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THE BEST OF POKER
Poker is a simple game offering various versions such as Five-card draw poker, Stud Poker and Community poker.
The general game of Poker (Five card draw) is played with a standard deck of fifty-two playing cards. Cards are ranked from high to low in the following order: ACE, KING, QUEEN, JACK, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. ACES are worth more than KINGS which are worth more than QUEENS, which are worth more than JACKS etc, etc. The cards are separated into four suits, which are SPADES, CLUBS, HEARTS and DIAMONDS. The object of the game is to get the highest-valued hand, ranked as follows:
ROYAL FLUSH - Same suit; A-K-Q-J-10.
FIVE OF A KIND - Four cards of the same denomination plus a joker.
STRAIGHT FLUSH - Any five card suit in the same sequence.
FOUR OF A KIND - Four cards of the same index.
FULL HOUSE - Three of a kind combined with a pair.
FLUSH - Any five cards of same suit but not in sequence.
STRAIGHT - Five cards in sequence but not of same suit.
THREE OF A KIND - Three cards of the same index.
TWO PAIR - Two separate pairs.
ONE PAIR - Two cards of the same index.
HIGH CARD - Highest card in your hand.
Poker hand rankings are a function of probability, the more rare the hand the more valuable it is. Before the game begins, players must decide on the betting limit and if you are playing on-line then you will want to choose a betting limit that you can afford. The basic rules are as follows:
Each player places an ante or "token bet" into the kitty before the cards dealt. The ante can be any amount. You need an ante because it guarantees that someone will always win something on each hand. Once everyone has paid their ante, the dealer deals cards face down around the table, starting at the player to his left and continuing clockwise. The dealer always deals to himself last and then deals everyone a first card, then goes back around the circle to deal the second card, and so forth. When everyone has five cards, the remainder of the deck is placed in the middle of the table, and game begins.
Each player looks at their cards without letting anyone else see them, then the first player places a bet. Whilst there are various ways of deciding who bets first, poker beginners are better off by allowing the player directly to the left of the dealer place the first bet. Then to the next hand, the person to his left will bet first and so on around the table for each new hand.
Players have several options as far as the first round of betting goes. If no one has made a bet yet, you have two choices: (OPEN & CHECK)
OPEN: If no betting has been done when your turn comes, you may "open" the kitty. This allows you to make the first bet (any amount up to the betting limit).
CHECK: The opportunity to "check" only occurs if no one has opened the betting round and then it is time for you to decide what to do. When a player checks, it means that they do not want to open the betting, but at the same time they don't want to quit either. If someone opens the betting you now have three choices: (SEE, RAISE, and FOLD)
SEE: When you "see" another player it means that you match their bet. So whatever the other player bets and you still want to stay in the game, however you have to "see" their bet by placing the same amount into the kitty.
RAISE: When you "raise" it requires you to first "see" the previous bet, and then increase the bet. If the previous person bet a R1 and you want to bet more than that, you must then say "I see (match) your $/£, and raise you (increase the bet) another $/£".
FOLD: When someone else opens, you can cut your losses and fold your cards. When you "fold" you "give up" and place your cards face down on the table, and loose whatever you have bet so far. You only "fold" when you think your hand is too weak to compete against the other players.
All the players who have not folded their cards are then allowed to replace them with new cards. A player is allowed to get rid of up to three unwanted cards and receive up to three new cards from the deck (the player must always have five cards in total). No one sees what anyone has discarded or drew. All cards a placed face down.
After each player has replaced their hand with new cards, the betting begins. You now have the option of opening or checking, and once someone has opened, you may see, raise, or fold. The game ends when there are no more raises or everyone has folded except for the winner.
Everyone now has to turn their cards over and see how where they stand. The player with the highest hand wins the pot.
Poker is about psychology where you play against your opponents. A small hand does not have to be the best hand possible, it just has to be better than what all the other players are holding. The art of good poker is learning and understanding your opponent's body language.
Mastering the psychology of poker is ability to observe how others play and using that experience to judge how your opponents handle each hand. Making mental notes of how the player bets whether it is strong or weak, and at showdown keep track of which player's fold and which players bet. This way you will see whether a player bets strongly on a weak hand and whether the hand would make it or not.
