The players should first decide (unless the host or club has established the custom) what game is to be played, for example, Jackpot, with an occasional round of Stud, or whatever else best suits the majority. The decision, once made, should be final except by unanimous consent. The number of players affects the choice of game. For example, ten players could readily play five-card Stud, but seven-card Stud would be impossible and Draw Poker would be unwise.

Before play begins, the players should set a time limit and stick to it. Violation of this principle may eventually break up the game, or turn pleasant sessions into unpleasant ones.

Approved Poker ethics, in various groups, range from the hard-boiled code in which anything short of cheating is permissible, to the strict standard that is traditional in such games as Bridge. Players should agree on what custom they will follow, and so mark the book so there can be no misunder¬standings later.

Any standard 52-card pack of playing cards is suitable for. In clubs, it is customary to permit any player to call for new cards if he is willing to pay for them. Though Poker was once a one-pack game, it is increasingly common to use two packs to speed up the game, one pack being shuffled and prepared for the next deal while the other pack is being dealt.

Seven or more players should have a supply of at least 200 chips, usually, 100 whites, 50 reds and 50 blues. The white chip is the unit, one red being worth five whites and one blue being worth ten whites or two reds. These proportions may be, and often are, varied to suit the convenience of the players. Each player should be issued the same number of chips at the start, ten whites, four reds and two blues, 50 units in all.

There are different ways of fixing a betting limit. Some type of limit is necessary. Once fixed, the limit should be unalterable throughout the game. The limit may be any one of the following popular ones:

1. Fixed limit. No one may bet or raise by more than a stip¬ulated number of chips
2. Pot limit. The limit for any bet or raise is the number of chips in the pot at the time the bet or raise is made. (This means that a player who raises may count as part of the pot the number of chips required for him to call. If there are 6 chips in the pot, then a bet of 4 is made, the total is 10 chips; it requires 4 chips for the next player to call, making 14; and he may then raise by 14 chips.) When pot limit is played there should still be some maximum limit, such as 50 chips.
3. Table stakes. This, and especially table stakes with pot limit, has become one of the most popular forms of fixing a limit. The limit for each player is the number of chips he has in front of him: if he has only 10 chips, he cannot bet more than 10 and he may call any other player’s bet to that extent. No player may withdraw any chips from the table, or return them to the banker, until he leaves the game. A player may add to his stack, but only between the showdown (or the time that he drops) in one pot and the beginning of the next deal.

It is not unusual to limit the number of raises any one player may make to three (in some circles, two) in each betting interval. Almost equally common is to have a limit of three raises, no matter by whom, in any one betting interval.