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Lowball is a form of draw poker. It’s been played in card rooms across the world for years, and has become more popular in recent years, as people look to explore games other than Hold’em. Lowball games reward the best low hand, making it the opposite of games likes Hold’em and Stud, in which the highest hand wins. PokerStars offers the variant of Lowball known as Deuce to Seven Lowball (Single Draw), also sometimes referred to as Kansas City Lowball.
How to Play
Blinds

Lowball is played using forced bets known as blinds, with the player sitting to the left of the dealer button posting a small blind, and the player to their left posting the big blind. The small blind is usually equal to half the size of the big blind. Lowball is also often played with an ante, which is a small forced bet posted by each player in addition to the blinds.
The Deal

Each player is dealt five cards face down. There is then a round of betting, where you have the option to either call, raise or fold. Players still left in the hand after the first round of betting now have the opportunity to draw. This means you can try and improve your hand by discarding some of the cards, and being dealt new ones to replace them. Click the cards you want to discard, and then hit the ‘Discard’ button. You can discard all five cards if you wish. If you feel that you already have a strong hand, you can opt to ‘Stand Pat’. This means that you are choosing not to discard any of your cards. When the draw is complete, another round of betting ensues, with players having the option to bet or fold. If no bets are made, players also have the option to check. If more than one player is still left in the hand at this point, a showdown takes place, with the player holding the best hand taking the pot.

In 2-7, straights and flushes count against your low hand, and aces are always high. So the best possible hand is: 7, 5, 4, 3, 2. The following 2-7 hands (not a complete list) are ranked from least powerful (#1, which will rarely win the pot) to most powerful (#16, the nuts):
J, 7, 4, 3, 2 (all the same suit – a flush)
8, 7, 6, 5, 4 (a straight)
7, 6, 5, 4, 3 (a lower straight)
5, 5, 5, 6, 3
2, 2, 7, 6, 5
A, 9, 6, 4, 2
A, 8, 7, 4, 2
A, 5, 4, 3, 2 (not a straight – ace-high)
K, J, 8, 7, 4
T, 7, 5, 4, 3
T, 6, 5, 4, 3
T, 6, 5, 4, 2
9, 7, 6, 4, 3
8, 6, 4, 3, 2
7, 6, 4, 3, 2
7, 5, 4, 3, 2
Basic Strategy

In lowball, most hands that are usually strong in games like Hold’em are weak. Pairs, trips (3 of a kind), straights and flushes are always considered to be high hands, and so do not qualify in Lowball. If a hand has no pair, the player with the highest ranking card loses. For instance, if one player has 9-6-5-2-3, this hand beats 10-9-6-2-3. In practice aces are always high and are therefore not good. This means that a player holding J-9-7-3-2 beats an opponent with A-9-7-3-2. The best possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of different suits. This is because the hand is low, has no ace and is not a straight or a flush. It’s for this reason that the game is called 2-7 Lowball.

In draw games, it is possible for more cards to be needed than are remaining in the deck. In this case, the cards are reshuffled, and play continues using the new deck. For more information on reshuffling in draw games, please see Reshuffling the Deck.

Watch the video below to pick up some Deuce to Seven Lowball tips from Team PokerStars Pro members Chad Brown, Daniel Negreanu, Lee Nelson, Gavin Griffin, and Steve Paul Ambrose.

2-7 (Deuce to Seven) Triple Draw is a poker game in which the low poker hand wins the pot at showdown. In other words, it is a form of “lowball”. It is a “draw” game, meaning that you are dealt five cards, and may discard from zero to five of them on the draw, and receive that number of replacement cards. In Triple Draw, each player has the opportunity to draw three times, though you may “stand pat” (not discard any cards) on any or all of the draws.

In 2-7, straights and flushes count against your low hand, and aces are always high. So the best possible hand is: 7, 5, 4, 3, 2. The following 2-7 hands (not a complete list) are ranked from least powerful (#1, which will rarely win the pot) to most powerful (#16, the nuts):
J, 7, 4, 3, 2 (all the same suit – a flush)
8, 7, 6, 5, 4 (a straight)
7, 6, 5, 4, 3 (a lower straight)
5, 5, 5, 6, 3
2, 2, 7, 6, 5
A, 9, 6, 4, 2
A, 8, 7, 4, 2
A, 5, 4, 3, 2 (not a straight – ace-high)
K, J, 8, 7, 4
T, 7, 5, 4, 3
T, 6, 5, 4, 3
T, 6, 5, 4, 2
9, 7, 6, 4, 3
8, 6, 4, 3, 2
7, 6, 4, 3, 2
7, 5, 4, 3, 2
Rules for Playing 2-7 Triple Draw

Draw games are played with blinds, just like flop games. Each player is dealt five hidden hole cards. The first player after the big blind has the option to fold, call, or raise. Action continues clockwise around the poker table until betting is complete for the round.