Bluffing is a skill that takes time to master and you will have to play thousands of hands to gradually understand the concept. You will get a feeling for how players bet in response to what they are holding in their hands. This is when you must focus on how they respond to other players. The mathematical strategies that apply can be of assistance especially in community and stud games, giving you information about your opponents a poker psychology is best learned during these games as you never know which cards have been discarded.
It is also important to adjust your strategy as you learn to identify which player is playing tight or loose. If they are playing loose then they will bet heavily or stay in for a long time even whilst holding a weak hand. Tight players tend to fold all the time and they are categorized as passive or aggressive players.
Each time a hand is played another way from the way you would of played it and if you could see your challenger's cards, they profit and every time you play your hand the same way you would have played it and if you could see all their cards, they loose. On the other hand, each time your challenger's plays their hands differently from the way they would have if they could see all your cards, you profit and each time they play their hands the same way they would have played it if they could see all your cards, you loose.
Every choice made in poker can be analysed in terms of expected value, which expresses the standard payouts of a choice made on frequently basis. The right choice to make is the choice that has the biggest payout value but sometimes it is better to opt for the choice for a bigger goal of enduring trickery. Should you be able to see all your challenger's cards then you will always be able to analyse the correct choice with mathematical sureness. The less you digress from the correct choices the better your long-term results and this is the mathematic extraction of the Fundamental theorem.
The most vital goal in poker is to induce your challengers to make mistakes. The Fundamental theorem of poker applies to all heads-up choices but does not apply to multi-way decisions. As each challenger makes incorrect choices the 'combined choices' of challengers works against the player. This situation happens mostly in loose-passive games when a player is holding a strong hand but the other players are in pursuit with draws. In this circumstance it is referred to as 'implicit collusion'. The specialists disagree on the occurrence of implicit collusion in certain games as well as the level to which implicit collusion might be unprincipled. The Fundamental theorem of poker is expressed and seems self-evident yet its correct use to the numerous probable situations that a poker player may face which needs an immense amount of expertise, wisdom and understanding.
CONDUCT
No cheating.
No swearing.
No abuse.
No defacing of property.
No drugs.
No weapons.
No excessive noise.
ETIQUETTE
No acting out of turn.
No checking a hand when third player is all-in.
No reading of another player's hand before it has been placed face-up on the table.
Not to reveal a live hand in a multi-handed pot before the betting is complete.
No messing with the chips.
Not to mess with the already discarded cards.
No stacking chips in a way that interferes with dealing or viewing of cards.
No unnecessarily stalling the action of the game.
No unnecessary statements or actions that unfairly influence course of play.
THE BUY IN
Before entering a game a full buy-in must be made for that particular game. A full buy-in at limit poker is ten times the maximum bet for the game being played.
A player that has been forced to move from a broken game has to move game to game of the same limit and may continue to play for the same amount of money, even if it's less than the minimum buy-in. When switching games one must have the right buy-in size for each new game.
You are allowed to make one short buy-in per game. Adding to your stack is not considered a buy-in and can be done in any amount between hands.
MISDEALS
The dealer has exposed two or more cards.
The first or second card of the hand has been dealt face-up or shown in error by the dealer.
An incorrect number of cards have been dealt to player.
Any card that has been dealt out of sequence.
Two or more boxed cards are found.
Two or more extra cars have been dealt in the starting hands of the game.
When a player has been dealt out that is entitle to a hand. This player has to be present at the table or have a posted blind or ante.
The first card that is dealt to the wrong position.
Cards that have been dealt to an empty seat or a player that is not entitled to a hand.
DEAD HANDS
When you announce that you are folding or facing a bet or a raise.
In stud games, when facing a bet and pick your face-up cards off the table or turn your face-up cards face-down or mix your up-cards and down-cards together.
When you throw your hand away in a forward motion causing other players to act behind you.
When you act on a hand with a joker as a hole card in a game not using a joker.
BETTING AND RAISING
Check-raise is permitted in all games except in some forms of lowball.
In limit poker when a pot involves three or more players who are not all-in then a game with three or more betting rounds allows a maximum of a bet and three raises or a game with two betting rounds allows a maximum of a bet and four raises.
In no-limit and pot-limit, unlimited raising is allowed.
Unlimited raising is allowed in heads-up play. This applies when an action becomes heads-up before the raising has been capped. Once raising is capped on the betting round another fold that leaves two players heads-up may uncap it.
