Don’t Mess With Players’ Chips Or Cards

No stealing, hiding, knocking over, or otherwise molesting a player’s chips or cards. Doing so is grounds for removal from the game. If the abuser isn’t in the current game, he or she may be banned from the next game. (I know we’ve all done this at one time or another, but it can easily get out of hand.)

Observe the Betting Line

If you’re playing on a table with a betting line, any chips that you move past the betting line are considered to be part of a bet and are now in the pot.

No String Bets

A string bet is is the use of two declarations – either physical or verbal – to make a raise. Here are two examples:

• A player announces: “I call your 200 … and raise you 200 more.”
• A player puts in enough chips to make a call and then reaches back for additional chips to raise with.

Both of these actions count as calls, not as raises.

If You’re Mucked, You’re Mucked

If you throw your cards into the muck or allow other cards to come into contact with your own, then your cards are mucked; your hand is dead.

Under certain special circumstances – e.g. accidents where your cards can be easily and positively identified – the host of the game may allow you to continue playing your hole cards. Then again, he may not.

Show A Walk

If everyone folds to your big blind, you must turn your hole cards face up for everyone at the table to see.

Show One, Show All

If you are in a hand to the end and, after a hand is concluded, you show one or both of your hole cards to another player, all other players at the table are entitled to see your hole card(s), if they desire.

Do Not Hide Your Chips

Your chips, and the dealer button, must be in plain sight at all times. You cannot take your chips off the table or hide them in any way.

If the dealer button is in use, it must remain clearly visible in front of the player who is on the button. Hiding, covering or otherwise obscuring the dealer button is not allowed.

No Rabbit Hunting

Once a hand is over, it is over. If you fold before the river, you cannot ask dealer to deal out the rest of the hand to see if you would have won, had you continued to play.

No Acting Out Of Turn

Wait until it is your turn to act.

If you act out of turn, your action stands unless a player before you changes the action. For example, it is my turn to act but you act out of turn raising to three times the blind. If I now check to you, your action stands – you must put in the announced raise.

If, however, you announce a call out of turn and I now raise in front of you, you may reconsider your action. My raise has changed the action.