General Poker Rules

At poker.co.za we are happy to help you getting your bearings in the various games of online poker.

If you are new to poker, or online poker games, and want to review the rules of the games, just follow the links in the following table:

Texas Hold'em	Omaha Hi	Omaha Hi-Lo
7 Card Stud	5 Card Stud

Between two to ten players (excluding the virtual dealer) play in the above games; the game is played with a 52 card deck. As bets are placed by the players, pot value increases, and the highest hand wins the pot.

Poker hand ranking is very important – if you want to review poker hand ranking, please visit our page on poker hand ranking.

The various online poker games are very similar in concept, yet offer a variety of play that you should be aware of before you play them. Texas Holdem is the most popular and most widely plaved online poker game; our associate 888 Poker has the largest selection of tournaments and cash games for this game. Omaha (in Omaha Hi and Omaha Hi-Lo variety) is based on Holdem, but is perhaps easier to learn. 7 and 5 Card Stud are games which do not make use of community cards, unlike Texas Holdem and the Omaha variants..

Ring Game Rake Structure

When you play online poker, the house charges a commission for each game – this is called the rake. Poker.co.za's partner 888 Poker has a rake structure which has received praise in the industry for its transparence. For detailed information on 888 Poker's rake structure, please visit the page on ring game rake structure.

In general, the house charges a commission between 0% and 5% of each total pot. Rake is not charged if a hand ends before the flop cards are dealt.