Once the first round of betting is complete, there is a draw. That is, each player selects which (if any) cards he wishes to discard by clicking on them. By clicking a second time on a card that you have planned to discard, you remove it from the discard set. Discarding continues around the table clockwise. When it is your turn to discard, you press the button to confirm you wish to discard the selected cards.

After the first draw, there is another round of betting, beginning with the first active player to the left of the button.

There are two more draws with a round of betting following each one, resulting in three draws total, and four rounds of betting. So the sequence of action is:
Five cards dealt to each player
Betting round #1, beginning with player to left of big blind
Draw #1
Betting round #2, beginning with player to left of button
Draw #2
Betting round #3, beginning with player to left of button
Draw #3
Betting round #4, beginning with player to left of button
Showdown (if necessary)

In draw games, it is possible for more cards to be needed than are remaining in the deck. In this case, the cards are reshuffled, and play continues using the new deck. For more information on reshuffling in draw games, please see Reshuffling the Deck.
Showdown – Determining the Winner

The player with the best five-card 2-7 hand wins the pot. After the pot is awarded to the best hand, a new game of 2-7 Triple Draw is ready to be played.

If two or more hands have the same value, the pot is equally split among them. There is no rank of suit for the purposes of awarding the pot. Please remember, this is different from other forms of low or high/low poker, where an ace can be played either high or low. In 2-7, an ace is always the highest card.” You are always welcome to play on our free poker tables at PokerStars, so that you can sharpen your skills before playing real money poker.

Five Card Draw is the game many people grew up playing around the kitchen table. In this game, your goal is to make the best five-card hand after one draw. Like hold’em, it’s a game that’s easy to learn, but difficult to master.
Rules for Five Card Draw

Draw games are played with blinds, just like flop games. Each player is dealt five hidden hole cards. The first player after the big blind has the option to fold, call, or raise. Action continues clockwise around the poker table until betting is complete for the round.

Once the first round of betting is complete, there is a draw. That is, each player selects which (if any) cards he wishes to discard by clicking on them. By clicking a second time on a card that you have planned to discard, you remove it from the discard set. Discarding continues around the table clockwise. When it is your turn to discard, you press the button to confirm you wish to discard the selected cards.

After the first draw, there is another round of betting, beginning with the first active player to the left of the button. So the sequence of action is:
Five cards dealt to each player
Betting round #1, beginning with player to left of big blind
Draw
Betting round #2, beginning with player to left of button
Showdown (if necessary)

In draw games, it is possible for more cards to be needed than are remaining in the deck. In this case, the cards are reshuffled, and play continues using the new deck. For more information on reshuffling in draw games, please see Reshuffling the Deck.
Showdown – Determining the Winner

The player with the best five-card hand wins the pot. After the pot is awarded to the best hand, a new game of Five Card Draw is ready to be played.

If two or more hands have the same value, the pot is equally split among them. There is no precedence of suit for the purposes of awarding the pot. You are always welcome to play on our free poker tables at PokerStars, so that you can sharpen your skills before playing real money poker.

Triple Stud is an exciting mixed game format introduced by PokerStars. It is a combination of three Seven Card Stud poker games:
Stud High
Razz (Seven card stud low)
Stud Hi/Lo (Eight or better)
Playing Triple Stud

Triple Stud is played as a rotation of each of its component games. It begins with Stud High, then switches to Razz, and finally to Stud Hi/Lo. When the seven-card stud hi/lo round is complete, the game goes back to Stud High, and so on. Eight hands are played of each game, before the game changes to the next component.

You can tell which game is being dealt by looking at the top border of the table window. It is also displayed at the center of the game table.

Triple Stud games can be found by going to ‘Other Games’ > ‘Mixed Games’ > ‘Triple Stud’ in the PokerStars lobby.
Summary

Triple Stud is a fun variation for Stud enthusiasts, keeping the games fresh and exciting. Give it a try now!
Other Poker Game Pages

We also offer the following games:

Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo is a technically demanding poker game where the best traditional ‘high’ poker hand and the best Ace to Five lowball hand split the pot at showdown. In Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo poker, players are individually dealt seven cards throughout the course of the hand, but only the best five-card hand possible for each player is used to determine the winner. Visit our Poker Hand Rankings page to see the ranking of hands for Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo.

In Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, the low hand is played with an ‘eight or better’ qualifier, which means that a low hand must be, at worst, an eight-low to be eligible to win the low portion of the pot. (Low hands in Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo are determined in the same way as in Omaha Hi/Lo). If there is no qualifying low hand, the high hand wins the entire pot.

Stud Hi/Lo uses the ‘Ace to Five’ or ‘California’ system for ranking low hands. Straights and flushes do not count against a hand, and Aces are always low, so the best possible hand is a “wheel”: 5, 4, 3, 2, A. To help understand the ranks of low hands, the following sample qualifying low hands are ranked from least powerful (#1, will rarely win the low half of the pot) to most powerful (#10, the nuts):
8, 7, 6, 5, 4
8, 7, 6, 5, 3
8, 6, 4, 2, A
8, 4, 3, 2, A
7, 6, 5, 4, 2
7, 6, 5, 2, A
7, 5, 4, 3, 2
6, 5, 4, 3, 2
6, 4, 3, 2, A
5, 4, 3, 2, A

Note that a low hand is always ranked from its highest card downwards. So for example, hand #9 is known as a ‘Six-low’ because its highest card is a Six. Hand #5 is a ‘Seven-low’, and Hand #1 is an ‘Eight-low’. In poker slang, you distinguish between close low hands by going further down the ranks, so hand #9 would be called a ‘Six-Four low’, which beats hand #8 a “Six-Five low”.

Also remember that straights and flushes do not count against your low hand, so making a qualifying low that is also a straight or a flush is a very powerful hand, that could win both the high and low halves of the pot. That’s called a ‘scoop’.
Rules for Playing Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo
Ante

Before a game of Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo begins, all players ante a nominal amount (the exact amount depends on the game, and is displayed in the table’s title bar). This is the cost of being dealt into the hand. For example, in the image shown above the ante is $0.05 in a $0.50/$1 game.
Third Street

Each player is initially dealt three cards, two hidden hole cards and one face up. The player with the lowest exposed card is the ‘bring-in’, and is forced to start the action. They must make either another nominal bet (again, the exact size of the bring-in depends on the game) or, if they choose, a full bet of the lower betting increment. Action continues clockwise around the table until betting is complete for the round.

Note: For the purposes of determining the bring-in in Seven Card Stud, ties in card rank are broken by suit, with the order from highest to lowest being spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. The lowest suit brings in, so if the deuce of hearts and deuce of clubs are visible at the beginning of the hand, then the deuce of clubs would have the bring-in.
Fourth Street

Each poker player now receives another exposed card, called ‘Fourth Street’. The first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. By rule, this player may either check or bet. Unlike in Seven Card Stud, there is no double-sized bet allowed if a player makes a pair on Fourth Street – all bets are in the lower increment ($2 in a $2/$4 game).

For example, in the image shown above, the player with the Ace high acts first, as their exposed cards are stronger than the King high and Eight high shown by other two players. This player may either check or bet the lower betting amount (in this case, $0.50 in a $0.50/$1 game).

There is a round of betting.
Fifth Street

Each player now receives another exposed card, called ‘Fifth Street’. Again by rule, the first player to act is the individual whose exposed poker hand has the highest poker value. There is a round of betting.

Starting on Fifth Street and for the rest of the hand, all bets and raises are in big bet increments ($4 in a $2/$4 game).
Sixth Street

Each poker player now receives another exposed card, called ‘Sixth Street’. Again, the first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. There is a round of betting.
Seventh Street, or The River

Each player now receives a seventh and final card, which is dealt face-down and known only to the player to whom the card is dealt. The first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. There is a final betting round, and if more than one player remains, we reach the Showdown.
The Showdown – Determining the Hi and Lo Winners

If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete the last bettor or raiser shows his or her cards first. If there was no bet on the final round, the player in the earliest seat shows his or her cards first (Seat 1, then Seat 2, and so on). Further hands involved in the Showdown are exposed clockwise around the table.

The player with the best five-card hand for the high (‘”Hi’”) wins half the pot, and the player with the best hand for low (‘”Lo’”) wins the other half of the pot. In the event that no hand qualifies for low, the best hand for high wins the entire pot.

Remember that in Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, there is an ‘eight or better’ requirement to win the low, so a player must have an unpaired five-card hand that consists of all cards less than or equal to an 8. If no player can meet this requirement, no low qualifies.

In the event of two or more players have the same high or low hands, the pot halves will be split accordingly.