In limit play, all-in bets or less than half a bet does no reopen the betting for any player who already acted and is in the pot for all previous bets. A player that faces less than half a bet may fold, call or complete the wager.
Any bet must be the size of the previous bet or raise in that round unless a player is going all-in.
The smallest chip that is wagered in a game is used in the antes, rake, collection or blinds.
A verbal statement shows your action and is binding.
Rapping the table with your hand is a pass.
Acting out of turn is no allowed and a player who checks out of turn may not bet or raise on the next turn to act.
In order to retain the right to act a player gas to stop the action by calling 'time'. Failure to do so before three or more players have acted behind you may cause you to loose the right to act. You may forfeit your right to act when the player in front of you has not acted and only if you fail to act when it is your turn. Should you wait for someone's turn to come before you and three or more player's act behind you, this does not stop your right to act.
When you make a forward motion in limit poker with chips and cause another player to act then you may be forced to complete your action.
A player who bets and calls by releasing chips into the pot is bound by that action. Should you be unaware that the pot has been raised you have the right to withdraw that money and reconsider your action provided that no one else has acted after you.
String raises are not permitted.
All wagers and calls of an improper low amount have to be brought up to proper size.
If you have a single chip in the pot that is larger than the bet but did not announce a raise then you are assumed to have only called.
THE SHOWDOWN
A player must show all cards in the hand face-up on the table to win any part of the winnings.
Cards read for themselves and the dealer assists in reading them but it is the player's responsibility for holding onto their cards until the winner is declared.
Any floor person, player or dealer who sees an incorrect amount of chips placed into the pot is obliged to point out the error.
The dealer will kill loosing hands before the pot is awarded.
Any player may request to see any hand that has been called. If a player other than the winner asks to see a hand that has been folded, that hand is dead. If the winner asks to see a loosing player's hand then both hands are live and best hand wins all.
Should you show your cards to another player during or after a deal any other player at the table also has the right to see those exposed cards.
On the final betting round and everyone is all-in, the player who acts first is the first to show the hand. If there is betting on the final round then the last player has to take action by a bet or raise in the first to show the hand.
TIES
The ranking of suits from highest to lowest in spades, hearts, clubs and Diamonds. Suits never break a tie for winning a pot and only used to break a tie between cards of the same rank.
Dealing cards to each player is used to determine things like who moves to another table or seating order. When the cards are dealt the order is clockwise starting with the first player on the dealer's left hand side.
An odd chip will be broken down to the smallest unit used in the game. No player may receive more than one odd chip.
VARIATIONS:
Draw Poker
Draw Poker Variations
Each player is dealt five cards, one at a time, all face down. The remaining deck is placed aside and protected by placing a marker on it. Players pick up their cards and hold them in their hands, being cautious to keep them covered from the other players view. The first betting round occurs starting with the player to the dealer's left. Should more than one player remain after this round, the draw phase begins.
Each player stipulates how many of his cards he wishes to replace and discards the same amount hand. The remaining deck is taken back and after a burn card (a card dealt from the top of a deck, placed aside and unused) is dealt. Each player is dealt the same number of cards he thrown away so that each player again has five cards. A second betting round occurs after the draw phase followed by a showdown if more than one player remains.
A common house rule in some places is that a player may not replace more than three cards unless he draws four cards whilst keeping an ace or wild card. This rule is only needed for low-limit social poker games where many players will stay for the draw. In more serious poker games it is unnecessary and not used.
A rule that is used by many casinos is that a player is not allowed to draw five successive cards from the deck. Should a player want to replace all five of his cards he is only given four of them in turn. The other players are given their draws and then the dealer returns to that player to give him his fifth replacement.
Another common house rule is that the bottom card of the deck is never given as a replacement card. This keeps away from the possibility of someone who might have seen the bottom card to use that that information. If the deck is depleted during the draw before all poker players have received their replacement cards, the last players can receive cards chosen randomly from the discarded cards.
Draw Poker Variations
ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL
Players: Three to ten.
Deal: Five facedown to each player.
Play: Ante then each player starting to the dealer's left and continuing clockwise may choose to either draw one or more cards or trade in all of his cards for an equal number of replacements. Rounds of betting, drawing and exchanging continue, the leader rotating each time until there are fewer cards in the deck than players left in the game.
