Home Poker

Getting Started - Stakes and First Deal

You're sitting at the table with five of your friends and a deck of cards. What next? First, determine the stakes. How much money is everybody willing to play for? For a better idea of the different levels of stakes, check out The Stakes in the Good Form section.

Some basic things to consider when setting the stakes:

1. What is the standard ante?
2. What is the minimum bet?
3. What is the maximum bet?

The table's minimum bet defines how low the stakes are. If the table's minimum bet is a nickle, then there are obviously no pennies allowed on the table. In this case, at no point could anything less than a nickle be thrown as a bet.

The table's maximum bet defines how high the stakes are. No player, in the course of a betting round, can bet anything higher than the table's maximum bet. If it the maximum is defined as fifty cents, then no more than fifty cents can be bet by a player.

Next, determine who will deal the first hand. Some tables say the host of the night deals the first game. Another way is by dealing out cards face-up to each player until a black-colored Jack turns up. The player with the black Jack calls the first game of the night. This is not terribly important.

Below, you will find a comprehensible breakdown of the different types of Home Poker games. For now, let's assume you're the dealer and have a game picked out. You explain the game, await everybody's ante, and begin dealing the cards.

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Adapted from HomePoker.com