# Game flow

## Before the match

1. Seat two to four players and place the bank, markers, Items, status material, and references within reach.
2. Shuffle one Joker into the 52-card poker deck. Keep the other Joker scans out of the active deck unless a later rule explicitly calls for them.
3. Give each player 100 coins.
4. Choose Classes clockwise from the dealer, then choose Courts in reverse order.
5. Build and shuffle each player's Power Deck. Keep the ordinary Power discard and One Shot discard separate.

## Every hand

1. **Draw a Power.** Draw three on the first hand; draw one on later hands.
2. **Deal three hole cards** to each player.
3. **Prepare.** Play Setup Powers after the deal and before betting. Resolve them clockwise from the dealer. Discard down to the Power hand limit.
4. **Bet and respond.** During each betting round, the acting player may use compatible Round Powers before checking, betting, or folding. Triggered Counter Powers may answer actions even outside their owner's turn. Resolve a Counter chain newest response first.
5. **Reveal the board** according to ordinary Texas Hold'em streets, allowing the game's defined Power windows around those streets.
6. **Prepare the showdown.** After the last betting round, eligible players may set Showdown Powers face down. Resolve them in betting order.
7. **Reveal and settle.** Reveal hole cards, determine the best legal poker hand, award the pot, and update Heating Up or Tilted.

## If the match runs long

The original rulebook recommends ten-minute levels with antes of 1, 3, 5, and 10. If more than one player remains after the last level, play four sudden-death hands at a 25 ante; the largest remaining stack wins.

## Important unresolved revision

The official PDF and Core data specify a 40-card Power Deck. A later July 2026 changelog says the deck was reduced to 30 and adds Table Talk, Replay, and expanded Token rules. This library preserves the 40-card rule as the original playable authority and records the 30-card change as a later unresolved revision rather than silently combining them.