Texas Hold'em Rules

Texas Hold'em is the most popular version of poker around. It is played against other players on the table and involves the use of strategy, psychology, bluffing, gambling and luck. The goal is to build the best possible five-card hand out of your two pocket cards and five community cards, and win as much as possible from other players.

How do I start playing?

Once you have chosen a table, a window will popup and the game will load. Available seats are the square panels showing 'Join'. Clicking any of these squares will reserve that seat for you whilst you select how much you want to bring to the table in the Buy-In menu. Once you have selected an amount to buy-in with, you will be placed in your selected seat and the camera will adjust your position to the central seat, so all other players are around you. You cannot play Texas Hold'em on more than one seat per table.

The game will start as long as there are at least 2 players at the table. If you join whilst a game is in progress, you can opt to pay the big blind early and join the game in the next round by checking the 'Post BB Early to Join' button, otherwise you'll have to wait until it's your turn to post the big blind to join.

Texas Hold'em Rules

A player is assigned as the dealer, and this is indicated by the dealer button (D) placed on the table in front of that player. The dealer button moves clockwise around the table for each game.

The 2 players to the left of the dealer post blind bets. The player directly to the dealer's left puts out the 'Small Blind' (SB), while the next player to the left puts out the 'Big Blind' (BB). Blind bets have to be placed at the start of each game, and before any cards are dealt. If any player opts to sit out or fails to make an action when it's their turn to post a 'blind', they will remain sitting out until the 'I'm Back' button is pressed. To rejoin the game the player must either wait until it's his/her turn to post the big blind or select the 'Pay Missed Blinds' button to join earlier than that.

After the blinds are in place two 'pocket cards' are dealt to each player face down, and only you will be able to see what your cards are. The action falls on the player to the left of the big blind, who can either call, raise or fold. Betting continues clockwise around the table. Each player has a certain amount of time to take their turn, indicated by the timer around your picture. If any player fails to take their turn in time, they will automatically fold their hand.

After all players have had a chance to call and bet, the first 3 of the community cards are dealt face up in the centre of the table, which are called the flop. Community cards are used by everyone playing on the table in combination with their own cards to make the best hand. Following the flop, another round of betting starts from the player to the dealer's left.

The fourth community card is then dealt face up next to the flop. This is called the turn. Another round of betting occurs before the fifth and final community card is dealt, which is called the river.

A final round of betting occurs, and then the remaining players show their cards in the 'showdown'. The person with the best 5 card hand by combining their pocket cards with the community cards wins.

If 2 or more players have the same winning hands, the pot is split equally between them.

Buy-Ins and Betting

Yazino currently only offers No Limit poker. However other types are planned to be added soon.

No Limit games have a minimum and maximum buy-in, which is the minimum and maximum amount of chips you can bring to the table when you take your seat. When you join a seat, it is reserved for 30 seconds to allow you to decide how much you want to buy-in with.

During a betting round in a 'No Limit' game, there is no limit to the maximum bet or raise that you can make; as long as it's within the balance you have at the table at that time. There is a minimum bet which is equivalent to the big blind.

Minimum raises must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same betting round. If you call a bet but don't have enough chips to cover it, you will go 'All-In' and the pot will be split so you can only win whatever your share of the total pot is.

Time-outs

Player's will be marked as 'Away' if their timer runs out before making an action. Whilst 'Away' they will still place blinds but automatically fold their hands. Normal play can be resumed by pressing the 'I'm Back' button. If any player stays 'Away' for 3 consecutive hands, they will automatically lose their seat.

Card Deck and Hand Ranks

A single 52 card deck is used in Texas Hold'em. All suits have an equal value, and aces are the highest card, and 2's the lowest.

Hand ranks in Texas Hold'em are the same as in any other version of poker. Your hand is made up using the 5 best cards out of the 2 pocket cards you have plus the 5 community cards on the table. The value of 'Your Hand' is displayed above the dealer chat on the table, and the rankings of each category can be view by pressing the '?' button on the table.

The minimum buy-in for the game is 10 big blinds and the maximum is 50 big blinds.