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Texas Hold'em poker: Technical supplement     

The game of Texas Hold ‘em poker is played with a deck of fifty-two cards of one colour. The deck must be in perfect condition and can be used several times. After counting and checking them, the house dealer shuffles the cards in full view of the players. An automatic card shuffler can be used. In this case, the use of two decks of American format cards, of one colour and of different suits is required.

The house dealer assigned to the table leads the game and monitors its proper progression, invites the players to bet and takes in the money for the pot. He also takes care of dealing the cards. At the beginning of each session, he is issued with a cash box which must be fitted into the gaming table. This cash box must be equipped with poker chips and wheel checks of high enough value and quantity to ensure the proper operation of the game in relation to the table minimum. The house dealer can not be changed during the game. In the absence of a room solely dedicated to Texas Hold ‘em poker – entrance to which is subject to registering players’ identities – the casinos offering this game have to provide a space specifically dedicated to the game and to which access is subject to the same registering.

The game begins with a minimum of two players. The latter, seated at the table, are present for the counting and checking of the cards. No standing player can take part in the game. The game continues for as long as the players stay in. The number of seated players, who alone are permitted to hold a hand, corresponds to the number of places marked out on the table top or to the number of seated places. The maximum number is ten.

The players only have one single hand and cannot place chips on vacant places. During a game, no player is allowed to change places. Only the head of the game or the head of the table has the authority to allocate seated places. Before the beginning of the session or when all of the places at the gaming tables are allocated, the players have the possibility of registering on a waiting list which is placed under the authority of the head of the game.

The latter calls up, according to order of registration, the players who have registered themselves beforehand. If one or several of these players do not respond to this call, he continues until one of them responds and sits down at the gaming table. Allocation of seated places is carried out by the head of the game in a random fashion. During a game, the player can go away, leaving his chips on the gaming table, watched over by the croupier. The casino management is able, according to its internal regulations, to set the maximum length of time of this absence.

In the case where a player is absent for longer than the maximum allowed time, the head of the game or the head of the table deposits the chips in the player’s name and reallocates the vacant seat. If the chips deposited are not claimed before the end of the session, they are put on the orphans’ register. No exchange operation may be carried out at the table.
The bets can only be placed in the form of poker chips and wheel checks. No verbal stake is allowed. The players should come to the gaming table with an initial buy in made up of wheel checks and poker chips whose exchange is carried out at the till. The minimum amount of the initial buy in is determined by the management of the establishment, at the beginning of each session, and cannot be changed before the following session.

When they sit down at the gaming table, the players place their buy-in prominently on the table top, visible to the house dealer and the other players. Only the stakes which each player places on the table top, visible to the house dealer and the other players, are considered to be involved in the game. The total sum of these stakes makes up the player’s stack. During a game, the player has the possibility of rebuying. No rebuy is accepted during a round. The maximum amount of the rebuy is fixed by internal regulations.

The game begins by the placing of a marker called the “button”. To determine the position of the “button” the house dealer takes the cards of the clubs suit and deals one face up to each player, beginning on his left. The highest card (ace, king, queen etc.) determines the position of the “button”. Once the player on the button has been selected, the house dealer takes the club cards in again, puts them with the rest of the cards and shuffles the deck.
The game can then begin.

Before each deal, the two players seated immediately to the left of the button must place, in front of their seat marked out on the table top, an initial forced bet. The first player places a bet called the small blind, equal to half of the table’s minimum bet. The second player places a bet called the big blind whose amount is at least equal to the small blind and up to twice its value maximum. The management of the establishment can, in its internal regulations, authorise the use of a third non-compulsory initial bet called a “straddle”. The third player seated to the left of the button can then place a straddle whose amount is double that of the big blind.

After having checked that all of the initial stakes are correctly placed, the croupier deals the cards, one by one, face down, beginning with the player seated to the left of the button and going clockwise. Each player receives two cards whose protection is his responsibility. During the round, whatever their nationality might be, the players are not allowed to speak in a language other than French [in French casinos of course…], only the use of English terms used in Texas Hold ‘em poker is allowed. The cards must not in any circumstances be held underneath the level of the table top. They must remain visible on top of the table.

After the dealing is completed, the players look at their hands. The house dealer then begins the first round of betting. The player seated to the left of the player having placed the big blind goes first:

• He can fold: in this case the player places the cards in front of himself face down. The house dealer gathers them up, counts them, then burns them;
• he can call: he places stakes equal to the player who came before him;
• He can raise: the player places stakes greater than those placed by the player who came before him. The amount of the raise depends on the version of Texas Hold ‘em in question. The following players, up to the player who placed the small blind, have the same alternatives.  

The player having placed the small blind then goes:

• He can fold: in this case the player places his cards in front of himself face down. He loses his stakes. The house dealer gathers up the cards, counts them, then burns them;
•  He can call: the player makes up his small blind in order to stake an amount equal to the previous player;
• He can raise: the player makes up his small blind in order to stake an amount greater than the previous player. The amount of the raise depends on the version of Texas Hold ’em in question.

