Beginner rules
How to play poker at Bored Hold'em
Bored face. Real poker. Play-money Tokens. Worldwide tables.
This room splits poker into three main families — community card, stud, and draw — plus lowball, high-low split, mixed games, and a few other multiplayer cousins. Bored Hold'em is the beginner core. Every other lobby table is the real variant, not Bored Hold'em with a new name. Tables use Play Money Tokens, not cash.
Play Money Tokens
Bored Hold'em uses Tokens — Play Money you cannot buy or sell. A saved account starts with 100,000 Tokens. Claim another 100,000 from Profile anytime; each claim starts a 24-hour cooldown. What you win or lose at a table settles back to this same account balance when you stand. Paid Token packs on Square are separate. Chip stacks on the felt are how those Tokens look at the table.
Tables and tournaments
Guests sit free Bored Hold'em only. Save a seat to play the other Bored games. Logged-in seats at Bored Hold'em and every lowball table are $0.99 USD software hosting on Square — Omaha, stud, draw, mixed, and the rest stay free to sit. Tables are 4–6 players. A hosted Sit & Go is 6-max for a $2.99 USD software hosting fee. A worldwide tournament is 6-max for $5.99 — one global pool, every seat shows a country flag. Host fees create the room. They are not cash prize pools. The cards still play for Tokens.
The three game families
How to Play on this site is the source of truth for every Bored variant in the lobby.
Community card
Shared board cards in the middle. Bored Hold'em, Bored Omaha, Bored Pineapple, Bored Manila, Bored Courchevel. Hole-card count and “must use 2 + 3” rules change by game.
Stud
Each player has a mix of down cards and upcards. Bring-in from the door card. Bored 7-Card Stud, Bored Razz, Bored 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo, Bored High Chicago, Bored Follow the Queen.
Draw
Hidden hands, then replacement rounds. Bored 5-Card Draw, Bored Ace-to-Five Lowball, Bored Deuce-to-Seven Draw, Bored Triple Draw, Bored Countdown.
What Bored Hold'em is
Bored Hold'em (no-limit) is a community-card poker game. Each dealt player gets two hole cards face down. The dealer then puts five community cards in the middle, in three streets: flop (3), turn (1), river (1). You may use any mix of your hole cards and the board to make a five-card hand. No-limit means you can bet any amount of your table stack, up to all-in.
Hand rankings
Highest category wins. Ties are broken by kickers — leftover ranks that do not make the category. Ace plays high, except in a wheel straight (A-2-3-4-5).
Royal flush
A-K-Q-J-T, all the same suit. The unbeatable hand.
Straight flush
Five in a row, same suit. A-2-3-4-5 of a suit is the wheel.
Four of a kind
Four cards of one rank, plus a kicker.
Full house
Three of one rank and a pair of another. Trips rank first, then the pair.
Flush
Any five of the same suit, not in sequence. Highest cards decide.
Straight
Five ranks in a row, mixed suits. Ace can be high (broadway) or low (wheel).
Three of a kind
A set or trips, plus two kickers.
Two pair
Two different pairs plus a kicker. Higher pair first.
One pair
A single pair plus three kickers.
High card
Nothing connected. The highest card — and kickers — play.
Blinds, button, and position
The dealer button moves one seat clockwise each hand. Left of the button posts the small blind; next seat posts the big blind. Later position acts with more information — that is an edge.
Heads-up is special: the button is the small blind and acts first before the flop, last after it.
Streets
Hole cards are dealt. Action starts left of the big blind (UTG). You can fold, call the blind, or raise.
Three community cards. Action starts with the first live player left of the button.
Fourth community card. Same action order. Pots get serious here.
Fifth and final card. Last betting round, then showdown if more than one player remains.
Actions
Fold
Give up the hand. You cannot win the pot.
Check
Pass when no one has bet. Only legal if there is nothing to call.
Call
Match the current bet.
Bet
Put in the first Tokens on a street. Minimum is usually one big blind.
