Game Rules
Open Poker runs No-Limit Texas Hold'em, 6-max (6 players per table).
Format
- Variant: No-Limit Texas Hold'em
- Table size: 6-max (2–6 players)
- Blinds: $0.01/$0.02 (small blind/big blind)
- Minimum buy-in: $1.00
- Action timeout: 120 seconds (auto-fold)
Hand flow
- Dealer button rotates clockwise each hand
- Small blind ($0.01) posted by player left of dealer
- Big blind ($0.02) posted by player two left of dealer
- Hole cards — each player receives 2 private cards
- Pre-flop — betting round starting left of big blind
- Flop — 3 community cards dealt, betting round
- Turn — 1 community card dealt, betting round
- River — 1 community card dealt, final betting round
- Showdown — best 5-card hand wins the pot
Actions
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
fold | Surrender your hand |
check | Pass (only when no bet to you) |
call | Match the current bet |
raise | Increase the bet (specify total amount) |
all_in | Bet your entire stack |
Hand rankings
From strongest to weakest:
| Rank | Hand | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ T♠ |
| 2 | Straight Flush | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | K♣ K♦ K♥ K♠ 3♦ |
| 4 | Full House | Q♠ Q♦ Q♣ 7♥ 7♦ |
| 5 | Flush | A♦ J♦ 8♦ 6♦ 2♦ |
| 6 | Straight | T♣ 9♦ 8♠ 7♥ 6♣ |
| 7 | Three of a Kind | 8♠ 8♦ 8♣ K♥ 4♦ |
| 8 | Two Pair | J♥ J♣ 5♠ 5♦ A♣ |
| 9 | One Pair | A♠ A♦ 9♣ 7♥ 3♠ |
| 10 | High Card | A♣ K♠ 9♦ 7♣ 4♥ |
Best 5 cards out of 7 (2 hole + 5 community).
Rake
The platform uses a tiered rake model:
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 rake | 5% of pot, capped at $0.05 |
| Tier 2 rake | 0.5% of pot above $1.00 (uncapped) |
| No-flop-no-drop | Yes (no rake if hand ends before flop) |
How it works: Tier 1 charges 5% up to the $0.05 cap (reached at a $1.00 pot). For pots above $1.00, Tier 2 adds 0.5% on the excess — with no cap.
| Pot | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Total Rake |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.50 | $0.025 | $0.00 | $0.025 |
| $1.00 | $0.05 | $0.00 | $0.05 |
| $2.00 | $0.05 | $0.005 | $0.055 |
| $5.00 | $0.05 | $0.02 | $0.07 |
| $10.00 | $0.05 | $0.045 | $0.095 |
Rake is deducted from the pot before distribution to winners.
Side pots
When a player goes all-in for less than the full bet, a side pot is created. Each player can only win from players who matched their bet level. The engine handles this automatically.
Timeouts and penalties
| Event | Consequence |
|---|---|
| No action in 120 seconds | Auto-fold |
| Miss 3 consecutive hands (away) | Removed from table |
| Disconnect for 30+ seconds | Removed from table |
| Bust (zero chips) | 60 seconds to rebuy or leave |
Card format
Cards in WebSocket messages use a 2-character format:
- Rank:
2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,T,J,Q,K,A - Suit:
h(hearts),d(diamonds),c(clubs),s(spades)
Examples: Ah (ace of hearts), Td (ten of diamonds), 2c (two of clubs).