Introduction
The classic game of 5-Card Draw Poker where players are dealt a complete hand of five cards, and get 1 or 2 opportunities to build on that hand in between betting phases. For 2 to 8 players.
Skill Gaming Compliance
This game does not use Linden Dollars in any capacity. Players do not buy into the table. All betting on this game is done with fake poker chips that have no value and can not be redeemed outside of the game. The poker chips are used expressly to determine the winner of the game and no monetary reward is derived from the game regardless of number of poker chips the winner holds at the end of the game. This is done to comply with Second Life’s Skill Gaming policy.
House Rules
Most K.R. Engineering games have a variety of options or “house rules” that can be turned on and off by the game owner to change how the game plays. These options can include changing the winning criteria for a game, adding new rules or disabling other rules, or just placing time limits on how long you can be away before the game skips you. It is often helpful to know what house rules you are playing with when you sit down at a game. You can touch the game logo on any K.R. Engineering game to see a list of which options are enabled and which are not.
For owners/administrators wishing to change these options, please see the Administration section of this article.
Getting Started
If you are new to owning a K.R. Engineering game or have upgraded from an older game version, then you may have questions about your new table. Please see this FAQ for answers to some of our most common beginner questions.
Bug Fixes and Upgrades
Most owners of K.R. Engineering games are entitled to free upgrades to newer versions of the game. If a new update is available, then following the updating instructions for your game will result in a new copy of the most recent version being sent to you by the update server. This process is not automatic. You must request an update manually.
If you are having problems with your game, please search this knowledge base or contact us for product support. If the problem you are having has not previously been encountered, a new game version will be released with a fix as soon as possible, and you may qualify for a bug bounty.
DISCLAIMER: The appearance and feature set of games are subject to revision between versions as the capabilities of Second Life change over time. Please see the detailed ChangeLog for your particular game before upgrading. By upgrading. you are agreeing to accept any and all changes that have been imposed on the updated version of the game.
Joining the Game
Most K.R. Engineering games can be played simply by right-clicking on a chair and choosing “Play.”
K.R. Engineering games can be played on a variety of themed furniture objects, and the “chairs” may not always look like chairs. For example, on the Chess theme, the “chairs” are the giant chess pieces. If you are unsure what is a chair and what isn’t on a particular theme, that’s okay! You can right-click and select “Play” on any part of a theme and it will automatically place you in an available chair, even if you didn’t click on a chair specifically.
Important: K.R. Engineering games use a rezzing system. This means that the game (buttons, dice, cards, game boards, etc) is a separate object from the furniture/rezzer/theme. You must right-click on the theme to play, not the game itself, as you cannot sit on the game pieces (such as dice, game boards, cards, etc). You must sit on the furniture around the game to play, not the game pieces.
While most game themes include furniture that you can sit on, there may be some exceptions. The Pocket theme, for example, cannot be sat on, as it has no chairs. Instead, you can join a game on a Pocket theme by clicking the MENU button on the game.
Game Play
Important: To play Poker, you must be wearing the Poker HUD. To get a HUD, press the ‘HUD’ button on the table. You will be given an object called Poker Game HUD. Find this under your Objects folder and wear it.
After all players who wish to play have been seated, anyone may press the START button to begin the game. The game will deal 5 cards to each player and give each player a fixed number of starting chips with which to bet during the game. One player will be designated the “Dealer” of the current round, but this is a title only and the game will still handle all dealing operations automatically on their behalf. On subsequent rounds, players will take turn being the Dealer, as this impacts game play (discussed more below).
Players will automatically have 1 chip taken from them at the start of each round as a mandatory Ante to the game pot. If at any point during the game a player is unable to Ante (that is, they have 0 chips), then they are removed from play for the remainder of the game.
Betting Phase
The first phase of the game involves players betting based on the cards they are initially dealt. There will be subsequent betting phases after each discard phase (discussed in the next section). Each betting phase works exactly the same.
Starting with the player to the right (or left, if clockwise play is enabled) of the dealer, players must place their bets by pressing the BET button on the table. Pressing the BET button will present a dialog menu for the player to interact with, showing the current high bet, their own funds and their betting options.
