Do you like poker? Here are a set of great different poker games you can play at your monthly poker game... SOME COMMON POKER TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
High/High hand - One winner only with high hand being the winner
Low/Low Hand/Low Ball - One winner only with the winner being the lowest hand
High/Low - Two winners in the hand. One for high and the other for low hand.
Split the pot - Two winners with one being High and the other designated by the game
Roll your own - a hand where all cards are dealt face down. The player determines the card to roll over.
Hole Card(s) - All cards that are face down in your hand
Low Hole Card wild - The lowest card that is face down is wild and every card like it. Lowest card is a 2 with Ace being the highest card.
Wild Card - Any card(s) declared as wild by the game rules or dealer.
Replace - Ability to buy a card to replace a card in your hand. The original card is discarded and the replacement card and is dealt face up or down based on the card replaced.
Roll'em or Shotgun - Game in which you take your final 5 cards, put them in the order you want them and put them on the table. You roll the first card and then bet, rolling and betting the next 3 cards. Adds 4 bet's to the game.
Showdown - When players show their cards and a winner is determined. A Player must show all their cards in the hand face up to win any part of the pot. The last better or raiser should show first. If everybody checked the first person to check should show first.
Dead Hand - A folded hand by picking up your face cards or turn your up cards face down or muck your cards in the middle or you announce you fold. At showdown a hand with any card(s) not turned face up is considered a dead hand.
Cards Speak - If you turn all your cards face up on the table the best hand will be determined by the players at the table.
7/27 or 2/22
Deal: For 7/27 you deal 1 up and 1 down to each player. For 2/22 you deal 1 face down to each player
Winner: High/Low with high being the closest to 22/27 and low being the closest to 2/7
Insides beat outsides - 7 1/2 beats 6 1/2 and 26 1/2 beats 27 1/2 2 1/2 beats 1 1/2 and 21 1/2 beats 22 1/2
Card Rank: Face cards are a half point, Ace is 1 or 11, all other cards are face value
A perfect hand is A-A in 2/22 or A-A-5 in 7/27, Players with a perfect hand cannot lose, they share the pot with other players holding a 7 or 27, 2 or 22.
Freezing: Each player may pass two times without taking a card before freezing on the third pass. Frozen players are still in the game but may no longer take a card
Game Ends: The game ends and has one last bet when no player takes a card
Play: After dealing the first cards to players and the first betting round, the dealer will offer each player a card. If a player declines a card they must put a chip on their hole card, After all players have been offered a card and accepted or declined there is a bet with the player having the highest points starting the betting. This continues until no player takes a card. At that time there is final bet, declare and showdown. All players passing 3 times are frozen and cannot take another card.
And now here are the games...
ANACONDA ( aka Pass the Trash)
Deal: Deal each player 7 cards face down
Winner: High/Low
Declare: Direction for pass - Right, Left, 2 Right, 2 Left etc.
Play: Each player will pass 3 cards and receive 3 cards, pass 2 cards and receive 2 cards, then pass the final 1 card and receive 1 card. After the final pass each player will discard 2 cards and put the other 5 cards in the order you want to play them. Once play starts you can't look at your cards or change the order. You will Roll'em for the next 4 cards and then declare high or low. Any person with more than 5 cards at the end of the game is an automatic loser. If you go both ways you must win both ways
SCREW YOUR BUDDY (variation of Pass the trash)
Deal: Deal each player 7 cards face down
Winner: High/Low
Declare: Direction for pass - Right, Left, 2 Right, 2 Left etc.
Play: Each player will pass 3 cards and receive 3 cards, pass 2 cards and receive 2 cards, then pass the final 1 card and receive 1 card. After the final pass each player will discard 2 cards and put the other 5 cards in the order you want to play them and place them on the table in front of the player in the same direction as you've been passing your cards. The player receiving the cards can't look at the cards or change the order. You will Roll'em for the next 4 cards and then declare high or low. Any person with more than 5 cards at the end of the game is an automatic loser. If you go both ways you must win both ways
DRAW POKER
Deal: Deal each player 5 cards face down
Winner: High
Play: Each player is dealt five cards followed by a betting round.
Players can draw up to 3 cards or 4 cards if they show an Ace. After the draw there is a final bet and a showdown.
Variations: Add Roll'em at the end which increases the bets from 2 to 5
JACKS OR BETTER TRIPS TO WIN (Draw Poker Progressive Game)
Deal: Deal each player 5 cards face down
Winner: High hand - Trips or better
Play: Each player is dealt five cards followed by a betting round where
the opener must have Jacks-or-Better to open. If nobody can open, each player puts 10 cents in the pot and the hand starts over again. If a player opens with a bet and any player folds they are out for the entire game. Players can draw up to 3 cards or 4 cards if they show an ACE. After the draw there is a bet and showdown for anybody with Trips-or-Better. If nobody has Trips-or-Better than there is a 10 cent ante and the game is re-dealt to the players who haven't folded. Openers must show openers at the showdown.
