Your best 5-card poker hand in Texas Hold'em is made up of ANY combination of your hole cards and the ones on the board so if they have an ace in their hand plus one on the board, it's still a pair of aces.

A similar level of confusion can occur with a pair of dueling Full Houses. When comparing the rank of Full Houses, the bigger three-of-a-kind is always the bigger full house.

If the highest three-of-a-kind is on the board and shared by each player, the highest pair in either hand is the deciding factor. A lot of high cards in a Flush look great but when comparing flushes it doesn't matter.

The player with the single highest card in any flush has the winning flush. If anyone has the Ace, that's always considered the Nut flush.

If neither player has the Ace of the flush suit, the King is next highest and so on. If the Ace is on the board, the player with the next highest card wins.

When there is just two people left and I had a pair of 5 lost to ace 4 when I had an ace king I lost to a pair of fours.. Hey Mel, The winner is the one who has the best combination of the cards on the board and hole cards.

If you had pocket fives and your opponent won with A4, then A4 must have connected with the board somehow. Regular in Poker - Poker Terms. What is Rolled Up in Poker?

Rolled Up in Poker - Poker Terms. What is Solver in Poker? Solver in Poker - Poker Terms. What is Spread Limit in Poker? Spread Limit in Poker - Poker Terms.

Once you have folded your hand it is placed in a pile of other discarded hands known as the muck by the dealer. Having touched the muck, your hand is now dead.

It cannot be retrieved even if you were to realise that your hand had been discarded by accident. However, let's assume that you do want to continue in the hand after someone else has bet.

Group name:. Public Can be searched and viewed by anyone. Consolidated Merges all the players into a single combined player. Select a filter name: Select Filter.

Filter name:. Enter Player Names one per line :. Player A has the second-best hand, and wins the side pot. Player C loses the hand, and must "re-buy" if they wish to be dealt in on subsequent hands.

There is a strategic advantage to being all in: such a player cannot be bluffed , because they are entitled to hold their cards and see the showdown without risking any more money.

Opponents who continue to bet after a player is all in can still bluff each other out of the side pot, which is also to the all in player's advantage since players who fold out of the side pot also reduce competition for the main pot.

But these advantages are offset by the disadvantage that a player cannot win any more money than their stake can cover when they have the best hand, nor can an all in player bluff other players on subsequent betting rounds when they do not have the best hand.

Some players may choose to buy into games with a "short stack", a stack of chips that is relatively small for the stakes being played, with the intention of going all in after the flop and not having to make any further decisions.

However, this is generally a non-optimal strategy in the long-term, since the player does not maximize their gains on their winning hands.

If a player does not have sufficient money to cover the ante and blinds due, that player is automatically all-in for the coming hand. Any money the player holds must be applied to the ante first, and if the full ante is covered, the remaining money is applied towards the blind.

Some cardrooms require players in the big blind position to have at least enough chips to cover the small blind and ante if applicable in order to be dealt in.

In cash games with such a rule, any player in the big blind with insufficient chips to cover the small blind will not be dealt in unless they re-buy.

In tournaments with such a rule, any player in the big blind with insufficient chips to cover the small blind will be eliminated with their remaining chips being removed from play.

If a player is all in for part of the ante, or the exact amount of the ante, an equal amount of every other player's ante is placed in the main pot, with any remaining fraction of the ante and all blinds and further bets in the side pot.

If a player is all in for part of a blind, all antes go into the main pot. Players to act must call the complete amount of the big blind to call, even if the all-in player has posted less than a full big blind.

At the end of the betting round, the bets and calls will be divided into the main pot and side pot as usual.

All remaining players fold, the small blind folds, and Dianne folds. If a player goes all in with a bet or raise rather than a call, another special rule comes into play.

There are two options in common use: pot-limit and no-limit games usually use what is called the full bet rule , while fixed-limit and spread-limit games may use either the full bet rule or the half bet rule.

The full bet rule states that if the amount of an all-in bet is less than the minimum bet, or if the amount of an all-in raise is less than the full amount of the previous raise, it does not constitute a "real" raise, and therefore does not reopen the betting action.

The half bet rule states that if an all-in bet or raise is equal to or larger than half the minimum amount, it does constitute a raise and reopens the action.