Winner: High hand.
ANACONDA
Players: Four to seven.
Deal: Seven cards facedown to each player.
Play: Rotating bet starts after the deal and each player passes three cards to the player on their left after the first round. On next betting round each player passes two cards to the player on their left side. Another betting round and players pass one card to their left side. Each player chooses five cards to keep and discards two cards.
Winner: High hand and low hand split the pot Variations: The cards are passed to other than the person to the left. The player keeps all seven cards at the end and chooses which to turn up allowing the player to change from high to low. Pass two cards to the left and one card to the right at the same time. High hand and the person to the left split the pot.
BILLY BAXTER
Players: Two to eight.
Play: Five-card draw poker with no joker and deuce-to-seven low hand values is called Billy Baxter in honor of the player who dominated the poker world championship. The seven-high rule and no check-and-raise rules do not apply. In the eastern United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, ace-to-six low hand values are common
Winner: Low hand. Variations: Kansas City or Lowball.
CALIFORNIA HIGH LOW SPLIT
Players: Two to eight.
Play: This game is played as a standard draw poker game with a single joker used as a bug. Played cards speak and players do no declare whether they intend to win the high or low half of the pot or both. Cards are shown and the best poker hand wins. Because of ace-to-five low values are used a poker hand such as a low straight or flush can win both high and low.
Winner: High and Low hand using the ace-to-five low values split the pot. If no poker an eight-high or better low is required to win low. If no poker hand qualifies low then high hand takes the whole pot.
CALIFORNIA LOWBALL
Players: Two to eight.
Play: A standard draw poker game using ace-to-five low hand values with a single joker in the pack. Always played with blinds rather than antes so that players may not check on the first betting round but may do so on the second round. A player with a seven-high hand or better who checks after the draw forfeits his right to win any money placed in the pot after the draw. A common rule in low-limit poker games is that a player who checks on the second betting round may not subsequently raise on that round. This rule is never used in poker games with pot limit or no limit betting structure.
Winner: Low hand.
DOGBUTT
As in Baseball, three's and nine's are wild. Fourth player gets and extra card.
DON JUAN
Players: Three to eight.
Deal: Each player is dealt three cards and may look at their cards.
Play: After the first betting round each player in turn begins at the left of the dealer and may discard any of their cards and draw replacements from the deck followed by a betting round and showdown.
Winner: Low hand - Ace-2-3 is lowest. Variations: Players pay a set amount for each card and after the draw players proceed to play their three cards as in the Three-card guts.
DOUBLE DRAW
Play: Any draw poker game may be played with two draw phases and three betting rounds.
FIVE CARD DRAW
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Five cards facedown to each player.
Play: A betting round after the deal starting with the player to the left of the dealer. After the betting round each player may exchange up to three cards. Another betting round followed by showdown. With less than six players a player may draw four cards if they show that their remaining card is an Ace.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Adding wild cards to play, high-low, Lowball, double draw.
FOUR BEFORE
Players: Two to eight.
Deal: Four cards are dealt to each player and betting round occurs.
Play: Each player draws one more card and discards completing his poker hand to five cards. The final betting round and then showdown. It is impossible to be dealt a pat poker hand before the draw.
Winner: High hand. Variations: This another variation that can be applied to any draw poker game and especially suited to lowball poker.
HI-LO DRAW WITH DECLARE
Players: Two to eight.
Play: This is a common home poker game and each player takes two chips from his stack and takes them under the table. Bringing up a closed fist that contains either no chips indicating that the player intends to win low half of the pot, one chip indicating that the player intends to win the high half or two chips indicating that he intends to take the whole pot. When all the players have brought up their closed fists, the players all open their hands at the same time to show their choices. Should any player show two chips? and his hand is the best low and the best high he scoops the pot. Otherwise half the pot goes to the player with the lowest poker hand of those who declared low. There is no qualifying hand to win either high or low and if no one declares in one direction the full pot is awarded to the player winning the other direction. A player who declares the scoop and has the lowest hand but ties for a high hand he wins nothing. The other player with the same high hand wins the high half of the pot and the next lowest poker hand wins low.
Winner: High and low hands. Variations: This hand can be played with deuce-to-seven low or ace-to-six low poker hand values which in that case it will be impossible to scoop the pot.
