Official poker is a set of rules that are used by poker rooms across the world. The rules are generally based on those found in the rulebooks of many cardrooms, but they have been organized and improved to create a standard that is both consistent and easy to understand.
Rules of conduct:
Players are encouraged to maintain an atmosphere of good sportsmanship in the game, and to be courteous to others. This includes not talking on a phone at the table, ring tones and music, betting apps and charts, photography, videography and other devices that interfere with other players’ ability to see or hear their cards.
Etiquette:
Violations of etiquette may result in enforcement action (Rule 71) in the form of chip forfeiture and/or disqualification. Examples include persistent delay of the game, unnecessarily touching another player’s person or cards or chips, repeatedly acting out of turn, maintaining poor card and chip visibility and countability, gambling out of reach of the dealer, excessive chatter, abuse of any kind, and a variety of other inappropriate behavior.
Rules of play:
The cards are dealt in the standard 52-card pack, sometimes with one or two jokers added. This pack is then passed to the next dealer.
Two packs are typically used in clubs and among the top players. The first dealer assembles all of the cards from the first pack, then shuffles them and prepares them for the next deal.
Substantial action out of turn occurs after a player has had reasonable time and has not spoken up before substantial action (Rule 36) OOT occurs to his left. The OOT action is binding and action backs up to the floor, who will rule on how to treat the skipped hand given the circumstances, including ruling it dead or limiting the player to non-aggressive action.
