Poker Room

Why travel to distant casinos when you can play in the world’s largest poker room from the comfort of your own home – PokerStars! You can play all of the following games through the downloadable card room: Texas Hold’em, Omaha Poker, Omaha High/Low, Seven Card Stud, Five Card Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, 2-7 Single Draw, Seven Card Stud High/Low, Razz, Badugi, HORSE, 8-Game Mix and Poker Tournaments.

Poker Room Click on any of the poker games listed above for a detailed description of that game's rules. If you're a new online poker player, we recommend that you read the basic poker rules section before joining a table. Also check out PokerStars glossary of poker terms.

PokerStars is proud to offer a wide variety of multi-table poker tournaments in all of the games we offer, as well as Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit games at the free poker tables.

Like a traditional Las Vegas poker room, if a table that you want to play at is currently full you can request to be put on the waiting list. Only when you're playing online, getting on the waiting list for a poker table is as easy as clicking a button. Once a seat becomes available at the poker table, you will automatically be asked if you want to sit down and join that game.

At PokerStars, no matter which table you decide to play at, you will always be playing poker against real people. Your fellow players may live down the street or halfway around the world, but at PokerStars everybody is part of the same community!

To read PokerStars Poker Room rules, visit the Rules page.

Real Money Games and Limits

PokerStars is proud to offer a large selection of real money poker games, from micro-limits of $0.01/$0.02 up to high stakes games of $1000/$2000, in many varieties and betting structures, including Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit. If you are interested in playing for play money, check out the free poker page.

Minimum/Maximum Table Buy-In

'The minimum buy-in in our poker room for Fixed Limit tables is five times the big bet (the bet on the last two betting rounds). For example, on a $1/$2 table, the minimum buy-in would be $10. There is no maximum buy-in on limit tables.

For Pot Limit, No Limit and Mixed games, the minimum and maximum buy-ins may vary from table to table. The minimum and maximum buy-ins will be indicated on the buy-in dialogue screen. Games that allow smaller buy-ins relative to the size of the big blind are labelled ‘short’ in the lobby. Games that require a minimum buy-in of 100 big blinds are labelled ‘deep’ in the lobby. Games without a label of ‘short’, ‘deep’, or ‘CAP’ allow buy-ins of up to 100 big blinds.

All-In

When a player puts the last of their poker chips into a pot, that player is said to be all-in. An all-in player is not eligible to win any money in excess of the pot after their final bet has been matched. If the bettor's all-in is greater than one or more of the other players still active after the bettor has made the bet, then the excess part of the bet is either returned to the bettor, or if it can be matched by one or more of the still active players, it will in turn form one or more side-pots, and at that point any excess still remaining is then returned to the bettor. However, the all-in player will be eligible for the main pot, and therefore cannot be forced to fold from the hand.

Sometimes a player has enough chips to continue betting or calling during a hand, but has been disconnected and is unable to respond. If you disconnect from the PokerStars game server, you are given a small amount of time to reconnect. If you are involved in a big pot, you may be given additional time to reconnect and return to the table. (The exact amount of extra time varies depending on the game and the size of the pot.) If you are unable to respond after the extra time given, your hand will be checked if possible, or folded otherwise.

"Fast" Tables

These tables are identified by the word "fast" in parentheses after a table name. These special tables are designed for those players who want to keep the game moving at a faster pace than a standard table. These are the differences with a "fast" poker table:

You receive only 15 seconds to act in a Limit poker game, instead of 25.
You receive only 18 seconds to act in a No Limit or Pot Limit poker game, instead of 35.
You only have 1 second to show or muck, instead of 3 seconds.

Poker Room Rake

PokerStars receives compensation for hosting poker games by taking a rake, or a small portion (for most games, 4.5% up to a maximum dependent upon stakes) of the pot. For detailed information about the rake see the poker rake page. In poker tournaments, a fee is taken in order to participate; no additional rake is taken for each hand dealt

We hope to have answered any questions you may have had about the PokerStars Poker Room. Download the poker software now to start playing on our free poker tables or our real money poker tables. You can also learn more about the VIP Club, Stellar Rewards and other exciting offers by visiting the poker promotions page. We have done our best to make PokerStars the best internet poker room to play on, and hope to see you at the tables!