Choose what kind of games you want to play. Then set the game conditions you’d like to play. “Stake” determines the amount of chips you need to play. “Seat” or “Players” shows the maximum number of players who can join the game or the number of players who are now playing in. “Speed” indicates the length of the time restriction on a player’s betting turn. In a game with “fast” option, you have shorter time allowed to choose betting action.
Or you can simply click on [Quick Start], which automatically finds you the appropriate game table to play.

To join a poker game, you must buy in. “Buy-in” is the amount of money required to sit down at a game. It also means how much money you started at a table with. The minimum buy-in and the maximum buy-in vary upon games. When the buy-in is done, you will get seated at the table.

When a player failed to make an action during his/her turn in a betting round, the player becomes “time out”.
If the player was granted the option to [check] at the moment, [check] is declared automatically on behalf of him/her. If the player didn’t have the option to check, [fold] is declared automatically on behalf of him/her and he/she becomes “Sit out”.

When a player has checked [Sit out next hand] option before a hand ends, gone all-in in the previous hand or folded because of getting time out for his/her turn, he/she becomes “Sit out”. The sit out player is not involved in the current hand but still reserves his/her seat of the table. By clicking [I’m back] or buying-in makes the player join the hand. If the player does nothing in 3 minutes, he/she will be automatically removed from the table.

When a player runs out of chips before all the betting is over, it is called “all-in”. Though the all-in player cannot make any betting actions in the remaining rounds, he/she still gets dealt and involved in the showdown.
If only one other player remains in the hand, the other player just matches the all-in and the following hands are dealt automatically. However, if more than two other players remain in the game and the bet rises beyond the all-in bet, the overage goes into a side pot. In the case of multiple all-in bets, multiple side pots can be created.

If a player made a bet or raise and no one called, there is no showdown. No further cards are dealt, because the hand is over. The player who made the uncalled bet wins pot.

Forced Bet	Blind	Blinds are bets made by two players before cards are dealt for the purpose of stimulating a game. It's called a blind because you haven't seen a card when you make this bet. The player immediately clockwise from the button posts the "small blind", and the player immediately clockwise from the small blind posts the "big blind", which is typically twice the size of the small blind, but the blinds can vary upon stakes and betting structure of tables.
Voluntary Bet	Bet	To bet is the act of making the first bet in a betting round. In a no-limit game with blinds, the minimum bet is equal to the big blind.
	Raise	To raise is to increase the size an existing bet in the same betting round. A player making the second or subsequent raise of a betting round is said to re-raise. The sum of the opening bet and all raises is the amount that all players in the hand must call in order to remain eligible to win the pot.
	Check	If no one has yet bet, a player may check, which is equivalent to calling the current bet of zero.
	Call	To call is to match a bet or match a raise. A betting round ends when all active players have bet an equal amount. If everyone folded except one player, the player wins the pot.
	Fold	To fold is to discard one's hand and lose the right to claim the current pot. No further bets are required by the folding player, but the player cannot win.

If a player goes all in with a bet or raise rather than a call, special rules are adopted. There are two options commonly used: the full bet rule and the half bet rule.

• - The full bet rule: If the amount of an all-in bet is less than the minimum required bet, or if the amount of an all-in raise is less than the full amount of the previous raise, it does not constitute a "real" raise, and therefore does not reopen the betting action.
• - The half bet rule: If an all-in bet or raise is equal to or larger than half the minimum amount, it does constitute a raise and reopens the action.

All of the poker games in Golden Sand Casino follow the “half bet” rule. For example, we have a no-limit Texas Hold’em game with the half bet rule in effect. The first player Bruno opens the betting for 20, and the second player Christina has a total stake of 29. Christina makes a raise to 29, declaring herself all-in, but this isn’t considered as a "real" raise, since her raise is less than half the minimum required amount. If the third player Justin calls the 29, and Bruno's turn to act comes up, now he can call the additional 9, but cannot re-raise further. In fact, Christina's “incomplete” raise was just a call with some extra money, and Justin's call was just a call, so the initial opener, Bruno's bet was called by both players, closing the betting.

However, when Christina has a total stake of 30, and she makes a raise to 30, declaring herself all-in, this does make a "real" raise. If Justin now calls the 30, and Bruno's turn to act comes up, he may now call the additional 10 or re-raise further. Christina's raise is regarded as a normal raise, as the amount of her raise was equal to half the minimum amount of a normal raise.

No-limit

In a no-limit game, a player can bet or make a raise by any amount up to and including their full stack in any betting round. Minimum bet : the minimum bet is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet as much more as they want, up to all of their chips. Minimum raise: the raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the first player to act bets 5 then the second player must raise the minimum of 5 (total bet of 10). Maximum raise: a player can raise maximum the size of your stack (your chips on the table) at once, at any betting round. Betting cap : there is no ‘cap’ on the number of raises allowed. Applied to : Texas Hold’em

The rake is the house fee that is charged to the pot. It is taken out of the pot when the hand is complete and the pot is pushed to the winner. Rake is used to fund VIP rewards, Jackpot, Free Chip Bonus like Time Bonus, Daily Bonus and so on.

However, pots are not raked in Hold'em, unless the flop is seen.