Wall Street Poker Rules

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A simplified version of Scopa contributed by Dan Beebe - not to be confused with the poker variant Wall Street.

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There are many successful Wall Street traders who are also excellent poker players. The most famous one is David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, who placed 18th at the World Series of Poker Main Event. There are a number of other Wall Street traders who have had success at the poker table. In many ways, the skills needed to be successful at. Wall Street Poker is a form of stud poker which also features community cards. It is named after the financial district of New York and the movie of the same name, because of a strategy of aggressive bidding involved. Players are initially dealt three hole cards, two face down, one face up. Everyone pays an ante.

The goal of Wall Street is to win the most points by gaining Investors, gathering Preferred Stock, and Common Stock, and by making 'Takeovers.'

Players and Cards

Wall Street may be played by 2, 3, or 4 players. Each player plays individually, i.e., there are no partnerships. The play goes clockwise around the table. A standard pack of cards is used, with the 7s, Jacks, Queens, and Jokers removed, leaving 40 cards. Each card is worth its face value during the play, except for the kings which are called 'Investors' and which are worth 7 during the play. The diamond cards (excluding the diamond Investor) are called 'Preferred Stock.' The rest of the cards (excluding the 4 Investors) are called 'Common Stock.'

The Deal

Choose a dealer, who then shuffles the cards. The dealer's left hand opponent then cuts the deck. The Dealer deals three cards face down to each player, moving clockwise around the table. The Dealer then deals four cards, face up, onto the middle of the table. If there are more than two 10's in the middle, the cards are thrown in and a new deal takes place.

The Play

The player to the dealer's left plays first, and the turn to play passes clockwise, until all of the cards in the players' hands have been played. A turn consists of playing one card face up to the table, which may capture one or more table cards. In the event of a capture, both the played card and the captured card(s) are taken and stored face down next to the player in his 'Fund.' If there is no capture, the played card remains face up on the table. In either case, the turn then passes to the next player.

If the value of the card played matches that of the table card, then the table card is captured and put into the player's Fund. If the card played matches more than one table card, then only one of the matching table cards is captured and placed in the Fund, and the player must choose which. If the card played does not match any table card, but its capture value is equal to the sum of the captured cards' values, then the set of cards is captured and placed in the Fund. If the capture value of the card played does not match any table card or sum of table cards, then there is no capture and the played card remains face up on the table.

There is no obligation to play a card which makes a capture. If a player has more than one card in his hand, he may choose to play a card which does not capture anything and simply add that card to the table. If the played card does make a capture, the captured cards must be taken. If a card matches both a single card and a sum of cards, the single card must be taken, not the group.

After each player has played all 3 cards in his hand, that round is over, and the dealer deals three more cards to each player. In the final round, after all the cards from the players' hands have been played, the last player who made a capture also takes any face up cards remaining on the table.

The Scoring

There are three points available to be won on each deal:

The Investors. A point is won by whichever player takes the plurality of the 4 Investors (i.e. more investors than any other single player). If there is no plurality (two or more players tie for most investors), this point is not awarded.
The Preferred Stock. A point is won by whichever player takes the plurality of the Preferred Stock (the diamonds, excluding the diamond Investor, which leaves 9 cards). If there is no plurality, this point is not awarded.
The Common Stock. A point is won by whichever player takes the plurality of the 27 Common Stock cards. If there is no plurality, this point is not awarded.

The Takeover

In addition to the points mentioned above, you also win a point for each Takeover. You score a Takeover when you play a card which captures all of the table cards, leaving the table empty. The capturing card is placed face up in the Fund, so that the number of Takeovers can easily be seen when the scoring is done at the end of the play. Taking the last cards from the table at the end of a hand never counts as a Takeover, even if the last card played by the dealer does actually capture all the remaining table cards.

Winning the Game

The first player to win 10 or more points at the end of a hand wins. If two or more players win 10 points in the same hand, the player with the most points wins. If they are equal, those two players play another hand to determine the winner (and the other player(s) do not play in this extra round).

Strategy

Although the game is similar to Scopa, the point system changes the strategy needed to win. A player should count the investors and preferred/diamond stock and common stock as they are taken. Once a majority of any category is taken, there is no value in trying to capture those cards during the play. Thus, a savvy player will be aware once 5 diamond cards have been taken, and focus on capturing common cards or investors, allowing the less skilled player to take the remaining diamonds. As such, remembering which cards have been captured is much more important than in Scopa, where cards count toward different points (i.e., capturing the 7 of diamonds in Scopa counts as a point by itself, and contributes toward getting the prime point, the diamonds point, and the point for most cards). In Wall Street, there is no point for gaining the diamond Investor, so no single card has pre-eminent value, thus reducing slightly the extent to which luck affects the game.

Other Poker Game’s Rules:

Learning how to play poker should not be difficult. If you want to understand why so many people love this game, this beginner's guide to the rules and the basics of poker is all you need.

Poker is a simple game to learn, but the poker rules can be challenging for a complete beginner.

But don't let that put you off. It is not hard to learn how to play poker, and you can move from the basics of the game to the tables of the top online poker sites in no time.

Here's everything you'll learn in this guide on how to play poker:

And lots more

Before you move to the 'practical' side of this guide on how to play the most popular variants of this game, you need to learn the basics of poker.

When most people say they want to know 'how to play regular poker,' they imply that they want to learn the basics of Texas Hold'em.

Texas Hold'em is (by far) the most popular poker game out there and it's the one you find at every online poker site.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. With so many poker variants to play online and offline, the only proper guide on how to play poker for dummies is the one that gets you access to all the best games out there.

