Jacks
Or Better
There are two betting rounds, one before the draw and one
after the draw. The game is played with a button and an ante.
Players in turn may check, open for the minimum, or open with
a raise. After the first betting round the players have the
opportunity to draw new cards to replace the ones they discard.
Action after the draw starts with the opener, or next player
proceeding clockwise if the opener has folded. The betting
limit after the draw is twice the amount of the betting limit
before the draw.
RULES OF JACKS-OR-BETTER
1. A pair of jacks or better is required to open the pot.
If no player opens the pot, the button moves forward and
each player must ante again, unless the limit of antes has
been reached for that particular game. (Most games allow
three consecutive deals before anteing stops.)
2. If the opener should show false openers before the draw,
any other active player has the opportunity to declare the
pot opened. However, any player who originally passed openers
is not eligible to declare the pot open. The false opener
has a dead hand and the opening bet stays in the pot. Any
other bet placed in the pot by the opener may be withdrawn,
provided the action before the draw is not completed. If
no other player declares the pot open, all bets are returned
except the opener’s first bet. The first bet and antes
will remain in the pot, and all players who were involved
in that hand are entitled to play the next hand after anteing
again.
3. Any player who has legally declared the pot opened must
prove openers in order to win the pot.
4. In all cases, the pot will play (even if the opener
shows or declares a fouled hand) if there has been a raise,
two or more players call the opening bet, or all action
is completed before the draw.
5. Even if you are all in for just the ante (or part of
the ante), you may declare the pot open if you have openers.
If you are all in and falsely declare the pot open, you
will lose the ante money and may not continue to play on
any subsequent deals until a winner is determined. Even
if you buy in again, you must wait until the pot has been
legally opened and someone else has won it before you can
resume playing.
6. Once action has been completed before the draw, the
opener may not withdraw any bets, whether or not the hand
contains openers.
7. An opener may be allowed to retrieve a discarded hand
to prove openers, at management’s discretion.
8. Any player may request that the opener retain the opening
hand and show it after the winner of the pot has been determined.
9. You may split openers, but you must declare that you
are splitting and place all discards under a chip to be
exposed by the dealer after the completion of the hand.
If you declare that you are splitting openers, but it is
determined that you could not possibly have had openers
when your final hand is compared with your discards, you
will lose the pot.
10. You are not splitting openers if you retain openers.
If you begin with the ace, joker, king, queen of spades,
and the ten of clubs, you are not splitting if you throw
the ten of clubs away. You are breaking a straight to draw
to a royal flush, and in doing so, you have retained openers
(ace-joker for two aces).
11. After the draw, if you call the opener’s bet and
cannot beat openers, you will not get your bet back. (You
have received information about opener’s hand that
is not free.)
Rules provided by Bob Ciaffone via ROBERT’S RULES
OF POKER
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