This is a
version of 5-card draw. Deal 5 cards face down to each player. There are 3
rounds of drawing (maximum of 2 cards per player per round). At showdown, each
player constructs 2 3-card hands from his 5 cards, one played high and the
other low. The high hand follows the normal 3-card poker ranking order, where
straights and flushes count and straights beat flushes (straight flushes also
count and beat everything else). For the low hand, aces are low and straights
and flushes do not count, and a hand must be an 8-high or lower to qualify. Pot
is split between the best high and low hand (if no qualifying low hands, the
high hand wins the pot).
Deal 7
cards to each player. There are 3 draws. Each player can only draw a maximum
number of 2 cards in each round. 4 betting rounds altogether.
Best
5-card high hand, and best 5-card low hand (if any
qualify) split the pot. Low hands follow the Omaha-8 rules (Aces low, straights
and flushes do not count, 8-high or lower to qualify.)
Plays
pretty well. Not
as ‘wild’ as you might think, since optimal strategy is to go for high and low
at the same time.
Maximum of
4 players to avoid running out of cards (and this assumes no burning of cards).
This game plays well heads up.
Variation: Deal the first 2 cards face up. These
cards cannot be discarded.
Similar
basic concept, but this is a 5-card triple draw game with an element of Badugi. Object is to use as many cards as possible to add
up to a total of no more than 21. Aces count as 1, 2-10 is the face amount, and
face cards are 10. If a player has multiple cards of the same rank (say, 2
6’s), he can only use 1 of those cards.
All 5-card
hands (totaling 21 or less) beat all 4-card hands, all
4-card hands beat all 3-card hands, etc. Between 2 hands with the same number
of cards, the lowest total wins. (Unlike Blackjack, 21 isn’t a “magic” total to
strive for here, just an upper limit.)
(Note: I have experimented with
different maximum totals, not just 21. I tried 18 (seemed too hard to get a
5-card hand) and 25 (seemed too easy to get a 5-card hand). I didn’t pick 21
just because of Blackjack, but it seems to offer the best balance.)
Beat the Zombie
Everyone
antes into a pot. Deal the cards to each
player (both, face down), plus an additional hand (the “zombie” hand). The number of cards dealt to the zombie hand
will vary, based on the number of players (see chart below). Each player then decides to either fold or
stay in the game, which requires a second ante of double the initial ante. Next there is a showdown among the players’
hands. The player with the best hand
then compares his hand to the zombie hand (the zombie hand consists of the best
2-card poker hand within the zombie hand’s cards). If the player’s hand is better, he wins the
pot. If he loses to the zombie hand, all
the chips remain in the pot. If there is
a tie, the chips are divided evenly among the winning player(s) and the
“zombie”, with the zombie’s chips remaining in the pot for the next hand. If all players elect to fold, the accumulated
pot is evenly divided by all players at the table.
You might
think that if all players except the last player to act fold, the last player
would automatically place the second ante, since it’s a small bet to win a big
pot. However, if his hand is poor, and
the probability of beating the zombie hand is poor, a call might be fruitless,
and in the next hand someone else might win a very big pot. Winning a portion of the current large pot
might be the better play.
Number
of Cards
Number of
Players Dealt
to Zombie Hand
----------------- --------------------
2 3
3-6 4
7-8 5
9 or more 6
These
numbers will give the zombie hand about a 50/50 chance of winning against the
best player hand.
This is
not a poker game, but something of a combination of blackjack / baccarat and
poker. Each player receives 5 cards (plus an optional 6th). The first round is
one down card and two up cards, followed by betting. Round 2 is one up card
followed by betting. Round 3 is one down card followed by betting. Finally,
each player may: (1) stand with his current cards, (2) receive a 6th card (face
down), or (3) discard one of his down cards and receive a replacement for that
card (also face down). This is followed by the final round of betting.
The object
of the game is to obtain a card total as close as possible to 40, without going
over. Face cards count as 10, and aces can be either 1 or 11.
Bluffing
is possible in this game, so even if a player has a total over 40, he can win. If,
at showdown, all remaining players have totals over 40, these players evenly
split the pot.
A possible
rule variation is to allow any card to be replaced on the final round, not just
the down cards (a discarded down card is replaced by another down card, and a
discarded up card is replaced by another up card).
Another
variation is to compare totals over 40 if everyone at showdown has a card total
over 40, so that the lowest total wins instead of a split pot.
Based on a Greg Raymer game.
Deal 6 cards to each player. Each
player constructs:
Straights and flushes are only legitimate in the 3-card hand (a 3-card
straight beats a 3-card flush). Straight flushes also count in the 3-card hand and beat everything
else.
After each player has his hand constructed, they all reveal just the
1-card hand. The lowest ranking 2 players are eliminated from the hand.
Next the remaining players reveal their 2 card hands. Once again the 2
lowest players are eliminated.
Finally the remaining players reveal their 3-card hands, and the best
hand wins the pot.
The above rules are for 6 or more total players. If 5 or less,
eliminate a single player in the first 2 rounds.
Ties are possible in the first 2 rounds, most commonly in the 1st.
Many will be irrelevant (such as a tie for 1st or 2nd
place), but if a relevant tie occurs (such as a tie for 6th place in
the first round with 8 players), there are 2 ways to
handle it:
1) In round 1 (the
1-card hand), denomination ties are broken by suits (clubs / diamonds / hearts
/ spades is ascending order). In round 2 (the 2-card hand), ties are once again
broken by suits as above; if 2 players both have identical no-pair hands, the
suit of the higher-ranking denomination is considered; if they both have the
same pair, the player with the spade has the higher hand.
