Tong-its and Online Poker: Rules, Rake and Table Tips

Tong-its rules in two minutes

1. Deal: three players. The dealer gets 13 cards, the others 12, and the rest form the stock.
2. Melds: make sets (3–4 cards of the same rank) or runs (3+ cards in sequence, same suit) and lay them down.
3. Turn: draw from the stock or take the top discard (only if it completes a meld right away), meld if you can, then discard one card.
4. Sapaw: add cards to anyone's exposed melds to shrink your hand.

Ways to win: empty your hand (Tong-its); call a draw (laban) when you think your remaining card points are lowest; or have the lowest points when the stock runs out. A player who hasn't exposed a meld can't call a draw and is "burned" in a showdown. Card points: aces 1, face cards 10, others face value.

Texas hold'em basics

Each player gets two private cards, and five community cards come out in three stages (flop, turn, river), with a betting round at each. The best five-card hand wins, or the last player still in after everyone else folds. Starting-hand discipline matters most: most hands should be folded before the flop.

Rake: how the house earns on PvP games

In player-vs-player games you're not betting against the house. The site takes a rake, a small percentage of each pot or a fee per game. Rake gets paid whoever wins, so a break-even player still loses money over time. Check the rake in the game rules, and favor tables with a low cap.

Playing fair and staying safe

• Never share your account or play "teams" with friends at the same table. Collusion breaks the rules and gets accounts closed.
• Be wary of bots and "coaching" groups that ask for your login.
• Skill helps over many hands. A few sessions are still mostly luck.

Frequently asked questions

Read next