how to play poker better. Next time you're wondering about the basic hand strength poker rules during a game, simply pull this printable poker hand rank chart out of your pocket. If you'd like to print a copy of our poker hand chart, just click the image below and a new page will open. From there, click print in your browser.

Here are basic poker hand ranking images that I've just described. Again, these are organized from the strongest hands to the weakest hands.:

Royal Flush – 1 in 649,740.00

A Royal flush is the most powerful hand in poker. The hand involves having all cards being the same suit, as well as the highest possible run, which is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten. This run is also known at the 'Broadway' run. This hand is extremely rare to receive.

Straight Flush – 1 in 72193.33

A straight flush is similar to a royal flush, except a straight flush can be beat by a higher straight flush. A straight flush contains cards of the same suit, which also create a run. However, a straight flush changes its name to a royal flush when its highest card is an Ace.

Four of a Kind – 1 in 4165.00

Four of a kind is exactly what it sounds like, which is four of any card that is the same value. As you see in the example, we have four queens. The fifth card typically doesn't come into play unless you're playing a community game and the four queens are part of the community.

Full House – 1 in 694.16

A full house is a combination of three of a kind and a pair. The strength of a full house is determined by the value of the three of a kind that is part of the full house. If both players have the same three of a kind, then the pair determines the winner. For example, if Player A has QQQ88 and Player B has QQQ66, then Player A will win because his pair of 8's are better than Player B's pair of 6's.

Flush – 1 in 508.80

A flush is a hand where all of the cards are of the same suit. Strength of a flush is determined by the highest card in the flush. If two players have flushes that have the same high card, then the next card us used to determine the winner. This goes on until one player has a higher card than the other. For example, If Player A had Q8652 and Player B had Q8653, then player B would win because his 3 is higher than Player A's 2.

Straight – 1 in 254.80

A straight is also known as a run. A player has a straight when all cards in his cards are in sequential order and at least two suits exist. If only one suit exists, then the hand would be considered a straight flush. The strength of a straight is determined by the highest card. If Player A has 87654 and Player B has QJT98, then Player B has the stronger hand.

Three of a Kind – 1 in 47.32

Three of a kind is exactly how it sounds, three cards of the same value. The strength of this hand is determined by the value of the three of a kind. If both players have the same three of a kind, which is common in community games such as Texas Holdem, then the next highest value card is used to determine the winner.

Poker Rules Mucking Cards

Two Pair – 1 in 21.03

Two pair is when a player has two sets of two cards that have the same value. The strength of two pair is determined by the top pair first, then the second pair. For example, if Player A has JJTT4, and Player B has KK223, then Player B wins the hand because his top pair is higher than Player A's. In another example, if Player A has JJTT4 and Player B has JJ994, then Player A wins the hand because their top pairs match, but Player A's second pair is higher.

One Pair – 1 in 2.36

Having one pair is to have two cards of the same value. Determining the strength of a pair is simple; whoever has the higher value pair wins. If the pair is the same strength, then the next highest card determines the winner.

High Card – 1 in 1.99

Showdown

Once the last bet or raise has been called during the final round of betting, a showdown occurs; the remaining active players must show or ‘declare' their hands, and the player(s) with the best ranking hand(s) win the pot.

Players often show their hands in order, rather than all at the same time. Multiple players can share a single pot, with the pot divided in different ways depending on the game rules and how each player's hand ranks against their opponents.

Betting Limits

Betting limits refer to the amount players may open and raise. Typically, poker games are of the following types; no limit, pot limit or fixed limit.

• No Limit – in poker games with a no limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise by any amount up to and including their full stack (the total number of chips they possess at any given time) in any betting round, whenever it is their turn to act.
• Pot Limit – in poker games with a pot limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise by any amount up to and including the size of the total pot at that time.
• Fixed Limit – in poker games with a fixed limit betting structure, each player can choose to call, bet or raise, but only by a fixed amount. The fixed amount for any given betting round is set in advance.

For No Limit and Pot Limit games, the ‘Stakes' column in the PokerStars lobby indicates the Small Blind and Big Blind in that game, while for Mixed Games, the Stakes listed in the lobby are the betting amounts for Limit games; in Pot Limit and No Limit rounds, the blinds are usually half of the blinds in limit games.

Table Stakes and All-in

You may have seen a poker scene in a movie or on TV where a player is faced with a bet for more chips than they have at the table, and is forced to wager a watch, a car or some other possession in order to stay in the hand. This may make for good drama, but it is not generally the way poker is played in real life!

All games on our site are played ‘table stakes', meaning only the chips in play at the beginning of each hand can be used during the hand. The table stakes rule has an application called the ‘All-In' rule, which states that a player cannot be forced to forfeit a poker hand because the player does not have enough chips to call a bet.

A player who does not have enough chips to call a bet is declared All-In. The player is eligible for the portion of the pot up to the point of his final wager. All further action involving other players takes place in a ‘side pot', which the All-In player is not eligible to win. If more than one player goes All-In during a hand, there could be more than one side pot.

Now you've got the rules, what's stopping you? Download and play!

If you have any queries, please contact our Help Center as this is the most efficient route to getting your questions answered.

Find out how the different hands compare in Texas Hold'em, Omaha and other games.

The poker dictionary is your reference for poker jargon and the language of poker.

Poker Rules Mucked Handout

Make your first real money deposit and start playing at PokerStars. Deposits are fast and secure.

Poker rules are easier than you may think, and there's no better time to learn how to play poker than now, as this popular American game is played by many people today. The basic rules of poker are the same, and use the same 5-card poker hand ranking chart. There is one obscure poker game, named Badugi Poker, that uses a 4-card hand ranking chart, but the general rules of poker still apply.

