Thu, 09/08/2011 – 07:12 – PokerPages Staff

The Deal
After antes or blinds have been placed, the deal is carried out. Each player receives five hidden “hole” cards. Unlike Texas Hold ‘em, none of the cards are community cards, each player’s cards remain hidden until the showdown.

First Betting Round
After the deal, there is a first round of betting, this is undertaken by the player directly to the left of the dealer. Each player has the option to call, raise or fold, when it is his turn. A player choosing to call will add the same amount of money as the preceding player. A raise involves adding some more to the bets already placed, whilst folding players do not bet and take no further part in the hand. The first player in the round has the option of checking, where he neither bets nor folds, passing the responsibility of betting to his neighbor. Players can only check if no other player before them has bet. The round of betting concludes when each player has bet an equal amount or only one player remains.

The Draw
After the first round of betting is the draw. The draw is where players get to discard and replace cards in their hands, in the hopes of building a better hand. At this point, a player can change any cards in his hand, from all five cards, to not changing any. Following this draw is a second round of betting.

The Showdown
Once the second betting round has been completed, all remaining players must reveal their hands. The highest hand will be the winner.

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