Setup
- Players: 2–8 players
- Deck: Standard 52-card deck (no jokers), shuffled each hand
- Blinds: Small Blind = $0.25; Big Blind = $0.50; rotate clockwise after each hand
- Chips: Denominations: $0.25, $1, $5; buy-in range: $10–$40, Larger buy-ins allowed at host's discretion
- Dealer Button: Use a marker to track Dealer; moves one seat clockwise each hand
Gameplay
The Deal
Dealer shuffles and deals two hole cards to each player, starting left of Dealer clockwise. If a card is exposed, misdeal and reshuffle. To speed up, use two decks: small blind shuffles, big blind cuts the other.
Betting Rounds
- Pre-Flop: After blinds, each player may Fold, Call, or Raise (min raise = $0.25).
- Flop: Burn one card; deal three community cards face-up; betting starts left of Dealer.
- Turn: Burn one card; deal fourth community card; another betting round.
- River: Burn one card; deal fifth community card; final betting round.
Showdown & Ties
Remaining players reveal hands; last aggressor on River shows first. If no River bet, reveal starts left of Dealer. Higher five-card hand wins; ties split pot & odd chip to left of Dealer. Suit ranking (for non-monetary ties): Spades > Hearts > Diamonds > Clubs.
Betting Structure
- No-Limit: Players may bet any amount up to their stack.
- Minimum Raise: Equal to double the previous bet/raise (e.g., bet 2$, min raise $4).
- All-In & Side Pots: All-ins create side pots; all-in player eligible only for main pot.
Table Positions
Preflop order (earliest → latest): UTG (then UTG+1, UTG+2 as needed), Lowjack (LJ), Hijack (HJ), Cutoff (CO), Button (BTN), Small Blind (SB), Big Blind (BB).
Postflop order: Action starts with the first active player to the left of the Button and proceeds clockwise; the blinds often act first postflop.
6-Max Baseline
With 6 players, the standard positions are: UTG, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB.
Expanding Beyond 6 Players
If the game has more than 6 players, you add positions in front of Hijack by moving earlier in the order:
- 7 players: UTG, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB
- 8 players: UTG, UTG+1, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB
- 9 players: UTG, UTG+1, UTG+2, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB
- 10 players: UTG, UTG+1, UTG+2, UTG+3, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB
Short-Handed (for reference)
- 5 players: UTG, CO, BTN, SB, BB
- 4 players: UTG, BTN, SB, BB
- 3 players: BTN, SB, BB
- Heads-Up: SB is also the BTN (acts first preflop, last postflop), then BB
Tip: “Earlier” positions (UTG & UTG+X) act first preflop and are considered the tightest seats; “later” positions (CO & BTN) act last and have the biggest informational advantage.