After the pot is awarded, a new game of Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo poker is ready to be played.
Player Betting Options

In Stud, as with other forms of poker, the available actions are ‘fold’, ‘check’, ‘bet’, ‘call’ or ‘raise’. Exactly which options are available depends on the action taken by the previous players. Each poker player always has the option to fold, to discard their cards and give up any interest in the pot. If nobody has yet made a bet, then a player may either check (decline to bet, but keep their cards) or bet. If a player has bet, then subsequent players can fold, call or raise. To call is to match the amount the previous player has bet. To raise is to not only match the previous bet, but to also increase it. Bets and raises in Limit games are in pre-determined amounts.
Additional Rules and Situations
For the purpose of determining the bring-in in Seven Card Stud, ties in card rank are broken by suit. The suits are ranked in alphabetical order – clubs (lowest), diamonds, hearts and spades (highest). The lowest suit breaks a tie, so if the deuce of hearts and deuce of clubs are visible at the beginning of the hand, then the deuce of clubs would have the bring-in. (Note: The ranking of equal hands at the Showdown is not determined by this rule.)
If the player with the lowest card showing on Third Street is all-in for the ante and they are consequently unable to make the required bring-in bet, the bring-in moves clockwise to the next player at the table, regardless of the value of that player’s exposed card.
Because Stud games are played with eight players but there are only 52 cards in the deck, it’s possible to run out of cards before Seventh Street can be dealt. In this very rare instance, a single ‘community card’ will be dealt face-up on the table, which will be shared by all remaining players.
Other Stud Variants

Seven Card Stud is also available in PokerStars poker room, played for high only.

PokerStars also offers Razz. In this variant of Stud, the entire pot is awarded to the best low hand, with no qualifier.
Learn How to Play Seven Card Stud for Free

If you are familiar with Stud poker, then you should be able to pick up Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo fairly quickly. If you are unfamiliar with stud poker or Seven Card Stud, we recommend you try that poker game out first to get a feel for how the game is played. You are always welcome to play on our free poker tables at PokerStars, so that you can sharpen your skills before playing real money poker.

Finally, if you like to play other Hi/Lo variants, we recommend you check out Omaha Hi/Lo, which is a very popular poker game as well. Both games are a nice change of pace from the amazingly popular Texas Hold’em game, and they also are both available in our poker tournaments selection.

Good luck playing Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo!
Other Poker Game Pages

We also offer the following games:
Texas Hold’em
Omaha
Omaha Hi/Lo (Eight or Better)
Seven Card Stud
Triple Stud
Razz
Five Card Draw
2-7 Single Draw Lowball (Kansas City Lowball)
2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
Badugi
HORSE / HOSE
8-Game Mix

You may also be interested in visiting pages about the poker room in general. You can find information about the following subjects:
Poker Room
Poker Rules
Poker Tournaments
Poker Strategy
Poker Room FAQ
Special Features at PokerStars

Seven Card Stud is a classic poker game which can take a lifetime to master. In Seven Card Stud, players are individually dealt seven cards throughout the course of the hand, but only the best five-card poker hand possible for each player is used to determine the winner. View the Poker Hand Rankings for Seven Card Stud.

Unlike Texas Hold’em and Omaha, Seven Card Stud is usually played with a Limit betting structure, in which the bets are in fixed increments. For example, in a $2/$4 limit game the bets are in increments of $2 on the first two betting rounds, and increments of $4 on the subsequent three betting rounds. PokerStars does not offer Pot Limit or No Limit Stud games at this time.
Rules for Seven Card Stud
Ante

Before a game of Seven Card Stud begins, all players ante a nominal amount (the exact amount depends on the game, and is displayed in the table’s title bar). This is the cost of being dealt into the hand. For example, in the image shown above the ante is $0.25 in a $2/$4 game.
Third Street

Each player is initially dealt three cards, two hidden hole cards and one face up. The player with the lowest exposed card is the ‘bring-in’, and is forced to start the action. They must make either another nominal bet (the exact size of the bring-in depends on the game) or, if they choose, a full bet of the lower betting increment. Action continues clockwise around the table until betting is complete for the round.
Fourth Street

Each player now receives another exposed card, called ‘Fourth Street’. The first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. For example, in the image shown above, the player with the pair of Aces acts first, as their exposed cards are stronger than the pair of Kings and the 4-2 shown by other two players. This player may either check or bet the lower structured betting amount (for example, $2 in a $2/$4 game). Please see the ‘Additional Stud Rules and Situations’ section below for an exception to this rule.