The player having placed the big blind then goes:

• He can fold: in this case the player places his cards in front of himself face down. He loses his stakes. The house dealer gathers up the cards, counts them, then burns them;
• He can call: the player makes up his big blind in order to stake an amount equal to the previous player;
• He can raise: the player makes up his big blind in order to stake an amount greater than the previous player. The amount of the raise depends on the version of Texas Hold ’em in question. In the case where no player has raised during the first betting round, the payer having placed the big blind can check. This checking ends the first round of betting.

In the case where the player having placed the big blind raises, the house dealer continues with a new round of betting which only ends when all of the players still in the game have called or raised. When the first round of betting is over, the house dealer gathers up the bets committed by all of the players, beginning with the first player seated to his left, and continuing clockwise. Once these stakes have been gathered in they are placed in the centre of the table and make up the pot.

At the end of the first round, the house dealer burns the first card of the deck and turns three cards face upwards which make up the flop. These three cards are community cards shared by all of the players still in the game. The house dealer carries out a second betting round for the players still in the game.

The first player still in the game to go is seated immediately to the left of the button:

• He can check: he hands over the right to go to the following player;
• He can open: he places a bet at least equal to the table’s big blind;
• He can fold: in this case the player places his cards in front of himself, face down. The house dealer gathers up the cards, counts them, then burns them.

The following player has the same alternatives:

• He can check but only if the previous player checked or folded;
• He can open: he places a bet at least equal to the table’s big blind, but only if the previous player has not already opened or if he folded.
• He can call: he places stakes equal to the player who came before him;
• He can raise: the player places stakes greater than those placed by the player who came before him. The amount of the raise depends on the version of Texas Hold ’em in question;
• He can fold: in this case the player places his cards in front of himself, face down. The house dealer gathers up the cards, counts them, then burns them.

All of the other players still in the game have the same alternatives.

The betting round comes to an end when:

• All of the players have checked;
• All of the players have folded;
• All of the players have called or when their raise has been called.

When the second round of betting is finished, the house dealer gathers up the stakes bet, once again in the same order. The bets gathered up are added to the pot placed in the centre of the table. At the end of this second round, the house dealer burns the first card of the deck and turns an additional card face upwards, which makes up the turn. This additional card is a community card shared by all of the players still in the game, in addition to the three flop cards.

The house dealer carries out a third betting round for the players still in the game. All of the players have exactly the same alternatives as during the second round of betting. When the third round of betting is finished, the house dealer gathers up the stakes bet, once again in the same order. The stakes gathered up are added to the pot.
At the end of this third round, the house dealer burns the first card of the deck and turns an additional card face upwards, which makes up the river. This additional card is a community card shared by all of the players still in the game, in addition to the three flop cards and the turn card. The whole of these five cards makes up the board.
The house dealer carries out a final betting round for the players still in the game. All of the players have exactly the same alternatives as during the two previous rounds of betting. When the final round of betting is finished, the house dealer gathers up the stakes bet, once again in the same order. The stakes gathered up are added to the pot. During a betting round, the player has the possiblity of staking his entire stack without exceeding the maximum raises established according to the version of Texas Hold ‘em in question. If all of the other players fold, the player having staked his stack wins the whole pot.

In the case where the total amount of the stack committed is less than the stakes committed by the other players, the house dealer creates two separate pots:

• A main-pot made up of the stack committed by the player and by an equivalent fraction of the stakes of each of the players who have called or raised up to that point. If the highest-ranking hand is held by the player having committed his stack, the house dealer will award him the main-pot;
• A side-pot can be established made up of all of the other stakes remaining or placed up until the end of the round by the other players. If the highest-ranking hand is held by the player having committed his stack, the house dealer will award the side-pot only to the round’s second highest-ranking hand.

In all cases, if the highest ranking hand is held by a player other than the player having staked his entire stack, the house dealer will award all of the pots to him.
The house dealer is in charge of the establishment and arrangement of the different pots in the middle of the table. As many side-pots can be established as is necessary for the game, provided that each pot is clearly identifiable.

The house dealer asks the first player who raised during the last round of betting to show his two cards, he then asks all of the players coming clockwise after him to do the same. In the case where no player raised during the final round of betting, the first player to show his cards is the first to have gone during the final betting round.
In all cases, the best hand consists of a five-card combination from among the seven cards available to each player. The winning hand is the hand of the player having the highest ranking combination.

The highest card in the hand breaks ties with equal ranking combinations. In case of a tie between two or more players’ hands, depending on less than five cards, the
best hand contains the highest card independently of these combinations.

In case of perfect equality, the pot is shared between all of the equal hands. There is perfect equality when the players have the same five-card combination made up of one or both of their two hole cards and cards from the board, or only from the board cards. The house dealer takes a payment from the pot in favour of the establishment. The amount of this payment is immediately paid into the cash box fitted into the gaming table. After this payment, the house dealer pays out the whole of the pot to the winner, minus the part taken by the casino.
To end the game, the last three hands must be announced beforehand.

The players can only use the following combinations of cards:

• The highest card;
• Two of a kind (1 pair);
• Two pairs;
• Three of a kind;
• Straight;
• Flush;
• Full Hand or Full House;
• Four of a kind or Poker;
• Straight flush;
• Royal Flush. 

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