Tamarisk Poker ClubTexas Hold’em← BackTamarisk Poker ClubTexas Hold’em← BackWhat actually happens, in the order it happens. You do not need to remember any of this — it will be announced on the night, and it is printed on the table.
Everyone buys in for the same amount and gets the same 5,000 in chips. The chips are not money — they are just how you keep score. Every 20 minutes the blinds go up, which forces the game along. When you run out of chips you are out. Last three players share the pot.
The blinds are the forced bets that start each hand, so there is always something to play for. They go up on the clock, not on the hand.
If you run out of chips during the first hour, you can buy back in for the same price and get a fresh 5,000. As many times as you like. Rebuys close at the break — that will be announced with five minutes to go.
Rebuys exist precisely so that a first-timer who loses a big hand early is not sitting out for two hours. Nobody thinks less of anyone for rebuying.
Three places out of eighteen players.
We start on two tables of nine. As people bust out, the tables are kept even. When ten players are left, the second table breaks up and everyone draws a card for a seat at the final table.
Act in turn. Wait for the person on your right to finish.
Say it out loud — "check", "call", "raise to four hundred".
One motion with chips. Reaching back for more counts as a call, not a raise.
Keep your cards flat and covered with a chip, so they are not accidentally collected.
Cards speak. Turn them over at the end and the table reads them. You do
not have to name your own hand correctly to win with it.