There is a round of betting.
Fifth Street

Each player now receives another exposed card, called ‘Fifth Street’. Again the first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. There is a round of betting.

Starting on Fifth Street and for the rest of the hand, all bets are in big bet increments ($4 in a $2/$4 game).
Sixth Street

Each player now receives another exposed card, called ‘Sixth Street’. Again, the first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. There is a round of betting.
Seventh Street, or The River

Each player now receives a seventh and final card, which is dealt face-down and known only to the player to whom the card is dealt. The first player to act is the individual whose exposed cards have the highest poker value. There is a final betting round, and if more than one player remains, we reach the Showdown.
The Showdown

If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete, the last bettor or raiser shows his or her cards first. If there was no bet on the final round, the player in the earliest seat shows his or her cards first (Seat 1, then Seat 2, and so on). Further hands involved in the Showdown are exposed clockwise around the table.

The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. In the event of identical poker hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands.

After the pot is awarded, a new online game of Seven Card Stud poker is ready to be played.
Player Betting Options

In Stud, as with other forms of poker, the available actions are ‘fold’, ‘check’, ‘bet’, ‘call’ or ‘raise’. Exactly which options are available depends on the action taken by the previous players. Each poker player always has the option to fold, to discard their cards and give up any interest in the pot. If nobody has yet made a bet, then a player may either check (decline to bet, but keep their cards) or bet. If a player has bet, then subsequent players can fold, call or raise. To call is to match the amount the previous player has bet. To raise is to not only match the previous bet, but to also increase it. Bets and raises in Limit games are in pre-determined amounts.
Additional Stud Rules and Situations
For the purpose of determining the bring-in in Seven Card Stud, ties in card rank are broken by suit. The suits are ranked in alphabetical order – clubs (lowest), diamonds, hearts and spades (highest). The lowest suit breaks a tie, so if the deuce of hearts and deuce of clubs are visible at the beginning of the hand, then the deuce of clubs would have the bring-in. (Note: The ranking of equal hands at the Showdown is not determined by this rule.)
If the player with the lowest card showing on Third Street is all-in for the ante and they are consequently unable to make the required bring-in bet, the bring-in moves clockwise to the next player at the table, regardless of the value of that player’s exposed card.
On Fourth Street, if any player shows a pair, the betting can optionally be opened or raised for one big bet (for example, $4 in a $2/$4 game). Once someone makes the ‘big bet’ in this situation, the bigger bet amount continues for the remainder of the Fourth Street betting.
Because Stud games are played with eight players but there are only 52 cards in the deck, it’s possible to run out of cards before Seventh Street can be dealt. In this very rare instance, a single ‘community card’ will be dealt face-up on the table, which will be shared by all remaining players.
Other Stud Variants

A variant of Seven Card Stud, called Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (aka ‘Stud Eight or Better’ or ‘Stud/8’) is also available in PokerStars poker room. In this variant of Stud, there are two potential winners in each hand, one person for holding the best high hand and one person for holding the best low hand, provided the low hand is an eight-low or better.

PokerStars also offers Razz. In this variant of Stud, the entire pot is awarded to the best low hand, with no qualifier.
Learn How to Play Seven Card Stud for Free

If you’ve never played Seven Card Stud before, we welcome you to give it a shot on one of our free poker tables. If you don’t have a PokerStars account, you can download our software for free and create a play money account to practice. We also offer Seven Card Stud poker tournaments.

Good luck playing Seven Card Stud!
Other Poker Game Pages

We also offer the following games:
Texas Hold’em
Omaha
Omaha Hi/Lo (Eight or Better)
Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (Eight or Better)
Triple Stud
Razz
Five Card Draw
2-7 Single Draw Lowball (Kansas City Lowball)
2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
Badugi
HORSE / HOSE
8-Game Mix

You may also be interested in visiting pages about the poker room in general. You can find information about the following subjects:
Poker Room
Poker Rules
Poker Tournaments
Poker Strategy
Poker Room FAQ
Special Features at PokerStars

Owing to its frequently large pots, Omaha Hi/Lo (also called “Omaha High Low”, “Omaha H/L”, “Omaha/8” or “Omaha 8-or-better “) has become a hugely popular game around the world. Each player in an Omaha Hi/Lo game is dealt four private cards (“hole cards”) that belong only to that player. Five community cards are dealt face-up on the “board”. All players use exactly two cards from their four hole cards in conjunction with exactly three cards from the board to make the best five-card poker hand possible. The pot is divided between the best hand for high and the best hand for low – hence the name, Omaha Hi/Lo. Visit the poker hands page to view the rankings of hands in Omaha Hi/Lo.