HOWDY DOODY
Players: Four to seven.
Deal: Seven down cards to each player.
Play: As with Anaconda but these exceptions: this game is high-low and has wild cards. Threes are wild only if the hand they are in is used to try and win the high pot. Kings are wild only if the hand they are in is used to try for the low pot. No betting until the showdown.
Winner: High and low hands split.
JACKS TO OPEN/GARDENA JACKPOTS
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Five cards down to each player.
Play: Played like Five-card-draw with the following differences: only a player with a hand as good as or better than a pair of Jacks can open the betting. If someone has such a hand they must open the betting. If no one can open the hand is discarded and everyone antes again and hands are dealt over again. Once betting is opened play continues as in Five-card-draw until showdown. Anyone who has a three of a kind must reveal his hand. The best hand takes the pot. If nobody reveals a hand everyone may still make another exchange. This process is repeated until someone wins.
Winner: High and low hands split. Variations: Progressive. If no one can open the requirement increases to a pair of Queens then a pair of Kings the Aces and then goes back to Jacks to open. Gardena Iackpots is played the same way.
JOHNSON DRAW/JACKS BACK
Players: Two to eight.
Deal: Each player is dealt five cards.
Play: The first round begins with the player to the dealer's left and he may check or open with anything. When a player opens the game continues as in five-card- draw. If the first passes with no one opening then the player to the dealer's left may now open if he wants to. The game has switched to California Lowball Poker. Should the deal be passed out again players re-ante and deal again.
Winner: High hand. This game is played with one joker; which acts as a bug. It must be played with antes and no blinds. Variations: This game plays well head-up (only two players), when this game is played with a pair of Jacks or better required to open on the first high-hand round the poker is called Jacks Back.
PASS THE TRASH
Players: Four to seven.
Deal: Seven cards are dealt to each player.
Play: Before the first betting round, each player examines his hand and discards three cards from his hand and places them on the table to his left. After each person has discarded each player picks up the cards discarded by his right-hand player and places them in his hand. It is important that each player discard before looking at the cards he is to receive. After the first pass there is a betting round. The second betting round is followed by a third pass, each player passing his card to his left. Finally a fourth betting round and showdown.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Anaconda.
PICK A PARTNER
Players: Four, six, eight or ten.
Deal: Five cards facedown to each player.
Play: Each player rolls a card. Highest card showing picks one of the other hands as a partner. The next highest un-partnered hand chooses a partner and so forth until each one is paired up. Each partnership combines their remaining eight cards and chooses three of them. Three rounds of betting follow with one of the three cards rolled after each round. The winning team splits the pot. If a member of a team folds the other may continue playing and if he wins he wins the entire pot.
Winner: High hand.
PHYSCO
Players: Three to six.
Deal: Five facedown to each player.
Play: As with Five-card-draw immediately after draw, players show three cards. After Round of betting, players receive one card face-up followed by betting round. Then receive a last card facedown, bet and showdown.
Winner: High and low hands split.
Q-BALL
Players: Two to eight.
Deal: Each player is dealt three cards.
Play: Followed by a betting round beginning with the player immediately after the big Blind who may call the big blind, raise or fold. There is no checking on the first round. Next each players is dealt a fourth card followed by a second round of betting starting with the still-active player to the dealer's left. No checking is allowed on this round either despite the fact that there is no bet facing the first player, the first player must open or fold. A fifth card is dealt followed by a third betting round beginning on the dealer's left. Now checking is allowed and finally each player draws as in normal poker followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Played at a fixed limit, the betting structure should be 1-2-2-4; the second and third betting rounds must allow a bet of twice the amount of the first betting round.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Lowball poker which is generally played with three blinds, one unit from the dealer, one unit to his left and two units for the second poker player to the dealer's left. The deck contains one joker.
SHOTGUN
Players: Two to eight.
Deal: Five cards facedown to each player.
Play: A betting round and a draw. In place of a second betting round and showdown, there is a rollout phase, which begins with the players arranging their five cards in any chosen order and placing them facedown in front of themselves. Each player's top card is now revealed followed by a betting round. Each player reveals his next card followed by a betting round. The third card is revealed followed by betting round, a fourth card, a betting round and finally showdown. Players may not change the order of their cards at any time during the rollout Phase of the game.