If you are the first player to bet during any betting phase, your menu options will consist of:
- ALL IN – Bet every chip you have on the outcome of the round. You will either win the pot or lose everything and thus be removed from the game.
- FOLD – Decline to play any further for this round. At the end of the round, you will be dealt back in to continue playing in the next round.
- An amount of your choosing by pressing the + or – value buttons followed by PLACE BET.
- Example: Pressing +5 followed by PLACE BET will bet 5 chips.
If you are not the first player to bet during any betting phase, you will have slightly different menu options:
- CALL – Calling a bet simply means you will match it in order to stay in the round, but you have no desire to bet any more.
- RAISE – This will offer you a new dialog window where you may bet an amount of your choosing. The amount you bet must be no less than CALLing, and no more than the amount of chips you have.
- ALL IN – Bet every chip you have on the outcome of the round. You will either win the pot or lose everything and thus be removed from the game.
- FOLD – Decline to play any further for this round. At the end of the round, you will be dealt back in to continue playing in the next round.
The betting phase will continue so long as any player chooses to continue RAISEing the bet. Once all players have FOLDed or CALLed, the betting phase will end and the game will proceed to either a discard phase or the showdown phase.
- If the game options are set for 1 discard phase, the game will move to the showdown phase after the 2nd betting phase.
- If the game options are set for 2 discard phases, the game will move to the showdown phase after the 3rd betting phase.
Discard Phase
Starting with the player to the right (or left, if clockwise play is enabled) of the dealer, players must choose whether they wish to replace any of the cards in their current hand. You do not have to discard any cards if you do not want. To continue without discarding, simply click the green checkmark on your HUD without selecting any cards.
- If the game options are set for 1 discard phase, then players may discard up to all 5 of their cards.
- If the game options are set for 2 discard phases, players may only discard up to 4 of their cards.
After selecting the cards you wish to discard by touching them on your HUD, and then pressing the green checkmark on your HUD to complete the discard, the game will automatically deal you replacement cards of the same amount that you discarded, so that you always have 5 cards.
After all players have discarded, the game will proceed automatically to another betting phase.
Showdown Phase
Once all betting and discard phases have completed, the game will move to the Showdown. At showdown, all remaining players place their hands down on the table. The player with the best hand wins the round and takes the pot.
The game will pause after a showdown phase and allow all players to review the cards played. Additionally, anyone who has left the table can be given an opportunity to return before the next round begins. When players are ready to continue, any player may press the DEAL button on the table to begin the next round.
Poker Hands
There are 9 basic poker hands, ranked in descending order from best to worst:
- Straight Flush – A straight flush consists of all cards in sequential order AND all cards being the same suit. Straight flushes can normally only be beaten by other, better straight flushes.
- Example: 4 of Clubs, 5 of Clubs, 6 of Clubs, 7 of Clubs, and 8 of Clubs would be Straight Flush. It would be beat by a Straight Flush (of any suit) where the highest card was greater than 8. (4-5-6-7-8 all of the Clubs suit)
- A Straight Flush where the highest card is an Ace is called a Royal Flush, and is normally the highest hand in the game. (10-J-Q-K-A all of the same suit)
- Four of a Kind – Any four cards of the same rank, regardless of suit.
- Example: Jack of Clubs, Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Spades, and Jack of Hearts. (J-J-J-J)
- Full House – A full house is any hand for which you simultaneously hold a Three of a Kind and a Pair.
- Example: Two 4s and three 7s. Or Three Jacks and Two Aces. (4-4-4-7-7 or J-J-J-A-A)
- Flush – A flush is any set of 5 cards that all have the same suit, regardless of their rank. They do not have to be in sequential order.
- Example: 3 of Clubs, 7 of Clubs, 9 of Clubs, 10 of Clubs, Ace of Clubs. (3-7-9-10-A all of the Clubs suit)
- Straight: A straight is any set of 5 cards that have sequential rank, regardless of suit.
- Example: 7 of Clubs, 8 of Hearts, 9 of Diamonds, 10 of Clubs, Jack of Spades. (7-8-9-10-J)
- Three of a Kind – Any three cards of the same rank, regardless of suit.