Omaha Hi/Lo is played with an “8-or-better” qualifier, which means that a hand must be at least an 8-7-6-5-4 low to be eligible to win the low portion of the pot. Low hands in Omaha Hi/Lo are determined in exactly the same way they’re determined in 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo.
Types of Omaha Hi/Lo Games

Omaha Hi/Lo can be played in the following formats:
Limit Omaha Hi/Lo – Specific betting limit applied in each game and on each round of betting.
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo – Bets are limited to the amount of chips in the pot.
No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo – A player can bet all of the chips he has available.
Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo – The game alternates between rounds of Limit and Pot-Limit. The blinds are increased when the game switches from Pot-Limit to Limit, to ensure that the stake levels are consistent.
Rules for Playing Omaha Hi/Lo

In Omaha Hi/Lo, a marker called ‘the button’ or ‘the dealer button’ indicates which player is the nominal dealer for the current game. Before the game begins, the player immediately clockwise from the button posts the “small blind”, the first forced bet. The player immediately clockwise from the small blind posts the “big blind”, which is typically twice the size of the small blind, but the blinds can vary depending on the stakes and betting structure being played.

In Limit games, the big blind is the same as the small bet, and the small blind is typically half the size of the big blind but may be larger depending on the stakes. For example, in a $2/$4 Limit game the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2. In a $15/$30 Limit game, the small blind is $10 and the big blind is $15.

In Pot Limit and No Limit games, the games are referred to by the size of their blinds (for example, a $1/$2 Omaha Hi/Lo game has a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2).

Now, each player receives their four hole cards. Betting action proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player ‘under the gun’ (immediately clockwise from the big blind).
Player Betting Options

In Omaha Hi/Lo, as with other forms of poker, the available actions are ‘fold’, ‘check’, ‘bet’, ‘call’ or ‘raise’. Exactly which options are available depends on the action taken by the previous players. Each poker player always has the option to fold, to discard their cards and give up any interest in the pot. If nobody has yet made a bet, then a player may either check (decline to bet, but keep their cards) or bet. If a player has bet, then subsequent players can fold, call or raise. To call is to match the amount the previous player has bet. To raise is to not only match the previous bet, but to also increase it.
Pre-Flop

After seeing his or her hole cards, each player now has the option to play his or her hand by calling or raising the big blind. The action begins to the left of the big blind, which is considered a ‘live’ bet on this round. That player has the option to fold, call or raise. For example, if the big blind was $2, it would cost $2 to call, or at least $4 to raise. Action then proceeds clockwise around the table.

Note: The betting structure varies with different variations of the game. Explanations of the betting action in Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, and Pot Limit Hold’em can be found below.

Betting continues on each betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in the pot.
The Flop

After the first round of betting is complete, the “flop” is dealt face-up on the board. The flop is the first three community cards available to all active players. Betting begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. In Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, all bets and raises on the flop are in increments of the small bet (for example, $2 in a $2/$4 game).
The Turn

When betting action is completed for the flop round, the “turn” is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in an Omaha Hi/Lo game. Play begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. In Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, bets and raises on the turn are in increments of the big bet (for example, $4 in a $2/$4 game).
The River

When betting action is completed for the turn round, the “river” is dealt face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in an Omaha Hi/Lo game. Betting begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.
The Showdown

If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete, the last person to bet or raise shows their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round in which case the player immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards first. The player with the best five-card hand for high wins half the pot, and the player with the best hand for low wins the other half. In all Omaha games, players must use two and only two of their four hole cards in combination with exactly three cards from the board. In the event of identical hands, the high and low shares of the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands. In the event that no hand qualifies for low (i.e. is an eight low or better), the best hand(s) for high wins the whole pot.

After the pot is awarded, a new Omaha Hi/Lo game is ready to be played. The button now moves clockwise to the next player.
Limit, Pot Limit, No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Omaha Hi/Lo rules remain the same for Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit poker games, with a few exceptions:
Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Betting in Limit Omaha Hi/Lo is in pre-determined, structured amounts. Pre-flop and on the flop, all bets and raises are of the same amount as the big blind. On the turn and the river, the size of all bets and raises doubles. In Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, up to four bets are allowed per player during each betting round. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap (final raise).
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

The minimum bet in Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet up to the size of the pot.

Minimum raise: The raise amount must be at least as much as any previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).

Maximum raise: The size of the pot, which is defined as the total of the active pot, plus all bets on the table, plus the amount the active player must first call before raising.

