Poker Rules

Telesina Rules

Please, be aware of that Telesina is played with a “French” deck with thirty-two cards from Ace to Seven.

Players

Up to 6 players are allowed to play in the same game.

Dealer

Cards are dealt clockwise starting with the first active player after the dealer button.

Ante

Telesina is played with an ante. Before any cards are dealt the antes must be posted by every player in the game.

Deal

Each player receives 2 cards, one dealt face down and one face up. The card you are dealt first is your "hole card" and cannot be seen by the other players. This is indicated with grey background. After that there will be 3 more cards dealt face up to each remaining player. After the fifth card has been dealt to remaining players and the betting round is over, one card is placed in the middle of the table. This is called the Vela community card and it can be used by all players to improve their hands and start a last round of betting.

Bring-In

The player showing the highest card after the deal must make a forced bet (bring-in) that usually amounts to 2 x the ante or make a bet higher than that if the limits allow it. For the purposes of determining the bring-in, ties in card rank are broken by suit, with the order being Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades (in descending order). After the initial bring-in or bet is made action continuous clockwise until betting is completed for the round.

Betting order

In Telesina there are 5 betting rounds. The first betting round takes place after each player is dealt his first two cards. Then a 3rd, 4th and 5th card is dealt to each player with a betting round after each new card. The last betting round take place after the Vela card is revealed.

Showdown

If no more betting takes place, after all the cards have been dealt out and the Vela card is revealed, there is a showdown to determine the winner. The best 5 card hand wins the pot. If two or more players show the same hand they split the pot. If there is an odd chip it goes to the player nearest the dealer box.
If there was betting on 5th street the player who made the last bet or raise must show his hand first. If there was no betting the player showing the highest hand on the board shows his hand first.

Hand Ranking in Telesina

Straight Flush
Four of a Kind
Flush
Full House
Straight
Three of a Kind
Two Pair
One Pair
High Card

Straight Flush

Five cards in numerical sequence and in the same suit.
If two players have Straight Flush the one with the highest card in the Straight Flush wins. In case the highest card is equal in value the Straight Flush with the highest suit wins.
There is one special rule: if it’s only two players left in the pot the highest Straight Flush (A, K, Q, J, T in Hearts) is beaten by the lowest Straight Flush (T, 9, 8, 7, A in Spades).

Four of a Kind

Four cards of the same numerical value. If two players have Four of a Kind the one with the highest numerical Four of a Kind wins.

Flush

Five cards of the same suit. If two players have flush the one with the highest suit (in order Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades) of the flush wins.

Full House

Three of a Kind and a Pair.
If two players hold Full House the one with the highest Three of a Kind wins.

Straight

Five cards in numerical sequence and with different suits.
Ace can be used at the top of the straight (A, K, Q, J, T) and at the bottom of a low straight (T, 9, 8, 7, A).
In case two players are holding straights, the one with the highest card wins.
If two players have straights with highest card of the same numerical value the player with the highest suit of the highest card wins.

Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same numerical value.
In case two or more players are holding Three of a Kind, the one with the highest numerical Three of a Kind wins.

Two Pair

Ranking of different Two Pair hands works as follows:
With two players having Two Pair the player with highest numerical value of his highest pair wins. If both the highest pairs are equal the player with the highest second pair wins. If even the second pair is of the same numerical value the highest fifth card will decide who wins. In case of the Vela card being the highest kicker in deciding between two equal Two Pair-hands the player holding the highest suit in the highest pair wins.

One Pair

Two cards of the same numerical value. If two players have the same kind of pair, the one with the highest side card (kicker) wins. If the highest cards of both players are equal the suit of the highest kicker decides the winner.

High Card

The ranking order of the cards are from Ace to Seven and accordingly to the
suits Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades. For example a player holding Ace of Hearts and Queen of Clubs beats a player holding Ace of Diamonds and King of Clubs.