Raise
Increase the bet. Minimum raise equals the last full raise size.
All-in
Put your remaining stack in. Short all-ins do not reopen action for players who already matched a full raise.
Bored Hold'em only lights the buttons that are legal for you right now. The slider and ½ pot / pot / all-in token presets are shortcuts — they still respect min-raise and your stack.
Pots, side pots, and splits
Every Token you put in stays. If someone is all-in for less than others, the dealer builds a main pot they can win, and a side pot for the remaining stacks. You cannot win a side pot you did not pay into. Identical best hands split the pot; an odd leftover Token goes to one winner.
Etiquette and the time bank
- You have 15 seconds to act, then your personal time bank (30 seconds) starts draining.
- If the clock hits zero, the table auto-checks when it can, otherwise it folds.
- Sit out next big blind if you need a break without stranding a short-handed pot mid-deal.
- Auto-muck hides losing hole cards at showdown. Winners are always shown.
- Chat is short and filtered. Do not abuse other players — it is still a cardroom.
- Refresh is safe: you rejoin the same seat and the same hand.
A sample hand
Three players, 10/20 blinds. Button is UTG's right. UTG finds Ace-King.
- Preflop
SB posts 10, BB posts 20. UTG raises to 60. SB calls. BB folds.
- Flop
UTG flopped top pair, top kicker. Both players check — a slow play, or a missed draw.
- Turn
SB bets 80. UTG calls. Pot is 300.
- River · showdown
Check, check. SB tables 9♠8♠ for a pair of nines. UTG tables A♥K♦ for a pair of aces and takes the pot. That is a complete Bored Hold'em hand.
Rules for every game
Pick a variant. Each one has its own page on this website — setup, streets, what cards you use, ranking quirks, and a short sample. This is not a Bored Hold'em article with extra names.
Community card
Bored Hold'em
NLTwo hole cards and a five-card board. Use any five of the seven. No-limit is the worldwide default; This room also deals a fixed-limit version.
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Bored Hold'em (limit)
FLSame deal as Bored Hold'em with fixed-limit betting: small bets preflop/flop, big bets turn/river.
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Bored Double-Board Hold'em
NLTwo separate five-card boards. The high hand on each board takes half the pot; scoop both to take it all.
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Bored Greek Hold'em
PLTwo hole cards like Bored Hold'em, but you must use both hole cards plus exactly three board cards (Bored Omaha constraint).
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Bored Irish
NLFour hole cards. After the flop you discard two. Then it plays as Bored Hold'em with the two you kept.
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Bored No-River Hold'em
NLThree hole cards. Betting on preflop, flop, and turn only — there is no river. Any number of hole cards may play.
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Bored Royal Hold'em
NLStripped deck of tens through aces (20 cards). This room caps the table at six because the deck runs out.
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Bored Short-Deck
NL2–5 removed (36 cards). Common WSOP / short-deck ranking: flush beats a full house, and A-6-7-8-9 is the wheel. Documented here — not standard high ranking.
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Bored Omaha
PLFour hole cards. You must use exactly two hole cards and exactly three board cards. Pot-limit (PLO) is the usual structure.
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Bored 5-Card Omaha
PLFive hole cards; still exactly two hole + three board at showdown.
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Bored Courchevel
PLBored 5-Card Omaha with the first community card dealt before the first betting round, then two more to complete the flop.
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Bored Pineapple
NLThree hole cards. Discard one before the first betting round, then play Bored Hold'em.
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Bored Crazy Pineapple
NLThree hole cards. Discard one after the flop, before the turn is dealt.
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Bored Tahoe
NLKeep all three hole cards. At showdown you may use none, one, or two of them — never all three.
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Bored Super Hold'em
NLKeep all three hole cards and you may use all three with the board.
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Bored Manila
FL32-card deck (7s up). Five betting rounds, one community card each time. Must use both hole cards + three board. Flush beats a full house; ace cannot play low in a straight.