Example: If the size of the pot is $100, and there is no previous action on a particular betting round, a player may bet a maximum of $100. After that bet, the action moves to the next player clockwise. That player can either fold, call $100, or raise any amount between the minimum ($100 more) and the maximum. The maximum bet in this case is $400 – the raiser would first call $100, bringing the pot size to $300, and then raise $300 more, making a total bet of $400.

In Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.
No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

The minimum bet in No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet as much more as they want, up to all of their chips.

Minimum raise: In No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, the raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).

Maximum raise: The size of your stack (your chips on the table).

In No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.

In the PokerStars software, it’s not possible to bet less than the minimum or more than the maximum. The bet slider and bet window will only allow you to bet amounts within the allowed thresholds

Omaha Hi/Lo is growing very fast in popularity, especially with the exposure of online poker. So while learning the rules of Omaha Hi/Lo can take some getting used to, it is an entertaining poker variant that many regular Omaha poker players, as well as Texas Hold’em players, have learned to enjoy. You’ll also enjoy our regularly scheduled poker tournaments. If you are looking for general ‘how to play’ information, be sure to visit the poker rules section and the poker glossary.

Driven by the popularity of televised poker, particularly major events such as the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the European Poker Tour, Texas Hold’em (more commonly, ‘Hold’em’) has become the world’s most popular poker game, both in live casinos and online at PokerStars.

Before you begin playing Hold’em, you’ll want to learn the rules. In Hold’em, each player is dealt two private cards (known as ‘hole cards’) that belong to them alone. Five community cards are dealt face-up, to form the ‘board’. All players in the game use these shared community cards in conjunction with their own hole cards to each make their best possible five-card poker hand. In Hold’em, a player may use any combination of the seven cards available to make the best possible five-card poker hand, using zero, one or two of their private hole cards. To view the rankings of poker hands, visit the poker hand ranks page.

The four major variations of Hold’em at PokerStars are distinguished from each other by their betting limits:
Limit Texas Hold’em: There is a pre-determined betting limit on each round of betting.
No Limit Texas Hold’em: A player can bet any amount, up to all of their chips.
Pot Limit Texas Hold’em: A player can bet any amount, up to the size of the pot.
Mixed Texas Hold’em: The game switches between rounds of Limit Texas Hold’em and No Limit Texas Hold’em.

Each of these Hold’em variations are available to play on PokerStars for free (play money) or for real money.
How to Play Texas Hold’em

If you would like to learn to play Hold’em using a more hands-on method, PokerStars offers free poker games in the poker room. To start practicing your poker skills, just visit the free poker download page, install the award-winning poker software, and you’ll be learning Hold’em in no time.

However, if you’d rather familiarize yourself with the rules of Hold’em first, then these instructions should help.
The Blinds

In Hold’em, a marker called ‘the button’ or ‘the dealer button’ indicates which player is the nominal dealer for the current game. Before the game begins, the player immediately clockwise from the button posts the “small blind”, the first forced bet. The player immediately clockwise from the small blind posts the “big blind”, which is typically twice the size of the small blind, but the blinds can vary depending on the stakes and betting structure being played.

In Limit games, the big blind is the same as the small bet, and the small blind is typically half the size of the big blind but may be larger depending on the stakes. For example, in a $2/$4 Limit game the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2. In a $15/$30 Limit game, the small blind is $10 and the big blind is $15.

In Pot Limit and No Limit games, the games are referred to by the size of their blinds (for example, a $1/$2 Hold’em game has a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2).

Depending on the exact structure of the game, each player may also be required to post an ‘ante’ (another type of forced bet, usually smaller than either blind, posted by all players at the table) into the pot.

Now, each player receives his or her two hole cards. Betting action proceeds clockwise around the table, starting with the player ‘under the gun’ (immediately clockwise from the big blind).
Player Betting Options

In Hold’em, as with other forms of poker, the available actions are ‘fold’, ‘check’, ‘bet’, ‘call’ or ‘raise’. Exactly which options are available depends on the action taken by the previous players. Each poker player always has the option to fold, to discard their cards and give up any interest in the pot. If nobody has yet made a bet, then a player may either check (decline to bet, but keep their cards) or bet. If a player has bet, then subsequent players can fold, call or raise. To call is to match the amount the previous player has bet. To raise is to not only match the previous bet, but to also increase it.
Pre-Flop

After seeing his or her hole cards, each player now has the option to play his or her hand by calling or raising the big blind. The action begins to the left of the big blind, which is considered a ‘live’ bet on this round. That player has the option to fold, call or raise. For example, if the big blind was $2, it would cost $2 to call, or at least $4 to raise. Action then proceeds clockwise around the table.