Winner: High and low hand. Variations: This game can be played for high or low but plays best at high-low split or Skinny Minnie or Roll"em.
SPIT IN THE OCEAN
Players: Three to twelve.
Deal: Four cards facedown to each player and one card up in the middle.
Play: As in Five-card-draw but each player receives only four cards. The card in the middle is shared by all the players and with all the other cards of the same rank is wild.
Winner: High hand.
THREES
Players: Three to five.
Deal: Five cards facedown to each player.
Play: This game is played similar to Five-card-draw, except there are three drawing rounds with betting rounds before, between and after. The player is allowed to draw up to three cards per round (no four cards with an ace). Threes are wild.
Winner: Five of a kind.
TREES
Players: Three to ten.
Deal: Five facedown to each player.
Play: Betting round followed by each player trading cards freely with other players. Any number of cards may be exchanged but a player must give the same number of cards he is receiving. After trading is done a final round of betting occurs before the showdown.
Winner: High hand.
Stud Poker
Stud Poker Variations
Five-card-stud poker is very popular but in recent years Seven-card-stud poker has become the more common stud poker games. Both are played at home and in casinos. The amount of betting rounds in a poker game manipulates how well the game plays with diverse betting structures. Poker games with four or fewer betting rounds such as Five-card stud poker and Mississippi stud poker play well with any structure and especially suited to no limit and pot limit play. Poker games with more betting rounds are more suited to fixed limit or spread limit. It is common for later betting rounds to have higher limits than earlier ones.
It is a common rule in stud poker games to designate the betting rounds after the number of cards each player holds and when that betting round begins. The bet that occurs when each player has three cards is called third card or 'third-street', while the bet that occurs when each player has five cards is 'fifth-street'. The final round, no matter how many number of betting rounds, is called the 'river'.
Stud Poker Variations
AUCTION
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two cards facedown to each player.
Play: A number of cards equal to the number of players is turned up in the middle of The table. Each player then secretly chooses an amount of at least the minimum Bet and places it in their hand. Everyone drops their coins at once and the person who bid the highest gets to choose on of the up cards and adds it to his hand, leaving it face-up in front of him. The person who bid the second highest chooses next and so forth. Should more than one person bid the same amount then the person nearest a spot turning clockwise from the dealer chooses first with the other players choosing in clockwise order. All bids are added to the pot and continues till all players have seven cards. There is a single betting round starting off with the high hand and followed by high-low or both at showdown.
Winner: High and low hands split.
BASEBALL
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two cards facedown and one face-up to each player.
Play: As with Seven-card-stud except that threes and nines are wild. If a four is dealt face-up the player immediately receives another card facedown.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Paying for wild cards. Paying for the extra card when a four comes face-up. Letting someone with a facedown four to flip it face-up and receive an additional card. Pay a set amount for wild and extra cards.
CARRIBEAN
Players: Three to eight.
Deal: Each player is dealt five cards.
Play: Ante starts a minimum bet and each is dealt five cards. The dealer show one Of his and if you want to stay in you bet exactly twice your ante or fold. The Dealer needs A-K or better to qualify and if he cant he pays off your ante if You are still in the game. If he qualifies he pays off your ante and your bet if You beat him. The bet (not the ante) pays off in multiples for; 2 pair (2x), trips (3x), straight (4x), flush (5x), full house (7 x), four of a kind (20x), straight flush (50x) and a royal flush (200x).
Winner: High hand.
CATHY'S GAME
Players: Three to eight.
Deal: The first player to dealer's left is dealt one card facedown.
Play: The player must decide whether to keep that card or replace it with another one from the deck. If the player replaces a card then the player must put a marker on his card to show that a replacement has occurred. Each player places markers on their cards indicating replacements and is entitled to only one replacement per hand. This proceeds with a betting round and the deal continues with each player receiving a face-up card toward the end of the Five-card stud hand. Each player who has not drawn a replacement card must choose as each card is dealt to him, whether a replacement is wanted. Followed by a betting round and after each dealing round.
Winner: Low hand (Ace-2-3-4-5 lowest).
CHICAGO
Players: Four to seven.
Deal: Two cards facedown and one face-up to each player.
Play: As with Seven-card-stud but the player who has the highest Spade in the hole (facedown) gets half the pot.
Winner: High hand and high spade in the hole split. Variations: Adding wild cards.