- Example: Queen of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, and Queen of Spades. (Q-Q-Q)
- Two Pair – Any two distinct pairs of cards.
- Example: Holding the Jack of Clubs and the Jack of Hearts, while also holding the 6 of Clubs and the 6 of Diamonds. (6-6 and J-J in the same hand).
- Pair – A pair is any two cards of the same rank, regardless of suit.
- Example: 5 of Clubs, and 5 of Diamonds. (5-5)
- High Card – If you have no other hand, you will always have a High Card. This is the worst possible hand, but it is a hand. High Card is simply the value of the highest card in your hand.
- Example: If you are holding 4-6-7-J-Q in your hand, then Queen is your high card, regardless of suit.
All hands can be beaten by better variants of the same hand. For example, A pair of Jacks (J-J) will beat a pair of Eights (8-8). A high King will beat a high Jack. A full house consisting of Kings and 7s (K-K-K-7-7) will beat a full house consisting of Jacks and 10s (J-J-J-10-10). Etc.
Side Pots
Players may only win up to an amount equal to their own contribution from each of the other players. That is, if your total contribution to the pot on a given round is 30 chips, you may only win 30 chips from each of the other players. That means if there are 3 players, your total maximum win is 90 chips.
If a player wins whose contribution to the pot is lower than everyone else’s (likely because they went all-in), then any leftover chips are put into a side pot. The winner of the side pot is determined by the next highest hand to the winner. If in the event the winner of the side pot is also unable to claim the entire side pot, another side pot is set aside for the third highest hand, and so forth until the entire pot has been claimed.
Five of a Kind
Because this Poker game allows up to 8 players, there may be times when 2 decks of cards are in use. When this happens, it is possible to get Five of a Kind as a hand. Five of a Kind is considered the highest possible hand in this case, trumping even a Royal Flush.
Bluffing and Folding
Bluffing is one of the most important strategic options in Poker. If a player successfully bluffs and convinces all of their opponents to fold before the Showdown phase, then they will win by default and do not have to reveal their hand.
Leaving the Table
If you leave a Poker game in progress, you will fold automatically for the round, and not be dealt in to any subsequent rounds until you return. If the game ends before you get back, you simply forfeited. If you return to the table before the game ends, you will not be able to play in the current round, but will be dealt in automatically during the next round.
Customization
For information on switching out tables and themes, please see this FAQ entry. For an overview of the theme/table administrative menu, please check out our Game Rezzer Administration article. For detailed information on customizing animations and camera views, please see our Player Experience Customization article.
Poker supports Card Design add-ons! Click here for more information.
Custom Cards
K.R. Engineering card games that use a standard playing card deck (and some that use non-standard decks) will allow you to change the cards to be anything that you want if you’re willing to make your own textures for them. You can find more information and instructions by visiting our Custom Cards article.
Gaming.SL Live Integration
Gaming.SL Live (also known as Gaming.SL or G.SL) is gaming platform and services system developed by K.R. Engineering, which brings a variety of enhanced features to games in Second Life that are not possible with Second Life alone. In addition to the features described in this article, G.SL can integrate with your table in the following ways.
Leaderboards
Gaming.SL connected games have a grid-wide top score database that allows players to compete and have a pervasive record of their high scores. These high scores can be viewed by using a Top Scores display board in Second Life or by accessing the Top Scores page on the Gaming.SL website. Scores can be filtered down by region, specific game tables, dates, and other criteria.
In addition to recording high scores, games keep a running tally of the total number of times players have won on a game. This information can be viewed on a Top Winners display board in Second Life or by accessing the Top Winners page on the Gaming.SL website. Winners can likewise be filtered by region and other criteria to see a more specific list of winners.
On supported games, players will also be assigned a rank that compares their performance to other players who have played the same game. Players can improve this rank by playing well against other players. Rank information can be viewed on a Top Ranked display board in Second Life or by accessing the Top Ranked page on the Gaming.SL website.
Achievements
Gaming.SL includes support for Achievements in participating games, where-in you can unlock trophies by performing miraculous or mundane feats of gameplay. Achievements are awarded automatically and announced in Second Life when they are unlocked. Players can check their own achievements by visiting the Achievements page on the Gaming.SL website.