Note: The betting structure varies with different variations of the game. Explanations of the betting action in Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, and Pot Limit Hold’em can be found below.

Betting continues on each betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets in the pot.
The Flop

Now, three cards are dealt face-up on the board. This is known as ‘the flop’. In Hold’em, the three cards on the flop are community cards, available to all players still in the hand. Betting on the flop begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button. The betting options are similar to pre-flop, however if nobody has previously bet, players may opt to check, passing the action to the next active player clockwise.
The Turn

When the betting action is completed for the flop round, the ‘turn’ is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card in Hold’em (and is sometimes also called ‘Fourth Street’). Another round of betting ensues, beginning with the active player immediately clockwise from the button.
The River

When betting action is completed for the turn round, the ‘river’ or ‘Fifth Street’ is dealt face-up on the board. The river is the fifth and final community card in a Hold’em game. Betting again begins with the active player immediately clockwise from the button, and the same betting rules apply as they do for the flop and turn, as explained above.
The Showdown

If there is more than one remaining player when the final betting round is complete, the last person to bet or raise shows their cards, unless there was no bet on the final round in which case the player immediately clockwise from the button shows their cards first. The player with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot. In the event of identical hands, the pot will be equally divided between the players with the best hands. Hold’em rules state that all suits are equal.

After the pot is awarded, a new hand of Hold’em is ready to be played. The button now moves clockwise to the next player, blinds and antes are once again posted, and new hands are dealt to each player.
Limit, No Limit, Pot Limit and Mixed Texas Hold’em

Hold’em rules remain the same for Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit poker games, with a few exceptions:
Limit Texas Hold’em

Betting in Limit Hold’em is in pre-determined, structured amounts. Pre-flop and on the flop, all bets and raises are of the same amount as the big blind. On the turn and the river, the size of all bets and raises doubles. In Limit Hold’em, up to four bets are allowed per player during each betting round. This includes a (1) bet, (2) raise, (3) re-raise, and (4) cap (final raise).
No Limit Texas Hold’em

The minimum bet in No Limit Hold’em is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet as much more as they want, up to all of their chips.

Minimum raise: In No Limit Hold’em, the raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).

Maximum raise: The size of your stack (your chips on the table).

In No Limit Hold’em, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.
Pot Limit Texas Hold’em

The minimum bet in Pot Limit Hold’em is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet up to the size of the pot.

Minimum raise: The raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets $5 then the second player must raise a minimum of $5 (total bet of $10).

Maximum raise: The size of the pot, which is defined as the total of the active pot plus all bets on the table plus the amount the active player must first call before raising.

Example: If the size of the pot is $100, and there is no previous action on a particular betting round, a player may bet a maximum of $100. After that bet, the action moves to the next player clockwise. That player can either fold, call $100, or raise any amount between the minimum ($100 more) and the maximum. The maximum bet in this case is $400 – the raiser would first call $100, bringing the pot size to $300, and then raise $300 more, making a total bet of $400.

In Pot Limit Hold’em, there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed.
Mixed Texas Hold’em

In Mixed Hold’em, the game switches between rounds of Limit Hold’em and No Limit Hold’em. The blinds are typically increased when the game switches from No Limit to Limit, to ensure some consistency in the average pot size in each game. The betting rules on each round follow the rules for that game, as described above.

In the PokerStars software, it’s not possible to bet less than the minimum or more than the maximum. The bet slider and bet window will only allow you to bet amounts within the allowed thresholds.
Learn How to Play Texas Hold’em for Free

If you want to learn how to play Hold’em, then download the PokerStars software and join any of the free poker games where you can play online against other players. Unlike our real money poker games, since there is nothing at stake, you can be comfortable learning the ropes of the game and all the rules of Hold’em. We hope to see you in our poker room, and good luck at the tables!
Other Poker Game Pages

Hold’em isn’t the only poker game available at PokerStars. We also offer the following games:
Omaha
Omaha High/Low (Eight or Better)
Seven Card Stud
Seven Card Stud High/Low (Eight or Better)
Triple Stud
Razz
Five Card Draw
2-7 Single Draw Lowball (Kansas City Lowball)
2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
Badugi
HORSE / HOSE
8-Game Mix

You may also be interested in visiting pages about the poker room in general. You can find information about the following subjects:
Poker Room
Poker Rules
Poker Tournaments
Poker Strategy
Poker Room FAQ
Special Features at PokerStars