♠ The Game

• No-Limit Texas Hold'em. Always.
• $20 buy-in. One rebuy allowed per player, per session.
• Blinds: Small $0.25 · Big $0.50. No antes unless voted in.
• Standard 52-card deck. Two decks in rotation — one shuffling, one in play.
• Minimum 4 players to start, maximum 8 at the table.

♥ Betting Rules

• Minimum raise is the size of the previous bet or raise.
• String bets are not allowed. Declare your action before moving chips.
• Verbal declarations are binding: if you say "raise," you must raise.
• If you put in a single oversized chip without declaring, it counts as a call.
• All-ins must be tabled face-up immediately.

♦ Table Etiquette

• Phone calls at the table = 1 Big Blind penalty. This is non-negotiable.
• No phones during hands. Texts can wait. Your equity cannot.
• Act in turn. Folding out of turn is a penalty (1BB to the pot).
• No discussing your hand while a pot is live, even if you've folded.
• Be cool about bad beats. We've all been there.
• Last-longer bets, side bets, and prop bets are allowed and encouraged.

♣ Showdowns & Hands

• Cards speak — the best hand wins regardless of what a player announces.
• At showdown, the last aggressor shows first.
• If there's a bet on the river, called players must show. No mucking if called.
• The deck does not have a memory. The board does not owe you anything.

🏠 Host Rules

• Respect the host's home. Clean up after yourself.
• Bring something to drink. We're not running a bar here.
• Game ends when the host calls it or when there's a clear winner.
• Debts are settled that night. No IOUs. No Venmo promises.
• What happens at The Bench stays at The Bench.

📖 How to Play (Quick Reference)

For those newer to the game, here's the quick version of Texas Hold'em:

1. Deal: Each player gets 2 hole cards face down.
2. Pre-Flop: Betting round starting left of the big blind.
3. Flop: 3 community cards dealt face up. Betting round.
4. Turn: 1 more community card. Betting round.
5. River: Final community card. Last betting round.
6. Showdown: Best 5-card hand using any combo of your 2 + the 5 wins the pot.

Hand rankings (high to low): Royal Flush · Straight Flush · Four of a Kind · Full House · Flush · Straight · Three of a Kind · Two Pair · Pair · High Card