Official Poker Rules According To Hoyle

According to who-did-you-say??

There is a popular and widely held misconception about the term "according to Hoyle". Edmond Hoyle was an English writer who lived from 1672 - 1769 and who is credited with being the first man to commit the official rules of card games to print with his treatise "A Short Treatise On The Game Of Whist" and his later book "Hoyle's Games" (1746). The phrase "according to Hoyle" soon emerged, and came to mean "signifying full compliance with universally accepted rules and customs". Even today, players consult books which are updates of Hoyle's original reference work for the definitive answer to any query on the rules of a game. Indeed, some players seem to think Hoyle is alive and well, and address letters to him in the hope of an answer! The truth is that Hoyle's name was lifted by every publisher from the 19th Century onwards to give authority to their books and give the impression that they were the standard reference work on the subject. Hoyle could never have set down rules on poker, for example, because it was not played in the form we know it now at the time he lived. However, there are universally agreed rules to poker which are considered to be the definitive ones used in the case of any player dispute. These are the the modern "Hoyle's poker rules" if you like. The most comprehensive and up to date guide to poker rules so far was compiled by Bob Ciaffone, and is known throughout the poker world as "Robert's Rules".

What follows is the full text of “Robert’s Rules Of Poker”, which has developed as the industry standard guide to Poker rules, and for the purposes of settling disputes amongst players may be considered to be the authorative "Hoyle's" Official Poker Rule Guide. If you and a fellow player are having an argument about a particular rule, link them to one of the pages that follow for the official ruling. Alternatively, you can print out the relevant section (or the entire rule book) by clicking here for the printer friendly poker rules.

Robert's Rules Of Poker - The Authorative Poker Rule Guide

"Robert's Rules Of Poker" is authored by Robert Ciaffone, better known in the poker world as Bob Ciaffone, a leading authority on cardroom rules. He is the person who has selected which rules to use, and formatted, organized, and worded the text. Nearly all these rules are substantively in common use for poker, but many improved ideas for wording and organization are employed throughout this work. A lot of the rules are similar to those used in the rulebook of cardrooms where he has acted as a rules consultant and rules drafter. Ciaffone authored the rulebook for the Poker Players Association (founded in 1984, now defunct), the first comprehensive set of poker rules for the general public. He has done extensive work on rules for the Las Vegas Hilton, The Mirage, and Hollywood Park Casino, and assisted many other cardrooms. Ciaffone is a regular columnist for Card Player magazine, and can be reached through that publication. This rulebook will be periodically revised, so suggestions are welcome.

Poker rules are widely used and freely copied, so it is impossible to construct a rulebook without using many rules that exist as part of a rule set of some cardroom. If such a rule is used, no credit is given to the source (which is unlikely to be the original one for the rule). The goal of this rulebook is to produce the best set of rules in existence, and make it generally available, so any person or cardroom can use it who so desires. The purpose is the betterment of poker. The general philosophy used in this rulebook is to make the rules sufficiently detailed so a decision-maker will know what the proper ruling is in each situation. A rule should do more than produce the right ruling. It should be stated so the decision-maker can refer to specific language in the rulebook, to have the ruling is accepted as correct.

The author has strongly supported uniform poker rules, and applauds the work done in this direction by the Tournament Director’s Association (TDA). Nearly all the rules herein are compatible with the TDA rules, although there are some slight differences in wording. This rulebook may be copied or downloaded by anyone, provided it is not sold for profit without written permission from the author, and the name “Robert’s Rules of Poker” is used or credited. Excerpts of less than a full chapter may be used without restriction or credit. People are welcome to use these rules, and even put their own business name on them, but this does not give a person or business any rights other than to use the rules in their own establishment, or to make copies available to someone else with the same restrictions applied to the recipient as stated here. Anyone may make copies of these rules and distribute them at no charge to recipients as a business promotion without obtaining permission.