N.D. Admin. Code 99-01.3-09-04

Current through Supplement No. 394, October, 2024

Section 99-01.3-09-04 - Conduct and play

1. The cards are ranked ace, king, queen, jack, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, and two. A poker hand in a showdown consists of five cards, usually the best five selected from a greater number, ranked according to the following from highest to lowest:

a. Royal flush--the best hand of the same suit in sequence of ace, king, queen, jack, ten;

b. Straight flush--five cards of the same suit in sequence;

c. Four of a kind--four cards of the same rank;

d. Full house--three cards of the same rank and two cards of the same rank;

e. Flush--five cards of the same suit;

f. Straight--five cards in sequence; an ace may be low in a five-high-card straight;

g. Three of a kind--three cards of the same rank;

h. Two pair--two cards of the same rank and two cards of one other rank;

i. One pair--two cards of the same rank; and

j. High card--the highest ranking card in the hand.

2. The cards in the game of poker must be one complete standard deck of fifty-two cards. The design on the back of each card in the deck must be identical, and no card may contain any marking, symbol, or design that enables a player to know the identity of any element printed on the face of the card. The backs of the cards may contain a logo. The backs of the cards in the deck must be designed to eliminate the ability of any person to place concealed markings on them.

3. The organization shall have additional decks of cards available at the site. The color of the backs of the cards of the replacement decks must be of a different predominant color.

4. When cards are brought to the poker table, an organization employee first shall approve the deck of cards. The deck must be sorted into sequence, by suit and the back of each card inspected to assure all cards are present and none are taped, cut, shaved, marked, defaced, bent, crimped, or deformed.

5. Before the play, the dealer, in front of the players, shall spread the cards face upwards on the table, according to suit and in sequence within the suit for review by the players. After review, the cards must be shuffled so the cards are randomly intermixed. If a replacement deck is used, this step must be repeated.

6. Before starting play, and after each hand, the dealer thoroughly shall shuffle the cards. Then the dealer shall cut the cards by placing a portion of the deck on top of a cutting card. The dealer then shall restack the cards with the former bottom part of the deck on top.

7. Cards must be dealt out of the hand by the dealer. Dealing must start with the first player to the left of the dealer or button. A card dealt must be the top card of the deck. After the first card of the hand has been dealt to a player, the deal continues in a clockwise direction. The order of cards in the deck may not be disturbed during the deal of a round.

8. The first holder of the button shall be determined at random by dealing for the high card or a set position before seat assignment. If two or more players have the same ranked card, card suit will determine high card. From best to worst, suits rank spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.

9. An ante may be used in the game at the discretion of the organization. The player shall ante for each hand by placing wagers equaling the ante in front of the player on the table before the first card of the hand is dealt. The dealer shall sweep the antes and place them in the pot. Once the first card is dealt to any player, the ante may not be altered.

10. If an organization allows blind bets, the first betting round is started by the player to the left of the big blind by opening or folding and each following player shall call, raise, or fold; otherwise the player to the left of the button shall check, open, raise, or fold and each following player shall check, call, raise, or fold. A player shall match or raise the previous bet amount to remain in the hand. Subsequent betting rounds are started by the first active player to the left of the button. A betting round ends when all players have had a chance to act and all players who haven't folded have wagered the same amount for the round.

11. If a table only has two players remaining (heads-up), the small blind is posted by the player that has the button. When play becomes heads-up, the player who had the big blind the most recently, is given the button and the other player is given the big blind. The player with the button shall be the first player to act on the first betting round and last to act on the subsequent betting rounds.

12. A card that is meant to be dealt face downward but is dealt face upward or flashed as it is dealt so that a player might know its identity or is dealt off the table is considered an exposed card. A card exposed by a player is not an exposed card. The replacement of an exposed card must be done after all players have received their cards in that round.

13. A misdeal occurs when during the initial deal a player receives an incorrect number of cards, an active player is dealt out or cards are dealt to an inactive empty seat at the table, or cards are dealt out of sequence. A misdeal causes all of the cards to be returned to the dealer for a redeal. A misdeal may not be called once substantial action has occurred. "Substantial action" is defined as either three players acting by betting or folding or two players acting, if one of them has raised the pot.

14. An organization shall adopt a burn card procedure in which one card will be burned either after each round of betting or before dealing any additional cards.

15. A statement by a player of "call" or "raise" or of a specific bet is binding. A player who states a certain amount but puts a different amount into the pot shall correct the bet to the stated amount.

16. A player who unintentionally bets less than the amount required to call shall complete the call or fold. An improper bet must stand once three players have called, a player has raised, or all players in the pot have acted; otherwise, the action must back up to the player making the improper bet and any other action is nullified. A player makes a bet if the bet is pushed forward or placed into the pot at a sufficient distance from the player to make it obvious that the player intends to bet. If the situation is unclear and a player allows the dealer to pull the player's bet into the pot without making an immediate objection, it is a bet.