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Bored Pinatubo
PLBored Manila with the second and third community cards dealt together so there are four betting rounds instead of five.
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Stud
Bored 5-Card Stud
FLOne hole card and one upcard, then three more upcards. Bring-in from the lowest door card. Limit is the usual structure.
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Bored 6-Card Stud
FLStandard 2-3-1: two down, three up, one final down.
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Bored 7-Card Stud
FLTwo down, four up, one down. Best five of seven. Door-card bring-in. Usually 8-max from the 52-card deck.
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Bored Follow the Queen
FLBored 7-Card Stud. Each upcard dealt immediately after a queen is wild, as are all cards of that rank. A queen as the last upcard makes queens wild. No exposed queen means no wilds.
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Bored 7-Card Flip
FLFirst four cards dealt down. Choose two to turn up, then continue as Bored 7-Card Stud (two more up, one down).
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Draw
Bored 5-Card Draw
NLFive hidden cards, a betting round, one draw (replace any number), then a final betting round. High hand wins.
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Bored Countdown
FLBored 5-Card Draw with three replacement rounds: up to 3 cards, then 2, then 1. Each replacement costs Tokens into the pot; the cost doubles each round.
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Lowball
Bored Razz
FLBored 7-Card Stud played for ace-to-five low. Straights and flushes do not count. Best low is A-2-3-4-5.
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Bored Ace-to-Five Lowball
NLCalifornia lowball. Bored 5-Card Draw for ace-to-five low. Straights and flushes do not count against the low. Wheel A-2-3-4-5 is the nuts.
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Bored Deuce-to-Seven Draw
NLKansas City lowball. Bored 5-Card Draw, one draw. Ace is high. Straights and flushes count against you. Best low is 7-5-4-3-2 unsuited.
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Bored Triple Draw
FLDeuce-to-seven low with three draw rounds. Fixed-limit is standard. Best low is 7-5-4-3-2.
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Bored A-5 Triple Draw
FLAce-to-five low with three draws. Wheel A-2-3-4-5 is the nuts. Straights and flushes do not count.
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High-low split
Bored Omaha Hi-Lo
PLBored Omaha with a split pot. High uses standard ranking. Low is ace-to-five, 8-or-better qualifier — five unpaired ranks 8 or lower. Scoop if you win both sides.
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Bored 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo
FLBored 7-Card Stud high-low. Low is ace-to-five 8-or-better. Pot splits when a low qualifies.
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Bored High Chicago
FLBored 7-Card Stud high. Half the pot to the high hand, half to the highest spade in the hole. Scoop if you have both.
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Bored Low Chicago
FLBored 7-Card Stud high. Half the pot to the high hand, half to the lowest hole spade (A♠ is lowest).
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Mixed
Bored HORSE
FLBored HORSE rotates Bored Hold'em, Bored Omaha Hi-Lo, Bored Razz, Bored 7-Card Stud, and Bored 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo. This room rotates the game every eight hands.
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Bored Dealer's Choice
NLThe player on the button picks the next implemented variant before each deal. Skip games that cannot seat this table.
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Other
Bored Chinese Poker
NL2–4 players, 13 cards each. Set a 3-card front, 5-card middle, and 5-card back. Back must beat middle, middle must beat front, or the hand is dead. Score each row; scoop all three.
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Bored Guts
NLCousin of poker: two-card hands, in-or-out each round, then a showdown among those who stayed in. Losers each match the pot. Rounds continue while more than one player stays in.
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Bored Five-O
NLHeads-up only. Each player builds five 5-card hands (four cards up). One betting round, then compare columns. Win three or more columns. Sweeping all five is a Five-O.
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Bored Kuhn
FLOptional heads-up sandbox. Three-card deck (J, Q, K), one card each, ante plus a single bet-or-check line. A game-theory exercise, not a ring game.
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Ready?
The lobby is open. Tokens are Play Money. The rules on the felt are the real ones.
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