JACS BACK (Jacks-or-Better Variation)
Deal: Deal each player 5 cards face down
Winner: High hand if opener, Low hand if no opener
Openers: Starting to the left of the dealer players can open if they have Jacks-or-Better. If the hand is opened it is a high hand. If nobody has Jack-or-Better then the player to the left of the dealer starts the round of betting with the hand now being a low hand winner.
Play: Each player is dealt five cards followed by a betting round where the opener must have Jacks-or-Better to open or the game reverts to a low hand with the person to the left of the dealer starting the second round of betting. Players can draw up to 3 cards or 4 cards if they show an ACE. After the draw there is a final bet and showdown.
SPIT IN THE OCEAN (variation on Draw Poker)
Deal: Four cards facedown to each player and one card up in the middle. Winner: High hand
Play: On the initial deal, each poker player is dealt four cards, and then a single card is dealt to the center of the table face up. This card plays as if it were the fifth card in every player's poker hand. It is also a wild card, and every other card of its rank is also wild. The first betting round is then played, followed by a draw in which each player replaces cards from his poker hand with an equal number, so that each player still has only four cards in hand. A final betting round is followed by a showdown.
LOWBALL (5, 6 or 7 card Stud or Draw)
Deal: Typically played as 5 card draw or 5, 6 or 7 card stud
Winner: Lowest hand with A-2-3-4-5 being the lowest possible hand. Straights and flushes don't count in lowball
Play: Same play as Stud or Draw games with lowest card(s) betting first
Seven Card Stud Poker Deal: Deal two down cards and one up card dealt before the first betting round, followed by three more up cards (with a betting round after each card by the highest hand showing). After the last down card is dealt face down, there is a final round of betting. Winner: High Play: Each player is dealt two down cards and one up card followed by a bet from the highest card to the left of the dealer, followed by three more up cards (with a betting round after each card by the highest hand showing). After the last down card is dealt face down, there is a final round of betting. Variation: Seven Card Stud High/low. There is a high and low winner with a player having the ability to go both ways. In High/Low there is a declare after the last bet.
Razz: (Seven Card Stud Low) - Same seven card low game with the best hand being the lowest hand. The lowest hand bet's first each round.
HIGH CHICAGO
Deal: Deal is the same as seven card stud
Winner: High hand slits the pot with highest spade in the Hole (Ace being high)
Play: Same as seven card stud
BLACK MARIAH (Seven Card Stud Progressive Game)
Deal: Deal is the same as seven card stud
Winner: High hand slits the pot with lowest spade in the Hole (Deuce being lowest card)
Play: Same as seven card stud except if the Queen of Spades is dealt face up the game ends and the hand is re-dealt until the Queen of Spades does not appear face up.
FOLLOW THE QUEEN (Seven Card Stud Variation)
Deal: Same as Seven card stud
Winner: High
Play: Follow the queen is a basic Seven Card Stud game with the card following a face up queen being declared as wild and any card like it. The wild card can change if a second, third or fourth queen appears face up. The wild card is the next card after the last queen shown. If the last card dealt face up is a queen then there is no wild card. If no queen is dealt face up there is no wild card. Each player is dealt two down cards and one up card followed by a bet from the highest card to the left of the dealer, followed by three more up cards (with a betting round after each card by the highest hand showing). After the last down card is dealt face down, there is a final round of betting.
BASEBALL (Seven Card Stud Variation)
Deal: Same as Seven card stud
Winner: High
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. The player receiving the 3 or 9 face up must pay fifty cents into the pot for each card received.
OKLAHOMA (Seven Card Stud Poker Variation)
Game: High/Low Seven card stud with low hole card wild (2 is lowest card with Ace being high), roll your own with last card staying face down.
Deal: Seven-card stud is played with three down cards, with each player turning up one hole card before the first betting round, followed by three more down cards with each player turning up a card (with a betting round after each card). The last down card is dealt down and stays down, there is a final round of betting and a declare. Winner: High/Low
Play: This is a standard Seven Card Stud game where you control the wild card by determining which cards to turn face up. Since the last card stays down it can kill your wild card strategy.
Five Card Stud Poker Deal: Five-card stud is played with one down cards and one up card dealt before the first betting round, followed by three more up cards (with a betting round after each card). After the last card is dealt, there is a final round of betting. Winner: High
Play: Each player is dealt one down cards and one up card followed by a bet from the highest card to the left of the dealer, followed by three more up cards (with a betting round after each card by the highest hand showing). After the last card is dealt, there is a final round of betting. The best five-card poker hand wins the pot.
Variation: Five Card Stud High/low. There is a high and low winner with a player having the ability to go both ways. In High/Low there is a declare after the last bet.
PUSH 'EM (Five Card Stud variation)
Game; High/Low Five Card Stud poker with the ability to push a card for a dime and take the next card off the top of the deck after the pushed card is accepted by a player. There is a replacement option at the end for a dollar.