Not just to the most famous one.

Many poker rules are consistent from game to game, although among the dozens of variants such as Texas hold'em, Omaha, and seven-card stud you will find some ket differences you need to kno.

Let's have a quick look at the poker rules of the most played poker games online:

How to Play Texas Hold'Em

Game	Texas Hold'em
How Many Players	2-10
Poker Rules	How to play Texas hold'em

Also called the 'Cadillac of Poker,' Texas hold'em is the one you are going to play over and over again.

This is the most popular poker game online and it is also the one you are most likely to play with our friends in your next home game.

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Whether you play it in the form of a tournament or as a ring-game, the basic poker rules and the hand rankings don't change.

> Discover how to play Texas Hold'em

How to Play Omaha Poker

Game	Omaha Poker
How Many Players	2-10
Poker Rules	How to play Omaha
Where to Play	Top poker sites

The second-most popular poker variant. Omaha poker finds its roots in the game of Texas Hold'em, although the rules of the two games are slightly different from each other.

Many players find learning how to play poker Omaha to be the natural step to take after they have successfully mastered the basics of Texas Hold'em.

In the poker rules page dedicated to the game, you find the perfect beginner's guide to moving your first steps in the world of Omaha.

> Learn how to play Omaha poker

How to Play Seven-Card Stud

Game	Seven-Card Stud
How Many Players	2-8
Poker Rules	How to play 7-card Stud
Where to Play	Top poker sites

Before Texas hold'em became king, anyone who wanted to learn the basic poker rules and how to play poker had to go through the game of seven-card stud.

As the name suggests, this is a variant of stud poker. 7-card stud is also the 'S' game in the H.O.R.S.E. poker — but if you are still learning how to play poker, it's probably too early for you to jump on that.

> Discover how to play seven-card stud poker

Other Poker Rules to Learn

If you want to go deeper and you want to learn how to play even more poker games, PokerNews is the right site for you.

Pick one poker variant to learn from the list that follows and find out how to play some of the most exciting and lesser-known poker games out there!

Use these guides to learn how to play poker and master not only the most 'obvious' games like Texas hold'em bu also all the other different variants out there.

In our guides for beginners, you find the official poker rules, the basic strategy tips, and the hand rankings — because knowing how to calculate points is key if you want to win at poker.

Common Traits of Most Poker Rules

The Value of Poker Hands

One element used in most poker variants is the system of hand rankings.

The highest ranked hand is a Royal Flush (five cards of the same suit, ranked ace through ten), followed by a Straight Flush (five cards of the same suit of consecutive ranks).

The third-best combination is the Four-of-a-kind, which is then followed by the Full House (three of a kind plus one pair), the Flush, the Straight, the Three-of-a-kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card or no pair.

When a hand reaches the showdown, the player with the highest-ranked hand wins the pot.

That's true of Texas hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud, and five-card draw.

Of course, in 'lowball' games like razz or deuce-to-seven triple draw, the hand rankings are turned upside down and the 'worst' hand according to traditional hand rankings is the winning one.

Poker Hands Ranking

Royal Flush10JQKA
Straight
Flush56789
Four Of
A Kind3333K
Full HouseJJJKK
Flush2459K
StraightA2345
Three Of
A Kind45777
Two Pair499KK
One Pair3QK1010
High Card248QK

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Blinds and Ante Bets

Games like hold'em and Omaha feature small and big blinds, so called because they are 'blind' bets players have to make before they are dealt any cards.

Meanwhile stud games usually use 'antes', which also involve players putting chips in the middle before the hand begins.

From there players bet more as the hand progresses, thereby creating larger pots.

Limit vs. No Limit Poker Games

Some games are played with no-limit betting, which means players can bet as much as they like at any point in the hand, including going 'all in.'

Pot-limit betting means that the current size of the pot creates an upper limit on how much a player can bet.

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Games that are played with fixed-limit betting have predetermined amounts from which players cannot vary when they make their bets and raises.

The Action

There are other terms that tend to be used in all different poker games, including many having to do with the actions you perform when playing.

When the action is on you, you can:

Check: Decline to bet
Fold: Withdraw from the hand, if someone else has bet already
Bet: Place a wager on the table
Raise: Add more chips by matching your opponent's bet and putting in a greater amount.
Call: Match the bet of your opponents to stay in the hand and continue to play.

All of those terms are an important step in your journey to learn how to play poker since they tend to come up in all poker variants.

The Betting Rounds

In games with community cards like hold'em and Omaha (also sometimes called 'flop games'), the betting rounds are referred to as:

Preflop: The bets made before any community cards are dealt
Flop: The bets made after the first three community cards are dealt)
Turn: The bets made after the fourth community card
River The bets made after the fifth and last community card.

The Table Stakes

One other poker rule common to just about every variant of the you'll play – whether you are playing live poker or online poker – is one called 'table stakes.'

Table stakes means that once a hand begins, you can only bet whatever amount you had on the table to begin the hand and are not allowed to add anything more during the hand as it plays out.

If you only have $100 on the table to begin a hand, you can't pull out your wallet and add more halfway through the hand – you can only play out the hand with whatever you had to start.

Practice Poker Online for Free

Now that you know the basic poker rules and you have links to go back to your poker guides when you need to, it's time to look for the best websites to practice poker online.

Don't start to play poker for real money right away. Try out the games for free first. That's the only way to discover if you have really learned how to play poker.

Looking for a site to practice online poker for free?

Don't miss the updated list of the best free poker sites in 2020!

There are countless options to give the game a test run, but the best way is to try out the real deal.