COWPIE
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two cards facedown and one face-up to each player.
Play: As in Seven-card-stud after the betting round and following the final facedown card, all the remaining players split their hands into a five-card hand and a two- card hand. The two-card hand must have one facedown card and the five-card hand must be a better hand than the two-card hand. Following a split there is one more betting round.
Winner: Highest five-card hand and highest two-card hand.
DIRTY SCHULTZ
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two cards facedown and one face-up to each player.
Play: As in Seven-card-stud except that whenever a natural pair is dealt face-up to a Player, the next card dealt face-up after that becomes wild (and all cards of the same rank). If another pair is dealt face-up then the next face-up card replaces the previous wild card. If the second card of a pair is the last face-up card then nothing is wild.
Winner: High hand.
ENGLISH
Players: Three to six.
Deal: Two face-down and one face-up to each player.
Play: As in Seven-card-stud but with the following exceptions; players only get six cards. Before the sixth card is dealt, each player beginning at the dealer's left may exchange one card. Should he discard an up card he is then dealt a new up card. If he discards a down card, he gets a new down card. A player may choose not to exchange and when all players have exchanged, the sixth card is dealt. A betting round is followed and players may make one more exchange followed by a final round of betting and showdown.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Pay to exchange. With five players the game is played with seven cards. With six players it is played with seven cards.
FOLLOW THE QUEEN
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two cards facedown and one face-up to each player.
Play: Played the same as Seven-card-stud but all Queens are wild and when a Queen is dealt face-up the next card dealt up and all cards of the same rank are also wild. Should another Queen be dealt face-up the next up card replaces the previous wild card as a new wild card but Queens still remain wild.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Pay for Queens. Queens are not wild. All cards after Queen are wild.
HAREM
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Same as in Seven-card stud.
Play: Same as Seven-card stud except that Jacks and Kings are wild. A Queen in a Hand disqualifies any wild Jacks and Kings in the player's hand. Three Queens In a hand is a Harem and that player wins the game.
Winner: High hand.
HAVE A HEART
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two facedown and one face-up to each player.
Play: As in Seven-card-stud but whenever a player is dealt a heart face-up he takes either an facedown or face-up card from another player. The player whose card is taken does not draw a replacement.
Winner: High hand. Variations: Trade a Heart. You must trade one of your own cards with the card you take.
HENWAY
Players: Three to five.
Deal: Ten cards facedown to each player.
Play: Players split their cards into two five-card hands laying each hand down in their desired order. Each rotating betting round is followed by all players turning over the top cards from both sets of hands.
Winner: High and low hands split. Variations: Use wild cards.
LONDON LOWBALL/RAZZ
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: As in Seven-card stud.
Play: Played with Ace-to-five low hand values. The game is played with a bring-in paid by the player with the highest-ranking face-up card on the initial deal. aces are always low cards in Razz poker even for the purpose of assigning the bring-in. On the second round the player with the lowest exposed opoker hand begins the betting. London Lowball stud poker is Seven-card stud poker played with Ace-to-six low hand values and is usually played at pot limit or no limit and is identical to Razz poker.
Winner: Lowest five-card poker hand.
MEXICAN STUD/ROLL YOUR OWN
Players: Four to ten.
Deal: Two cards facedown to each player.
Play: Players roll one of their two cards followed by a betting round. Another card is dealt and players roll one of their remaining two facedown cards, followed by betting round. This continues till all players have five cards, one facedown and four face-up. Showdown after final betting round.
Winner: High hand. Variations: High-low face down card and all other cards of the same rank in that hand is wild.
MEXICAN SWEAT
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Seven cards facedown to each player and one card face-up on the table.
Play: Players are not to look at their cards and this game is much the same as Midnight Baseball but without all the special cards. The player to the dealer's left is the lead player and starts rolling his cards until his revealed hand becomes the best the highest revealed hand on the table. When his revealed hand becomes the best hand he stops rolling cards and begins a round of betting. If he rolls all his cards and does not beat what is on the table then he is out and a betting round ensues with the high hand. Either way the next player becomes the new lead player and the process is repeated with a round of betting whenever someone stops rolling. Should a lead player roll a card of the same rank as the cards dealt from the original deal he must then fold and a betting round begins with the high hand. The came continues until all the cards have been turned up or there is only one person left in the game. Variations: If a player rolls all his cards without beating the high hand there in no betting round and the next player begins rolling immediately.
