How To Play
Getting Started
Please ensure that your machine meets the minimum specifications listed below. The specifications recommended for the best performance are also shown:
Windows PC Specifications
Minimum Specification:
3 Ghz single Core Processor (Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64)
512 Megabytes RAM
Optimal Specification:
2.66 Ghz Quad Core Processor (Intel Core i7 or AMD Phenom X3)
2 Gigabytes of RAM
Adobe Flash Player 10 is required. You may download it for free from the Adobe Website - http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
The supported operating systems are Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.
The supported browsers are Firefox 3.0 and up, Internet Explorer 6 and up, Chrome or Opera.
The minimum monitor resolution required is 1024 x 768
You may be able to run the software on machines that do not meet the specifications listed above, however we will not officially be supporting our software on those machines so you do so at your own risk.
Game Rules
Texas Hold'em
Texas Hold'em is a poker game where there are two "Hole" cards per player dealt face down and up to five "Community" cards dealt face up in front of the dealer in a set sequence of flop, turn and river. Players then use any combination of their own Hole cards and the Community cards to make the best five card hand they can.
The three variations which are available in the Poker3 software are Fixed Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit. Each has almost identical rules but unique play styles due to the different betting limits involved.
- In Fixed Limit Texas Hold'em, a player only chooses whether to bet or not, the amount is determined by the limit of the betting round and of the game. In addition there will normally be a limit on the number of raises per betting round.
- In Pot Limit Texas Hold'em a player can raise any amount up to the amount of the pot, as long as the raise is the same or greater than any previous bets in that betting round.
- In No Limit Texas Hold'em a player can raise any amount they wish up to their total chipstack.
There are a number of stages in a hand of Texas Hold'em:
- Blinds are paid.
- "Hole" cards are dealt.
- The first betting round takes place.
- The "Flop" (the first three community cards) are dealt.
- The second betting round takes place.
- The "Turn" (the fourth community card) is dealt.
- The third betting round takes place.
- The "River" (the fifth community card) is dealt.
- The final betting round takes place.
- The showdown takes place.
A player may win the hand at any point between step 3. and 9. if all other players in the hand fold. There are several actions which can take place during betting rounds:
- Fold: Folding is surrendering the hand. The player lays down their cards and loses any money already put into the pot. They cannot rejoin the hand.
- Check: A player may check if they have already contributed an equal amount as all other active players to the pot. It is the equivalent to betting zero.
- Call: To call a player simply has to contribute the same amount to the pot as the highest bet so far during that betting round.
- Raise: A player may raise the bet by an amount at least equal to the previous bet or raise, for example if an opponent bets $5 you may raise by at least $5.
- All-in (for No-Limit): All-in is simply a form of bet in which you are betting your entire chipstack.
A hand begins with the dealing of two cards face down to each player at the table. The player to the left of the dealer pays the small blind and the next player to the left pays the big blind. The player paying the small blind receives the first card and the dealer receiving the last card. The dealer button moves one seat to the left each hand to ensure everyone has the same chance of playing in multiple positions and paying the blinds. The hole card.s may only be seen by other players at the table during a showdown and players are not allowed to reveal their hole cards to others until the hand is complete.
There is an initial betting round pre-flop which begins with the player one seat to the left of the big blind and continuing on in a clockwise direction (all subsequent betting rounds begin with the player immediately to the left of the dealer). The betting continues until all players have either folded, bet all of their chips or bet the same amount as the other players still active in the hand. Since the blinds are a live part of the betting, if no one at the table raises the big blind, the player who paid the big blind may check as well as raise or fold.
If there is two or more players still remaining in the hand at the end of the first betting round, the flop is dealt. The flop is the first three community cards dealt face up. This is then followed by a second betting round. The turn is then dealt. The turn is the fourth community card dealt face up, followed by a third betting round, until finally the fifth community card, the river, is dealt.
The final betting round follows the river being dealt and, if there are two or more players remaining and no further raises are made, a showdown occurs to determine who has the best five card combination and therefore who wins the pot. If there is a tie for a hand involving less than five cards, for example two pair, the player with the highest kicker (extra card/s to make up the five) will win the hand. If two or more players share the same best hand and the winner cannot be determined with kickers, the pot is split equally.
For a list of the hands in order of rank, click here
