Updated 2020-03-01.
We use “Robert’s Rules of Poker, version 11” as the basis of our house rules, as applicable, and as modified by the clarifications and exceptions that comprise the remainder of this document. We typically play No-Limit Texas Hold’em.
I am a member of the “Minneapolis Rounders” poker meetup group. My home games are posted on the group’s calendar, and seat reservations are available through the group. Membership is free, and there’s no charge for games — and no rake! The Rounders Rules & Etiquette also apply.
Poker is a game, and games should be fun, win or lose.
Only play poker with money you can easily afford to lose.
Hold no grudges.
Bottom line: if you’re not enjoying yourself at the poker table, maybe you should stop for a while and do something else that you find enjoyable. If you are having fun, great — let’s play!
We aim to play a friendly, fair game. People sometimes make mistakes. When an irregularity that is material to the game arises it will be discussed and, if possible, resolved using common sense in the spirit of fairness. If agreement cannot be reached quickly and amicably, these rules are the final word.
This is a home game. You are a guest in a private home, so please act accordingly.
When you reserve a seat at a game, you commit to playing in that game.
Can’t play? You MUST inform the host ASAP
Reserving a seat then not showing up hurts the game and is disrespectful to the host and to the other players. If something comes up and you can’t play, you MUST inform the host ASAP. Failure to do so risks not being welcome in future (e.g. your reservation may be bumped or deleted). Life happens, but no-shows can prevent other willing players (i.e. people on the waiting list) from playing and can shorten games — very uncool.
In a cash game, it’s okay to join the game late. Just be sure to let the host know of your plans (and changes to plans!) ASAP.
The host reserves the right to prioritize reservations and give preferential treatment.
No smoking or vaping in the house. Smokers, please exhale fully, outside, before re-entering the house.
No standing/urinal use of the toilet. Drop trou & sit, men! Consider the ladies! Also, I’m tired of cleaning up after drunkards with bad aim.
Please remove your shoes at the door. No shoes indoors.
Players must take care to keep drinks from spilling on the table.
Players must take care to keep the cards and chips clean — no sticky, dirty, or greasy fingers (so no sticky, greasy, or messy food at the table).
Show one, show all. If a player shows cards to another player during or after a hand, any player at the table has the right to see those exposed cards after the hand is over. It’s best not to share mucked cards.
No discussion of the hand in play until the action is complete. Exception: if there are only two people in the hand (heads up), they may discuss the hand as they wish. Absolutely no discussion of the hand in play if you are not involved in the hand.
Don’t delay the game:
Keep your highest value chips visible at the front of your stack, so that other players can quickly estimate your chip total. Don’t hide high-value chips behind the rest of your stack.
Keep your cards visible, on the table, in front of your chip stack. Don’t hide your cards behind your stack, don’t take your cards off the table, and don’t cover your cards completely with your hands.
Protect your cards. Use a chip or a card capper (card guard, card protector) on top of your cards, or place your hand partially on top of your cards. If your cards enter the muck, even accidentally, they’re dead.
Don’t splash the pot. Place your bet immediately in front of your cards, well separated from the pot.
Please help out when you can (especially players seated at the middle of the table, when we don’t have a dedicated dealer).
Seating is first-come, first-served.
When playing on two tables:
Players should announce their intention to leave the game at least one round (or half an hour) ahead. Exception: busted players may leave at any time and are not forced to re-buy.
Gross misunderstandings: see RROPv11 § 14 “No-Limit and Pot-Limit”, § “No-Limit Rules”, rule 12.
Table stakes, chips only, no cash.
Exception: cash on the table may “play behind”, with declaration (e.g. when buying chips), before looking at your hole cards.
Typical buy-ins: minimum is 20 big blinds, maximum is the greater of 100 (sometimes 200) big blinds or the size of the big stack (approximately). The game may specify different buy-in limits, or the players may agree on different buy-ins. The limits must be made clear at the outset.
Buy-ins are cash only, no credit.
No ratholing. Chips must remain in play until a player cashes out.
Each player is responsible for verifying that their chip count and the banker’s chip count and the final payout all match. Any discrepancies must be addressed immediately.
We use the “dead button” rule (continuity of blinds). The alternative, the “forward moving button” rule, is fairer but is too complicated to implement and slows down the game. Explanations of both rules can be found here and here.
New players entering a game-in-progress are not required to post a big blind.
Players with missed blinds who wish to rejoin the game must either post one of each missed blind or wait for (and pay) the big blind or straddle.
When both blinds are posted, the small blind is dead (added to the pot) and is not part of a bet.
“Buy the button” rule: A new or returning player may only enter the game between the button and the small blind (one hand early) by buying the button. The new player posts both the big blind (live) and the small blind (dead, in the pot) in place of the two players to his/her left, who take a one-hand break from posting blinds. On the next hand, the player who just bought the button gets the button (and the deal) and play continues normally. Everyone ends up posting one of each blind, as usual.
If a player is absent when it is their turn to act, their hand is dead and they forfeit their blind, if any. Exception: be lenient with the host/banker when they’re otherwise busy.
Live straddle bets are allowed, before looking at cards (ideally before any cards are dealt), doubling for each position, up to and including the player on the button: the first straddle is to the left of and double the big blind, the next straddle is double that (so 4 times the big blind, a “double straddle”), then 8 times (“triple straddle”), etc. As straddles are considered additional blinds, the full amount of the last straddle is also the minimum raise in the pre-flop betting round.