MIDNIGHT BASEBALL
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Seven cards facedown to each player and one face-up card on the table.
Play: Players are not allowed to look at their cards and this game is almost the same as Baseball except that you cannot look at your cards until they are flipped up. The player to the dealer's left is the lead player who starts rolling his cards until his revealed hand beats the highest revealed hand on the table. He must obey and payment rules apply when he flops cards paying for wilds cards, fours, etc. As soon as his revealed hand becomes the new best hand he stops rolling cards and begins a round of betting. Should he roll all his cards and does not beat the table he is then out and betting round begins with the high hand. Either way the next player must then try to beat the high hand in the same manner. A betting round occurs whenever a player stops rolling his cards. This continues until all the cards have been turned up or there is only one person left in the game.
Winner: High hand. Variations: A player rolls his cards without beating the high hand and there is no betting round, the next player begins rolling immediately. Players may look at their cards and lay down the cards of their choice until their open hand beats what is on the table.
SECOND HAND HIGH
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two cards facedown and one face-up to each player.
Play: Deal and bet as in Seven-card-stud.
Winner: Second highest hand or the only remaining hand if all but one player fold. Variations: Play standard poker format. Play with wild cards.
SEQUENCE
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two facedown and one face-up to each player.
Play: As in Seven-card-stud but if a two face-up, all two's become wild. After that A three turns up then all threes are wild and so on.
Winner: High hand. Variations: High-low.
SEVENS TAKE ALL
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Normal Seven-card stud except no wilds and a pair of sevens is the highest possible hand. You cannot have three sevens anywhere in your seven cards and only a pair counts.
Winner: Pair of sevens.
SIX-CARD
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: The same as Seven-card stud.
Play: Except that the last face-up betting round is removed.
Winner: High hand.
SIX KICK
Players: Three to eight.
Deal: As in Seven-card stud except with only six cards in total.
Play: Same as Seven-card stud except that after the sixth card is dealt and the bets are made, each player in turn may pay to have a card in their hand replaced. A face- up card is replaced by an up card and a facedown card is replaced by a down card. The cost of getting a face-up card I two times the minimum bet. Betting round is held after each kick (draw). There are two kicks followed by the final bet and showdown.
Winner: High and low hand splits.
STUD POKER
Players: Three to ten.
Deal: One facedown and 1 face-up or two facedown and one face-up to each player.
Play: Followed by betting round and after each round of betting each player is dealt one card face-up except for the last card which is dealt facedown. Showdown after the last round.
Winner: High and low hands split. Variations: Last card dealt face-up. Adding wilds cards. Canadian Stud.
TEN
Players: Three to five.
Deal: Ten cards facedown to each player.
Deal: Players are not to look at their cards and flips a card and without looking at the other player's cards, places it face-up to his left or right. Cards on the left form a hand going low and cards on the right form a hand going high. A round of betting occurs and this is repeated until all ten cards are up. No hand can have more than five cards.
Winner: High and low hand splits. Variations: Use wild cards.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two cards facedown and one face-up to each player and three on the table.
Play: The same as Seven-card-stud but after the fourth card is dealt, the first table card is flipped. This is 'the good' and all cards of the same rank are wild but 'the good' card itself is not shared. After the fifth card is dealt, flip the second table card and this is 'the bad' and all cards of the same rank must be discarded. After the sixth card is dealt, flip the last table card and this is 'the ugly'. Anyone who has an face-up card of the same rank must fold.
Winner: High hand.
WANT IT, WANT IT, GOT IT
Players: Three to seven.
Deal: Two cards facedown to each player.
Play: At the start of each round the dealer flips up the top card and offers it to the leader. The leader can accept or pass and if passed the card is then offered to the next player who can also accept of pass. If passed the next player must take the card. A new card is turned up and offered to the next player in turn and this continues, skipping players who have already received a card in that round until everyone has received a card. Betting and a new round begins which continues until each player has four up cards. Another betting round and each player receives a seventh card facedown. After final round of betting each player shows his high/low or both and showdown occurs.
Winner: High and low hands split. Variations: Each person in turn may reject the first card dealt to them but must take the next card as in Five-card-stud.
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