How to play hold’em
Texas hold’em at a glance
Combine your two hole cards with the five community cards. Compete using the best five-card hand you can make from all seven.
The five highlighted cards make the final hand. Any five of the seven may be used—even none of your own cards.
- 2–9 playersPlayers at a table. Runner Poker offers six-player (6-MAX) and two-player (heads-up) tables.
- 52 cardsOne standard deck without jokers. Suits have equal value.
- Ace is highestA > K > Q > J > 10 … > 2. In an A-2-3-4-5 straight, the ace counts as one.
Table & positions
The dealer button (D) moves one seat clockwise after every hand. Each position gets its name and role relative to the button.
- BTN · Button
- The dealer position. It acts last after the flop, offering the most information.
- SB · Small blind
- Immediately left of the button. Posts half the big blind before cards are dealt.
- BB · Big blind
- Next to the small blind. Posts the full required blind.
- UTG · Under the gun
- Acts first before the flop, with the least information.
- HJ · CO
- Hijack and cutoff. Positions closer to the button can play a wider range.
Follow a hand from start to finish
Blinds 100/200, six players. On the button (BTN), I receive A♥K♠ .
Preflop · Two hole cards
SB posts 100, BB posts 200, and each player receives two cards. UTG, left of BB, acts first.
- UTG, HJFold
- CORaise to 600
- Me (BTN)Re-raise to 1,800
- SB, BBFold
- COCall
Pot 3,900 · CO and I see the flop.
Six actions on your turn
Use the action buttons along the bottom of the Runner Poker table. Available actions depend on whether someone has already bet.
If no one has bet, pass the action without adding chips.
Make the first wager when no one has bet. The minimum is one big blind.
Match the amount already bet.
Bet more than the previous amount. Other players choose again whether to call, raise, or fold.
Give up the hand. Chips already committed are not returned.
Commit all your chips. An all-in player can stay in the hand even without enough chips to cover every bet.
Betting rules (no-limit Hold’em)
Runner Poker uses no-limit hold’em. You may bet any amount up to your stack, but minimum bets and raises still apply.
With blinds of 100/200, the minimum bet is 200.
A raise from 200 to 600 adds 400. The next raise must reach at least 1,000.
No-limit has no upper cap: you may go all-in at any time.
Blinds and antes
- Blinds · SB and BB post mandatory chips before each hand. Chips in the pot give players something to compete for.
- Ante · An additional mandatory payment in later tournament stages. Runner Poker tournaments may use a BB ante, where the big blind posts for the whole table. Check the event details.
- Time limit · Act within the time allowed. When time expires, the game checks if checking is possible; otherwise it automatically folds.
Deciding the winner and splitting pots
The stronger hand wins
Compare each player’s best five cards from seven. See the hand rankings page for the ranking order.
Equal hands use the kicker
If both players have a pair of kings, the highest remaining card—the kicker—breaks the tie.
Identical five-card hands split
Identical five-card hands split the pot equally. Suits never break a tie.
The community cards alone make an ace-high straight, so all remaining players tie.
All-ins can create side pots
When a short stack goes all-in, that player can contest only the main pot up to the amount they contributed. Additional chips form a separate side pot.
Example: A goes all-in for 1,000; B and C put in 3,000 each. All three contest the 3,000 main pot; only B and C contest the 4,000 side pot.
Tournaments and ring games
| Tournament | Ring game | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Enter at a set time by paying the buy-in | Join or leave whenever you wish |
| Chips | Equal starting stacks; losing all chips eliminates you | Play with the game money you bring |
| Blinds | Increase at fixed intervals | Stay fixed for the table |
| Result | Prizes or R1 tickets based on final rank | Win the pot in each hand |
Tournament essentials
- RegistrationRegistration opens 60 minutes before the start. After the start, you may enter within the late registration period.
- Blind levelsBlinds rise at set intervals. An unchanged stack becomes less valuable, so build your chips actively.
- Table balancingAs entrants are eliminated, players move automatically to fill empty seats.
- Bubble and prizesThe position immediately before the paid places is the bubble. Passing it means finishing in the money (ITM).
- SatellitesQualifying events such as R1 freerolls and satellites award top finishers entry tickets to a higher event (R1 tickets).