Button straddles, sleeper straddles, and Mississippi straddles are not allowed, because they’re too obscure and confusing (requiring explanations that slow down the game), and they tend to piss off the other players. Live straddles are bad enough.
How to shuffle, cut, and deal properly: see TruePokerDealer.com (or their YouTube channel) and/or HowToShuffle.com (archived).
In player-dealt games, we may use two decks and “shuffle behind” (a.k.a. “clean up your own mess”) to speed up play:
See alternate explanations & variations at chiptalk.net and pokersmasher.com.
Cut the deck with one hand only. Place the shuffled deck on the table. Place the cut card in front of the deck. (A “cut card” is an opaque plastic card used to hide the bottom card from accidental view.) Lift a significant number of cards (between ⅓ and ⅔ of the deck) from the top of the deck and place them onto the cut card. Using the same hand, lift the remaining cards off the table and place them onto the cards already on top of the cut card.
Absent players who have paid all their blinds for that round should be dealt in. Absent players with missed blinds should not be dealt in.
When the action comes around to an absent player, their hand will be mucked regardless of their position or blinds paid.
Dealing an absent player in or out does not cause a misdeal.
Deal cards flat and low to the table in order to avoid exposing cards.
Misdeals occur when any two hole cards are exposed, or when the initial hole card of either of the first two players (small blind or big blind) is exposed.
If a single hole card is exposed, the rest of the cards stay in play, the exposed card becomes the first burn card (placed face-up on top of the deck after the deal), and the card that would have been the first burn card replaces the exposed card.
Place the burn cards, face down, near the board (the community cards) and separated from the general muck (typically, under the chips in the pot or under the button). This way, the number of burn cards is evident to all.
Never burn a card early; always wait until you are ready to deal the board card(s), and then burn. Removing a burn card early defeats the purpose of the burn card: to hide the back of the next board card in case there is a distinguishing mark. Also, burning a card early can result in confusion.
Do not deal any board cards early (face-up or face-down!). Even dealing face-down may expose the value of a card through a distinguishing mark on the card back. If you need to leave the table, ask a neighbor to finish the deal for you.
See this video (TruePokerDealer) and/or Poker Board Cards (HowToShuffle.Com archived) for details.
The minimum opening bet is one big blind. The minimum raise is the greater of the size of the initial bet or the previous raise in that betting round. Exception: all-in wagers.
Example 1: with 25¢/50¢ blinds, players may call for 50¢ or raise to a minimum total of $1. After a raise to $1, the next raise is to a minimum total of $1.50 (a $1 call plus another 50¢ raise).
Example 2: post-flop, the first bet is $1, followed by a raise to $5 total (a raise of $4). The minimum for a subsequent re-raise is $9 total (a $5 call plus another $4 raise).
An all-in wager of less than a full raise does not (by itself) reopen the betting to a player who has already acted.
Example: post-flop, 3-handed. Player A bets $10, Player B calls, Player C raises all-in to $16 total. Neither Player A nor Player B may re-raise immediately, as Player C’s all-in wager was not a full re-raise.
Place your bets in front of your cards, separate from the pot. No splashing the pot (tossing chips into the pot).
No string bets. Raises must be declared before any chips are placed, or the total bet (call + raise) must be placed in one motion.
Exception: Placing a multiple-chip bet consisting of a full bet plus at least half a full raise is the same as announcing a raise, and the minimum raise must be completed. With less than half a full raise, the excess chips must be pulled back.
Declare your bets and raises! Without declaration, a wager is the full amount of the chip(s) played.
Single chip rule. After a bet, putting a single chip into the pot without declaration is a call, regardless of denomination.
Verbal declarations are binding (“fold”, “check”, “bet”, “call”, “raise”, amount of bet). Raises should be specific. Acceptable raise phrases: “raise, X more”, “raise, plus X”, “raise, X on top”, “raise, Y total”, “raise, Y to go”, “raise to Y”, “raise, make it Y”, “raise, Y all day”. Just saying “raise Z” is ambiguous — are you raising to Z or raising Z more?
Wait to take change. When calling or betting without exact chips, don’t take change immediately from the pot or from another player’s active bet; this can be very confusing, e.g. after a raise. Take change from the pot only after the betting is complete, and make your actions clear.
When no further action is possible after one or more players are all-in:
The players are free to open their hands or keep their hole cards hidden, their choice.
The players may agree to “run it twice” (a.k.a. “deal twice”: deal the remainder of the board cards twice, and split the pot) or come to some other arrangement (run it three times, etc.).
The player who made the last aggressive action on the final betting round (the river in Hold’em) must open his/her hand first. If the final round was checked down, the first player on the dealer’s left (earliest position player) must open first.
To win any part of a pot, both hole cards must be shown.
No slow rolls: turn over both hole cards together and without delay.
The cards speak, regardless of verbal declarations of hands.
Players are responsible for reading hands and determining the winner.
Any player, in the hand or not, may (and should) speak up immediately if they think a mistake is being made in the reading of hands.
If a player verbally declares their hand, the winning hole cards must still be shown.
If a player miscalls their hand, causing opponent(s) to muck, the miscalled hand is automatically disqualified — even if the mucked hand(s) can be retrieved.
Retrieving mucked cards. Players may retrieve their cards immediately after mucking by mistake, but only if their cards are clearly identifiable. This is a privilege that may be revoked if abused.
In the case of a split pot, after splitting evenly, any odd chips go to the first players clockwise after the button/dealer.