General Rules of Poker Cash Game

Know all the General Rules of Poker Cash Game like what happens to Dealer button in case players leave, All in Rules (and Side Pot), Corner case rules, Time Out Rules and Leave Seat Rules, by reading this section.

1. Dealer button in case players leave - The dealer button moves 1 position clockwise after every game - only occupied seats are considered. The small blind is covered by the first active player clockwise from the dealer. In case there is no blinds and only ante, then all active players have to drop in ante before hole cards are served.

2. All in Rules (and Side Pot) - Each betting hand is associated with a pot. The chips that are bet at the end of each hand are put in the corresponding pot. Therefore normally there would be 4 pots.

In case one or more active players do not have enough money to call a bet, they have the option of going All in. In such a scenario, the pot is split. The main pot contains the amount put in by the player who has just gone all-in plus an equal amount from all the active players. The side pot contains the remaining amount.

Note: The player who went all in does not have any stake in the side pot. The winner of the side pot is computed based on the other players (not including the all in player). The all in player can only win the amount kept in the main  pot plus of course the amounts in the pots of previous hands where he had fully participated.

After All-in, the player is not expected to take any action for the rest of the game.

The main pot also includes the amount from players who may fold in this hand. Their amount equal to the all-in amount will be put in the main pot. Any surplus will go to side pot.

In case there are multiple All-ins, there would be multiple side pots.

A player can go all-in in two scenarios –

(A) The player does not have enough money to call a bet and hence goes all-in.

(B) The player has enough money to call, but still goes All-in (on a raise).

In scenario (A), the next player will have to call or raise based on the bet made by the player previous to the all-in player (i.e. the last player who made a full bet).

In scenario (B), the next player will have to call or raise based on the all-in bet made.

3. Corner case rules - In case if a player does not have enough money to put in the blinds, then they shall go all in with whatever they have. The next players to bet will still have to be based on the full blinds.

If there is only 1 player left who can bet further in a game (i.e. non all in/non-folded), then it is evaluated whether the amount put in by this player is less than the amount put in by others. If the amount is less, this player is allowed to bet, while if the amount is more, then this player is not allowed to bet further. This is because the additional amount anyway belongs to this player only - so there is no point allowing this player to bet.

This is useful in the case when for example there are only 2 players and the player who has to put big blind goes all in with an amount less than small blind. In this case, there is no merit in having the small blind player put in more money because the remaining money would belong to him only.

However in the No limit betting case, when the turn of a player comes for betting, we cannot prevent the player from going all-in. In this case, his bet may exceed other all in player bets. In this case the extra amount would be in a side pot which belongs only to him.

4. Time Out Rules - If a player times out (i.e. does not take any action) on his turn for 3 consecutive turns, then the player is removed from the seat. This is because it is assumed that player is away and is not playing in the game. This way the player is protected that his blinds are not put in after he is removed from his seat. Moreover in case of STT, the player can timeout as many times, but will not be removed from the seat. This is because money is forfeited on leave seat in STT.

5. Leave Seat Rules - A player can leave seat at any time. When he does that, he shall forfeit the entire amount that he has bet so far on a table.

In case of SNG, if a player does leave seat mid-way during a SNG, then he forfeits all his amount and is not eligible for any winnings.

In case of RING, if player leaves mid-way, then amount that is bet on the current game shall be forfeited (same as fold). The other amount which has not been bet shall be credited back to the players account.

Visit our Poker Cash Game Rules page to know the our other rules of Poker Cash Games or visit our Poker Tournament Rules page to know all the rules related to the current poker tournaments running.