Jackpots
Gaming.SL supports the option to have ongoing recurring Jackpots where players can win cash prizes just for playing, no purchase necessary! Visit the Jackpots page on the Gaming.SL website to see the current jackpot standings, and who you need to defeat to win a prize. Prizes are based on ranking on a leaderboard that is erased during each jackpot period. Players must play during each period to be eligible to win during that period.
Licensing
Gaming.SL connected games utilize a licensing system that allows scores, ranks, winners, and other attributes to persist between rezzes of the same game, regardless of location in Second Life. This licensing system also allows games to have COPY permissions while still offering instancing control.
Public Games
Games that use Gaming.SL Live can also optionally be specified as a PUBLIC game by the game’s owner. This will display the game on the Gaming.SL Live Games page, including game status, options, and location, and a button to let a user teleport straight to the game to play. All games default to PRIVATE unless explicitly changed by the owner of the game.
Privacy
See the Gaming.SL Live page for more details on the Gaming.SL Live system, as well as our comprehensive Privacy Policy detailing the information we collect and how we use it.
Administration
To access the game’s administrative menu, simply click and hold your mouse button down on any part of it for two seconds. A menu will pop up on your screen displaying current settings and providing options to change them. (In slow simulators, this may take slighter longer than two seconds, just hold the mouse button down until you see a menu.)
On certain rezzer versions, depending on where you click, you may open the REZZER’S administrative menu instead of the GAME’S administrative menu. This is okay! If you are in the rezzer admin menu, you can switch directly over to the game admin menu by pressing the “Game ↗” button. Likewise if you open the game menu by mistake, and wish to switch over to the rezzer menu, you can simply press the “↙ Rezzer” button.
Some elements of the administration menu are accessible only by the owner, while others can be accessed by anyone who is considered an administrative user, either explicitly added or implicitly through the Group Admin feature.
There are too many options to fit in a standard dialog window, so the window has been divided into pages. You can use the <<< and >>> buttons at the bottom of the admin menu to change which page of options you are currently viewing. If you don’t see the option you want, it’s on another page!
Rezzer Options
Many options that were formerly in the game admin menu have been moved to the table/theme/rezzer admin menu. These are options that are game-independent, such as admin users, branding, sound volume, and updating. These options are now set on the table/theme/rezzer and apply automatically to whatever game is being played on that table or theme. For details on accessing the rezzer admin menu and what options are in it, please see the Game Rezzer Administration article.
Owner-Only Options
- Indicators: A menu for changing the color of the turn indicator lights on the game board.
- Color: An alternate way to access the color/theme menu for the table. This is the same as pressing the Color button on the table top.
- Cards: Access the card customization menu. See the ‘CUSTOM CARDS’ section below for more information.
Administrative User Options
- ↙ Rezzer: This button will directly open the rezzer’s administrative menu instead of the game’s menu.
- Players: Access the player management menu to skip or evict players from the game.
- Abandoned: Select this button to change the number of seconds the table waits to reset an abandoned game after all players have left.
- Timeout: Select this button to change the number of seconds the table waits for idle players to begin their turn. If they don’t roll before the timeout occurs, the game will skip them for this round.
- Quiet: Enable quiet mode, reducing the amount of chatter that the game will send to local chat.
- Chatty: Disable quiet mode.
- Start 50: Start with 50 betting chips per player.
- Start 100: Start with 100 betting chips per player.
- Start 200: Start with 200 betting chips per player.
- Discard 1: Players discard once per round, with 2 betting periods.
- Discard 2: Players discard twice per round, with 3 betting periods.
- Play Left: Game play passes to your left (clockwise) around the table.
- Play Right: Game play passes to your right (counter-clockwise) around the table.
- Text On: Enable hover text for player scores.
- Text Off: Disable hover text for player scores.
Additional Questions
If you have more questions, please use the search tool on our main page to browse our many helpful articles and FAQ entries. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, you can contact us for assistance.
ChangeLog
You can find the ChangeLog for Poker by visiting this article.