All To The Good

Rules are a good thing, meant for making games more enjoyable; and this can happen, so long as they are well defined and everyone knows & obeys them. The problem with most home poker games is that not everyone knows the rules, or possibly would want to believe they are well defined. Everyone has their own interpretation on what the rules are, usually stemming from all the other unorthodox home poker games they’ve been a part of in the past.

I cant stand arguing the rules with other players in our home poker game. Most of the rules I just let slide now, as to avoid an argument and/or to completely deprive the game of fun. Still, it would be nice if everyone knew and respected the rules. Rules are only depressing when you have to remind people of them; arguments are never fun.

Yet there are some rules that continue to be an issue (in proportion to the magnitude of the affect they have on the gameplay / outcome). So I decided to do some investigation and find out the actual rules (from the United States Poker Association rulebook).

With any game, there are some rules that can be adjusted (e.g. what value a single chip bet has), and others that are set in stone (e.g. a flush always beats a straight in 5-card poker). I prefer to adhere to as many rules as possible… after all, they were made for a reason.

Every home poker game has their way of running things, so I never recommend starting a fuss at someone’s house you’ve never played at. If you don’t like the way they do things, don’t play there again. But I believe explaining the reasons behind the rules will go a far way. In this series, I’ll do my best to not not only define the rule, but explain why the rule exists.

I’ll start the series off with an article on the “showdown of cards” (i.e. who has to show their cards after the final betting round is completed). I’ve seen this rule disputed more than any other. You may be surprised at what the actual rule is, and hopefully you’ll see why it is that way.