Basic Poker Rules

Before you learn how to play poker games, you'll want to familiarize yourself with basic poker rules, such as how one poker hand ranks against another. Learning the rules of poker hands and how to determine a winner in poker might seem difficult at first, but with a little bit of studying and experience, you'll know how to play poker without having to think about it.

Table of Contents

Poker Hand Strength

The first thing to understand about poker rules is that each hand has its own strength. This strength is determined by how well the cards in your hand interact with each other. You want hands that create a run, are of the same suit, match each other's value, and are high in strength. Normal poker rules determine the strength of hands to be the higher value cards in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, and Two. The suit of each card does not determine any sort of strength in normal poker rules. There may be special poker rules for games where a suit is used to determine who gets to act first, but that is the only reason suit would be used.

Poker Rules Mucked Hands

Poker Hand Rank Chart

A normal poker hand must contain five cards. There are many games where more than five cards are used, but the winning poker hand is determined by the player who has the strongest five card poker hand. What is the best poker hand? Here is a list of basic poker hands. I've organized them from the strongest poker hands to the weakest poker hands: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card.

The printable poker hand chart on the right side of this page can be printed and brought with you to the casino and will help you learn how to play poker better. Next time you're wondering about the basic hand strength poker rules during a game, simply pull this printable poker hand rank chart out of your pocket. If you'd like to print a copy of our poker hand chart, just click the image below and a new page will open. From there, click print in your browser.

Here are basic poker hand ranking images that I've just described. Again, these are organized from the strongest hands to the weakest hands.:

Royal Flush – 1 in 649,740.00

A Royal flush is the most powerful hand in poker. The hand involves having all cards being the same suit, as well as the highest possible run, which is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten. This run is also known at the 'Broadway' run. This hand is extremely rare to receive.

Straight Flush – 1 in 72193.33

A straight flush is similar to a royal flush, except a straight flush can be beat by a higher straight flush. A straight flush contains cards of the same suit, which also create a run. However, a straight flush changes its name to a royal flush when its highest card is an Ace.

Four of a Kind – 1 in 4165.00

Four of a kind is exactly what it sounds like, which is four of any card that is the same value. As you see in the example, we have four queens. The fifth card typically doesn't come into play unless you're playing a community game and the four queens are part of the community.

Full House – 1 in 694.16

A full house is a combination of three of a kind and a pair. The strength of a full house is determined by the value of the three of a kind that is part of the full house. If both players have the same three of a kind, then the pair determines the winner. For example, if Player A has QQQ88 and Player B has QQQ66, then Player A will win because his pair of 8's are better than Player B's pair of 6's.

Flush – 1 in 508.80

A flush is a hand where all of the cards are of the same suit. Strength of a flush is determined by the highest card in the flush. If two players have flushes that have the same high card, then the next card us used to determine the winner. This goes on until one player has a higher card than the other. For example, If Player A had Q8652 and Player B had Q8653, then player B would win because his 3 is higher than Player A's 2.

Straight – 1 in 254.80

A straight is also known as a run. A player has a straight when all cards in his cards are in sequential order and at least two suits exist. If only one suit exists, then the hand would be considered a straight flush. The strength of a straight is determined by the highest card. If Player A has 87654 and Player B has QJT98, then Player B has the stronger hand.

Three of a Kind – 1 in 47.32

Three of a kind is exactly how it sounds, three cards of the same value. The strength of this hand is determined by the value of the three of a kind. If both players have the same three of a kind, which is common in community games such as Texas Holdem, then the next highest value card is used to determine the winner.

Poker Rules Mucking Cards

Two Pair – 1 in 21.03

Two pair is when a player has two sets of two cards that have the same value. The strength of two pair is determined by the top pair first, then the second pair. For example, if Player A has JJTT4, and Player B has KK223, then Player B wins the hand because his top pair is higher than Player A's. In another example, if Player A has JJTT4 and Player B has JJ994, then Player A wins the hand because their top pairs match, but Player A's second pair is higher.

One Pair – 1 in 2.36

Having one pair is to have two cards of the same value. Determining the strength of a pair is simple; whoever has the higher value pair wins. If the pair is the same strength, then the next highest card determines the winner.

High Card – 1 in 1.99

Having high card is a weak holding. It's strength is determined by the single highest value card in the hand. If players have the same top card, then the next card is used to determine the winner, and so forth. Some people think that the odds of getting this are 100%. However, that figure is only correct when considering what your odds of getting high card or better are. In reality, you'll only get high card once in about every two hands you're dealt.

Poker players tend to play games in herds, meaning that they all tend to play the same poker games as each other. Players will typically start by learning Texas Holdem Poker rules, then move on to another poker game. Once a poker player is comfortable with the poker rules of their favorite game, then tend to play that game the most often and won't change games until a new and exciting poker game is released with different rules.

At this time, the most popular poker game is Texas Holdem. This poker game has been around since before 1970 and was used as the poker game of choice in determining the World Champion of the World Series of Poker. The next most popular games are Seven Card Stud and Omaha Poker. There are many other poker games though, and all have different poker rules. Some poker games are played using a community, which are cards laid in the middle of the table for all players to share, and some poker games only allow players to use their own cards, which may be either hidden or exposed to other players. Here are the names of some other popular poker games. This list certainly does not cover all of the games, but it does give you a general idea of what other poker games people are playing: Razz, Lowball, Badugi, Chinese Poker, Big-O, Deuce to Seven Triple Draw, Five Card Draw, Five Card Stud, Pineapple, and Crazy Pineapple.