17. If a player places a single-chip wager into the pot that is larger than the bet, it must be regarded as a call unless the player announces a raise. If a multi-chip wager is fifty percent or greater of a legal raise then the minimum raise must be completed.

18. A fouled hand is a hand that has an improper number of cards, unless the player is short a card and due to get the top card of the deck. If a player has a fouled hand by having too many cards, that hand is dead and cannot win any part of the pot.

19. If a player discovers that the hand is fouled, the player cannot recover any wagers placed into the pot unless a misdeal can be called. If a player with a fouled hand makes a bet or raise and the next player has not yet acted, the next player may call attention to the fact that the hand is fouled. The dealer shall return the player's bet to the player with the fouled hand and betting may resume.

20. No player may deliberately foul a hand to recover a bet or make an attempt to win the pot by betting or raising after the player has discovered that the player's hand is fouled. If the dealer determines that a player has intentionally bet a fouled hand, the dealer shall rule that all of the player's wagers remain in the pot and the player's hand is dead.

21. When an active player exposes the player's hand to another active player, all other players at the table have the right to see the exposed hand.

22. If a card is improperly faced in the deck, it must be treated as a dead card and replaced by the next card below it in the deck.

23. At the conclusion of the final betting round, a player shall place the player's hand face upward on the table at the showdown as follows:

a. If there has been a bet on the final round, the player who made the bet shall show first;

b. If there have been one or more raises on the final round, the player who last raised shall show first;

c. If the final round has been checked by all the players, the player who acted first shall show first;

d. The subsequent order of showing hands is clockwise around the table from the player who shall show first; and

e. If there is a side pot, players involved in the side pot shall show their hands before any player who is "all-in" for only the main pot.

24. If two or more players remain in the pot after all of the cards have been dealt and the betting is over for that hand, the remaining players show their cards to determine which player has the best hand and wins the pot. A player may discard a hand without showing it. A player shall show the hand at the showdown if requested to do so by management. All hands will be shown without delay once a player is all-in and all betting action by all other players in the hand is complete. No player who is either all-in or has called all betting action may muck his hand without showing. All hands in both the main and side pots must be shown and are live. The following provisions govern showdown:

a. A hand with too many cards for that game is dead;

b. A hand is ranked according to the actual cards it contains. The cards speak for themselves;

c. A hand that is prematurely discarded by a player and touches the discarded cards is dead unless it is one hundred percent identifiable and retrievable;

d. A verbal concession is binding;

e. A player who leaves the table conceding the pot shall discard the hand;

f. A hand discarded face upward is a live hand if it has not become irretrievably mixed with the discards;

g. A hand discarded face downward may be retrieved if the following conditions are met:

(1) The player retrieves it or requests the dealer to turn it face up; and

(2) Another player has not been induced to discard the other player's hand;

h. A hand discarded face downward that is not retrievable is dead even if it had been shown before being discarded;

i. A player is responsible for protecting their hand until a winner is declared; and

j. Dealers cannot kill a properly shown and tabled hand that was obviously the winner.

25. At a showdown if two or more hands are tied, the hand with the highest ranked card or cards for high poker games and the lowest ranked card or cards for low poker games wins; otherwise, the tie must be broken by the rank of the unmatched cards in the hand. All suits are of equal value for determining hand rankings. In high-low split poker games, the highest hand and the lowest hand split the pot. A player who wins in one direction (high or low) and ties a player for the other direction, receives three-quarters of the pot. A player who wins in both directions without a tie receives all of the pot. Aces may be used for either high or low.

26. Pots must be awarded by the dealer. A game must be played to conclusion and the pot awarded to the winning player. The reading of a shown hand may be disputed until the next hand begins. Accounting errors in calculating and awarding the pot may be disputed until substantial action occurs on the next hand. If a hand finishes during a break, the right to any dispute ends one minute after the pot is awarded.

27. If using chips, and a pot that is split by having tied hands at the showdown has an odd chip, the chip is awarded to the player with a live hand clockwise from the dealer button. This section does not apply to splits between the high and low hands in high-low poker. If the lowest denomination chips in the pot are unable to be used to split the pot evenly, the dealer shall exchange the chips in order to divide split pots as evenly as possible.

28. If a defective deck is used, all wagers in the pot must be returned to the players in the amount each contributed. A player who knows the deck was defective and attempts to win the pot by a bet is not entitled to the player's wagers in the pot. Such wagers must remain in the pot as a forfeited amount for the next game. A player who won a pot is entitled to keep it, even though the deck is subsequently found to be defective.

N.D. Admin Code 99-01.3-09-04

Effective May 1, 1998; amended effective July 1, 2002; July 1, 2004; October 1, 2006; July 1, 2010.

Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 2016-360, April 2016, effective 4/1/2016.

Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 369, July 2018, effective 7/1/2018.

General Authority: NDCC 53-06.1-01.1

Law Implemented: NDCC 53-06.1-01.1