A different Poker game for home games
How To Play Colorado Poker
The basic format of Colorado is a combination of Texas Hold'em and Seven Card Stud. There are two significant differences: first, rather than five community cards as in Texas Hold?em there are only four community cards; secondly, rather than the river card being dealt face up as in Texas Hold'em (making for the fifth community card) each player is dealt their own individual river card face down as in Seven Card Stud. Betting and all action are identical to Texas Hold'em.
The Complete Rules for Colorado
The Blinds
1. A minimum bet is defined at the beginning of the game and this bet is referred to as the 'Big Blind'. The betting begins with the two players to the left of the dealer posting the blinds. The 'Small Blind', the player to the left of the dealer places half the minimum bet. The "Big Blind" -- the player to the left of the ?Small Blind? places the full minimum bet. The 'Big Blind' (minimum bet) increases at predetermined time intervals.
The Shuffle
2. The dealer shuffles up a standard deck of 52 playing cards.
The Deal
3. The dealer deals the cards clockwise from player to player beginning with the player to the dealers left and concluding with the player in the dealer's position receiving the last card. The deal moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. A round disc -- known as a "dealer button" -- moves clockwise from player to player with each hand to identify the dealer position. The 'dealer button' indicates which player is the dealer.
The 'Hole or Pocket' Cards
4. Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are called the 'hole or pocket' cards for each player.
The First Round of Betting
5. The first round of betting takes place starting with the player to the left of the player who posted the 'Big Blind'
6. The minimum amount a player can bet must be equal to the 'Big Blind'
7. Players can call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to act in the first round of betting.
The First Three 'Community' Cards
8. After the first round of betting ends, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a burn card. This is done to prevent cheating.
9. The dealer then deals the next three cards face up on the table. These are 'community' cards that any player can use in combination with their ?hole or pocket? cards to form a five card poker hand.
The Second Round of Betting
10. The second round of betting takes place starting with the player to the left of the dealer and this is the order of betting for the remainder of the hand.
11. The minimum amount a player can bet must be equal to the 'Big Blind'
12. Players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to act in the second round of betting.
The Fourth 'Community' Card
13. After the betting concludes, the dealer burns another card and deals the fourth and final 'community' card onto the table. These are the four 'community' cards that any player can use in combination with their 'hole or pocket' cards to form a five card poker hand.
The Third Round of Betting
14. The third round of betting takes place starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
15. The minimum amount a player can bet must be equal to the 'Big Blind'
16. Players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to act in the third round of betting.
The Final 'Hole or Pocket' Card
17. Finally, the dealer burns a card and each player that has not folded is dealt a third 'hole or pocket' card face down. The dealer deals the cards clockwise from player to player beginning with the player to the dealers left and concluding with the player in the dealer's position receiving the last card or the player nearest to the right of the dealer (see Note 1 below). Players can now use any five card combination of the four 'community' cards on the table and the three 'hole or pocket' cards to form a five card poker hand.
The Fourth and Final Round of Betting
18. There is a fourth and final round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
19. The minimum amount a player can bet must be equal to the 'Big Blind'
20. Players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to act in the fourth and final round of betting.
The Players Reveal Their Hands
21. All of the players remaining in the game begin to reveal their hands. This begins with the player to the left of the last player to call. Players use any combination of their three 'hole or pocket' cards and the four 'community' cards to form a five card poker hand.
The Winner
22. The player who shows the best ranking five card poker hand wins! Players with equal hands share the winnings. Hand ranks are determined at the beginning of the game. Commonly, the hand ranks are those of traditional five card poker.
Note 1: If the third 'hole or pocket' card is dealt face up to a player that card becomes a burn card. The cards continue to be dealt in the order described in Rule 3 and the player that was dealt the third 'hole or pocket' card face up will be dealt the last card following the last card dealt to the dealer or the remaining player nearest the dealer.