Deal: Deal each player a down card and offer the first player an up card. The player has the option to push the card to the player to his left or take the card. Pushing the card costs a dime. The next player has the same options to push. Once the card is accepted by a player or mucked in the center all players are dealt the next card off the top of the deck in the normal dealing order. There is a bet after each round. The dealer continues offering cards for 3 additional round followed by a betting round. After the last bet with each player having 5 cards with 1 hole card and 4 face up cards the dealer will offer each player a replacement card for a dollar. The dealer will not deal any cards until all players have been offered and accepted/paid or declined the replacement card. Once the offer is completed the dealer will have the player declare the card to replace and have them muck it in the center. An up card will be replaced with an up card and a down card will be replaced with an up card. There is a last bet and declare for High/Low.
Winner: High/Low
Play: Each player gets two shots at a card and possibly three with the replacement. Push'em allows the player to reject cards that don't match their hand with the replacement having a chance of meeting their needs. This game is all about picking a direction to go early and trying to get the cards to match.
TEXAS HOLD 'EM (World Championship of Poker Game)
Deal: Deal each player 2 cards face down. After the first bet five additional common cards are exposed on the center of the table in three stages. First stage called the 'Flop' is to burn a card and deal 3 cards face up. After the bet, Stage 2 called 'The Turn' is to burn a card and deal a fourth card face up. After a bet, stage 3 called 'The River' is to burn a card and turn the last card face up.
Winner: High Hand, Best 5 cards from 2 in your hand and 5 common cards on the board
Play: This is the World Championship of Poker game because the only thing separating players is the 2 cards in your hand. Bluffing is a major part of the game and great players play aggressive. Since everybody shares 5 common cards you should be able to predict how you hand would match the best hand possible. Your pocket cards only matter if they improve the 5 common cards on the board.
OMAHA (Texas Hold'em Variation)
Deal: Deal each player 4 cards face down. After the first bet five additional common cards are exposed on the center of the table in three stages. First stage called the 'Flop' is to burn a card and deal 3 cards face up. After the bet, Stage 2 called 'The Turn' is to burn a card and deal a fourth card face up. After a bet, stage 3 called 'The River' is to burn a card and turn the last card face up.
Winner: High/Low. Best 5 cards using 2 of your 4 hole cards and 3 cards from the board. The low hand must be 8 or better to be considered a low hand. If there is no qualifying low hand the High hand wins the entire pot. If you go both ways you can use the same or different cards for high and low hands as long as you use 2 hole cards and 3 common cards for each.
Play: Omaha gives players multiple options for every hand. A tougher hand to play since you can use different cards for high and low. Remember you must us 2 cards from your hole cards.
Pineapple (Texas Hold'em variation)
Deal: Deal each player 3 cards face down. Players must discard one card before the first bet. Game is dealt the same as Texas Hold'em.
Winner: High. Same as Texas Holdem
Play: After discarding one of the three hole card the game is played the same as Texas Hold'em
Variations: Crazy Pineapple - In Crazy Pineapple Poker, the players discard their third card after the second betting round, before the fourth community card is dealt.
DOUBLE BOARD TEXAS HOLD 'EM
Deal: Deal each player 2 cards face down. After the first bet two sets of five additional common cards are exposed on the center of the table in three stages. First stage called the 'Flop' is to burn a card and deal 3 cards face up as the first set of five burn a second card and deal a second set face up. After the bet, Stage 2 called 'The Turn' is to burn a card and deal a fourth card face up to the first set then burn another card and place the second card face up. After a bet, stage 3 called 'The River' is to burn a card and turn the last card face up then burn another card and place the card face up.
Winner: High /High, Best high hand from one set of five cards splits the pot with the best high hand from the second set of cards
Play: Double-Board Texas hold'em poker is a split-pot poker game variant that is applied to Texas hold'em. For Double-Board hold'em poker games, two separate five-card boards are dealt, and the high poker hand using each board takes half of the pot.
CINCINATTI POKER
Deal: Deal each player 5 cards face down. Then deal one card face up and a round of betting, Turn up another 4 cards one at a time betting after each is turned up.
Winner: High. Best five card hand out of 5 hole cards and 5 common cards
Play: Each player plays the best five-card poker hand he can make from his five hole cards plus the five community cards in any combination. Variations: Variants include restricting each poker player to using exactly two of his hole cards (as in Omaha poker) or no more than two hole cards (as in Pineapple poker).
THE GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY
Deal: Deal each player 4 cards face down. Then deal two rows of 4 cards declaring one as Good and one as Bad. Dealer Turns one of the good cards up and one of the bad followed by a bet. Every player must discard in the middle any card matching the rank of a bad card. Dealer continues until all cards are turned up.
Winner: High Hand splits the pot with the lowest hole card (deuce being low) of the suit of the last good card turned up. If the last good card is a bad card it goes to the last good card turned up that is good.
Play: This game is all about attrition. When a bad card is turned up all players must discard a matching ranked card. A great hand is 4 deuces since you will be guaranteed half the pot. If you're hand has lots of small cards it can be a low hole card winner but you must wait for the last 2 cards to be turned. Usually straits are killed by the bad cards. If you have a high hand early bet it to run other players out of the game. Remember you pair could become bad cards.
|
Contributor's Note
It's a great way to spend a night with friends.
|