If the half bet rule were being used, then that raise would count as a genuine raise and the first player would be entitled to re-raise if they chose to creating a side pot for the amount of their re-raise and the third player's call, if any.

In a game with a half bet rule, a player may complete an incomplete raise, if that player still has the right to raise in other words, if that player has not yet acted in the betting round, or has not yet acted since the last full bet or raise.

The act of completing a bet or raise reopens the betting to other remaining opponents. For example, four players are in a hand, playing with a limit betting structure and a half bet rule.

Alice checks, and Dianne checks. But if Joane completes, either of them could raise. When all players in the pot are all-in, or one player is playing alone against opponents who are all all-in, no more betting can take place.

Some casinos and many major tournaments require that all players still involved open , or immediately reveal, their hole cards in this case—the dealer will not continue dealing until all hands are flipped up.

Likewise, any other cards that would normally be dealt face down, such as the final card in seven-card stud , may be dealt face-up. Such action is automatic in online poker.

This rule discourages a form of tournament collusion called "chip dumping", in which one player deliberately loses their chips to another to give that player a greater chance of winning.

The alternative to table stakes rules is called "open stakes", in which players are allowed to buy more chips during the hand and even to borrow money often called "going light".

Open stakes are most commonly found in home or private games. In casinos, players are sometimes allowed to buy chips at the table during a hand, but are never allowed to borrow money or use IOUs.

Other casinos, depending on protocol for buying chips, prohibit it as it slows gameplay considerably.

Open stakes is the older form of stakes rules, and before "all-in" betting became commonplace, a large bankroll meant an unfair advantage; raising the bet beyond what a player could cover in cash gave the player only two options; buy a larger stake borrowing if necessary or fold.

This is commonly seen in period-piece movies such as Westerns, where a player bets personal possessions or even wagers property against another player's much larger cash bankroll.

In modern open-stakes rules, a player may go all in as in table stakes if they so choose, rather than adding to their stake or borrowing.

Because it is a strategic advantage to go all in with some hands while being able to add to your stake with others, such games should strictly enforce a minimum buy-in that is several times the maximum bet or blinds, in the case of a no-limit or pot-limit game.

A player who goes all in and wins a pot that is less than the minimum buy-in may not then add to their stake or borrow money during any future hand until they re-buy an amount sufficient to bring their stake up to a full buy-in.

If a player cannot or does not wish to go all-in, they may instead choose to buy chips with cash out-of-pocket at any time, even during the play of a hand, and their bets are limited only by the specified betting structure of the game.

Finally, a player may also borrow money by betting with an IOU, called a "marker", payable to the winner of the pot. To bet with a marker, all players still active in the pot must agree to accept the marker.

Some clubs and house rules forbid IOUs altogether. If the marker is not acceptable, the bettor may bet with cash out-of-pocket or go all-in. A player may also borrow money from a player not involved in the pot, giving them a personal marker in exchange for cash or chips, which the players in the pot are then compelled to accept.

A player may borrow money to call a bet during a hand, and later in the same hand go all-in due to further betting; but if a player borrows money to raise, they forfeit the right to go all-in later in that same hand—if they are re-raised, they must borrow money to call, or fold.

A player may also buy more chips or be bought back in by any other player for any given amount at any given time. Just as in table stakes, no player may remove chips or cash from the table once they are put in play except small amounts for refreshments, tips, and such —this includes all markers, whether one's own or those won from other players.

Players should agree before play on the means and time limits of settling markers, and a convenient amount below which all markers must be accepted to simplify play.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Redirected from Check poker. This article is about the common terms, rules, and procedures of betting in poker only.

For the strategic impact of betting, see poker strategy. Main article: Blind poker. Main article: Kill game. Main article: Kill game poker.

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

January Learn how and when to remove this template message. Archived May 10, , at the Wayback Machine , rec. Index of poker articles. Fundamental theorem of poker Morton's theorem Pot odds Slow play.

Computer poker player Online poker Poker tools. Play higher stakes tournaments and ring games by purchasing Play Money chips.

Poker anytime, anywhere - Play a full range of games on the PokerStars app - directly on your device! See the Special Offers page for more. PokerStars has the widest selection of Play Money tournaments in online poker.