Seventh Card (the River):

Almost every poker player uses the term “the river” or “river” to describe the last card players will receive in the game. As always, we start with a burn card. The dealer will deal a card face down clockwise around the table.

Exception!
If there are 8 players who played all the way through the sixth card and are now about to be dealt their final card of the game, our dealer will only have one (1) card remaining in the deck. That’s because 8 X 6 = 48 cards + the 3 burn cards that we burned on 4th, 5th and 6th streets will be a sum of 51 cards. Our rule in the case is as follows:

In the event there may not be enough cards remaining in the deck to deal each player a final card, the dealer will calculate if the burn cards plus any cards in the deck will allow each player to receive a final down card. If the dealer can deal each player a last card, then the dealer will do so by taking all the burn cards plus any remaining cards in the deck, shuffle and then deal the final card to each player.

However, if the dealer calculates that it’s not possible to give each player his or her own card, then the dealer will take all the burn cards, shuffle and turn over a "community card." The folded (muck) cards may never be used in the game once they have been folded.

Showdown:

Who shows first?

In a live game, generally players who feel that they have a good opportunity to win a pot will show their hand voluntarily. However, in many instances, players all stare at each other wondering who will show their cards first. To avoid this situation, our game will employ the following standard rule:

The determination of which players’ cards will and must be shown first will lie with the player who had initiated the action or with the person, who had initiated the last bet, raise or re-raise.

This simply means that whoever created the last action on the river must show his/her cards first. If the player who had the action checked and all players checked, then the player who had the initial option to bet would show first. If a player checks and another player bets, then the player who bet will have his/her cards shown first. If a player checked, another bets and then another player raises, the raiser’s cards will be shown first.

Suppose a Player wins by default. Is the Hand required to be shown?

Players that have won a pot do not have to show their cards if they were not called.

This means that if two or more players were playing and one player bets and the other(s) fold, then, the player who has won the pot by default will not under any circumstances have their cards shown automatically. The winning players may choose to “show” or “don’t show.”

Do Players have to show their Cards if they call a bet or a check on the River?

Players are not required to show their cards if and only if they are not the player who created the last action by betting or raising. If a player calls a bet and sees that they cannot win, they may “fold” or “show” their cards. However, if a player who has stayed in until the end mucks (fails to show) his hand, other players in the game may find out the hand by requesting that a hand history be emailed to them.

Who wins?

In our poker room, as with all, "Cards Speak." That means our dealer will find the best 5-card hand on the table and declare it the winner based on the universal poker hand rankings.

It is theoretically possible that two or more players can hold the best five-card hand. If there is a tie between two or more players, then the dealer will "split" the pot equally between all the winning players.