The type of Poker we'll be playing at the Casino is called Texas Hold'em, it is currently the most popular version of poker and is easy to learn, but hard to master.

When 4 people sign up for a game or 3 days pass, whichever comes first, a GM will create a thread titled "Poker Game #", and in the description the people playing. Only the people in the game may post in that thread.

The GM will deal out 2 cards to each player, and PM the 2 cards to each player. The first player to have signed up will go first and the first betting interval will begin. (Details on how the betting intervals work is below)

Once the betting interval has ended, the GM will kill a card off the top of the deck, and flip over the first 3 Community cards, and post them in the original post. This is called the "flop". Each player now has their two "pocket" cards, or the cards PMed to them by the GM, as well as the 3 community cards, which anyone can use. Thus, each player has the equivilant of a five card poker hand. (Hands detailed below).

A second round of betting will take place.

Next, the dealer will kill another card off the top of the deck, then flip over another card from the deck. This is called the "turn" card, or the "fourth street". Now there are 4 community cards.

A third round of betting will take place.

Finally, the dealer will kill one more card off the top of the deck, and then flip the last card off the top of the deck, this one called the "river" card.

Now, the fourth and final round of betting takes place, and once the betting is over the showdown commences. In the same order as the betting, each player may use the best 5 of the community cards and pocket cards to make a hand. Whoever hasn't folded shows their hand, and the highest ranking hands wins, and the player takes all the money in the pot, all the money that has been bet. If there is a tie, the pot is split evenly.

How to bet:
Betting will be done in the order from the first person ot sign up, to the last person to sign up. The first person has three choices, bet, fold (turn in his cards and drop out of the game) or check (pass the opportunity to bet to the next player). All bets are posted, then copied into the original post and cumulated by the GM, this forms the pot.

After the initial bet made by the first player, if a bet was made, the rest of the players in the order they signed up have three or four choices. They can fold, call (match the bet of the previous player), raise a bet (call and add to the total bet) or check if the person before them has checked as well. A round of betting is over when either:

-All the players have checked
-All the players fold except one
-The bets of all players are equalized. This happens when all players still active have put equal amounts into the pool, and the turn has come around again to the last person to raise (or, if no one raised, to the person who opened the betting): he may not then raise again. As long as the bets are unequal any player may raise but as soon as the bets are equal no one may raise.

Rank of Hands:
From highest to lowest
Royal Flush: Highest ranking straight flush made up of A, K, Q, J, 10 in same suit. Beats all other straight flushes. Odds: 1 in 650,000

Straight Flush: Five cards of the same suit in numerical order. Ex.: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 of diamonds. Beaten only by Royal Flush. Odds: 1 in 65,000

Four of a Kind: Ex.: four A's or four 2's. The fifth card does not matter. Four A's beats all other Four of a kind. Odds: 1 in 4000

Full House: Three of a kind and two of a kind. Ex.: 8, 8, 8, and 6, 6. Hand with the highest three cards wins over any other full house. Odds: 1 in 700.

Flush: Five cards of the same suit not in sequence. Ex.: Q, 10, 7, 6, 2 of clubs. Odds: 1 in 500.

Straight: Five cards in sequence with mixed suits. Ex.: 7, 8, 9, 10, J of different suits'. Straight with the highest cards wins in a tie. Odds: 1 in 250.

Three of a Kind: Same as Four of a Kind only with 3 =P If two are played hand with the highest value set wins. Ex.: three 10's beats three 7's. Odds: 1 in 50.

Two Pair: Ex.: Q, Q, and 10, 10. Hand with the highest value set wins during a tie, if there is still a tie the hand with the highest remaining fifth card wins. Odds: 1 in 10.

One Pair: If two are played, hand with the highest value set wins. Ex.: two 4's beats two 3's. If there is still a tie, the highest remaining card in-hand breaks the tie. Odds: 1 in 2 1/3

No Pair Hands/High Card: Are rated by the highest card held. Ex.: A-high hand beats K-high hand. Odds: Every hand doh'!

House Rules:
Changes to the house rules can be requested by a player each game, but it's up to the GM whether or not the rule will be changed.

Raise limits: Each player may only raise the bet 2 times per betting round. A single raise cannot excede 25 chips.

All-in: Is not allowed. The only exception to this rule is if the current bet is equal or above the player's total number of chips.

Minimun/Maximum betting limits: Minimum bet is 1, Maximum bet is 100.

Ante: Before receiving their cards, each player is required to put in 1 chip.

Posting:
As of 9/10, you are no longer required to follow any sort of format or template for posting. With that being said, it still might be to your fancy to post the chips your betting or the cards your playing for that extra touch of realism. Should you desire to do so, you can look here for all the pictures.

There are still some rules you must follow when posting, however, but only 2, so it's not so painful

1. Only post in game threads your involved in. AKA, only game threads with your username listed in the subtitle.

2. Only post when it is your turn to do so. Pretty simple, this makes the thread easier to read for the GM.

I know that it's a house rule, but won't the jokers unbalance the game or something? I mean, wild cards in poker are really teh shiz.

If enough people are against them I'll take them out. But I've played many hands of poker with wild jokers, and many hands they've never shown up.