2) Alternately, you can
allow more players than usual to go on to the next round, so that (with 8
players) if there is a tie for 6th place in the first round, 7
players advance to the next round, with 3 players eliminated in that round
(unless there is another tie in the 2nd round for 4th
place, of course).
Ties for 1st place in the final 3-card hand showdown always
result in a split pot; suits are not relevant to breaking ties in this final
stage.
If 9 players wish to play this game, include 2 jokers in the deck. They
are not wild, but they are the highest ranking cards (outranking the aces), and
they match each other, so if a player has both of them, he can use them as a
pair.
Variation: Play open-faced. Perhaps have each player keep their 1-card
hand face down.
Use 2
decks of identical cards to create a larger deck (of 88 cards).
From the
first deck use the usual 52 cards (no jokers).
From the
second deck use these cards:
Rank Number of cards
-------- ---------------
2,3,4,5 All 4 for each
6,7,8,9 3 each (diamonds,
hearts, spades)
10,J,Q
2 each (hearts, spades)
K,A
Only 1 each (spades)
The suits
were selected to be easy to remember.
Going alphabetically (clubs / diamonds / hearts / spades), there are the fewest in the first suit (clubs) and the
most in the last suit (spades).
Shuffle
all 88 of these cards together. (Trouble shuffling such a large deck?
This is a
5-card triple draw game.
Obvious
strategy in play here is the choice of going for lower ranking cards which are
more abundant, versus higher ranks that have fewer cards available. Also, flushes and straight flushes are more
likely in some suits than in others.
Variation: A “qualifying” rule for low
ranking cards, requiring 2-9 ranks to be at least trips (simple pairs do not
count), to counter their relative abundance.
Note: This deck construction could be
used in any poker games, especially if more cards are needed. Unlike simply using 2 decks, this adds an
additional level of strategy.
Based on
the solitaire game Poker Solitaire, but played by 2 people. Winner wins a pre-determined pot.
Each card
is dealt out 1 at a time, alternating between the 2 players. Each player will construct a 5x5 grid of
cards (open-faced on the table). At then end, points are totaled both horizontally and
vertically (but not diagonally). Points
awarded:
Straight Flush: 30
4 of a kind: 16
Straight: 12
Full House: 10
3 of a kind: 6
Flush: 5
2 pair: 3
1 pair: 1
The
rankings are different than normal poker because the ease of making various
hands is different in this game.
The player
with the most points wins the pot.
Variations:
(1) Also count the 2 diagonals.
(2) Also award 60 points for a royal flush. (3) Also award 4 points for a 4 card
straight, and 2 points for a 4 card flush.
(4) Play multiple games, keeping running points totals. First player to reach a pre-determined number
of points wins the pot (if both players hit the goal on the same hand, player
with the most points wins).
Everyone
antes initially (this rule may be dropped if desired).
Stage 1: Initial Deal. Each player
is dealt 4 cards face down. Players must discard one card, and turn one other
card face up ("Door Card"). The other 2 cards remain face down
("Hole Cards"). Players should clearly segregate their door
card from the hole cards, then all players should show
their door card at the same time, not in turn. Round of betting: Betting starts
with the highest door card showing after the initial deal; if a tie, break via the suits-break-ties rule (Clubs, Diamonds,
Hearts, and Spades in lowest-to-highest order). This high card must bet the
first round amount (or minimum amount if pot limit betting is in effect). Once
a betting order is established, it remains (it is not constantly re-evaluated
as the game progresses). (These rules make which card to show a more involved
decision, as it affects betting order).
Stage 2: The Flop. Dealer burns a
card and then deals 3 community cards to the table. Round of
betting.
Stage 3: The Draw. Players may
discard 0, 1, or both of their hole cards (but not their door card) and get
replacements. (The betting order established by the high door card is followed
here as well.) The usual Draw Poker procedure is in effect here: All players
discard first, card is burned, then replacements
dealt. Round of betting.
Stage 4: The River. Card is burned,
then each player gets 1 final, private card face down.
Final round of betting.
Best 5
card hand is constructed from the 7 cards available to each player (door card,
3 hole cards, and the 3 community cards).
As
mentioned above, the high card showing has to make the initial bet on the first
round (with suit breaking ties), and leads the betting on all subsequent
rounds. If limit betting is not desired, pot-limit may play well, but no-limit
would probably not.
Pot is
split between the best 5-card high hand, and the best
5-card low hand (if anyone qualifies). Qualification for the low hand is an
8-high or lower. Low hand follows Ace to Five rules.
Everyone
antes initially (this rule may be dropped if desired).
Stage 1: Initial Deal. Each player
is dealt 4 cards face down. Players must discard one card, and turn one other
card face up ("Door Card"). The other 2 cards remain face down
("Hole Cards"). Players should segregate their door card from
the hole cards, then all players should show their
door card at the same time, not in turn. Round of betting: Betting starts with
the highest door card showing after the initial deal (aces are considered high
here); if a tie, break via the suits-break-ties rule (Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts,
and Spades in lowest-to-highest order). This high card must bet the first round
amount. Once a betting order is established, it remains (it is not constantly
re-evaluated as the game progresses). (These rules make which card to show a
more involved decision, as it affects betting order).
Stage 2: The Flop. Dealer burns a
card and then deals 3 community cards to the table. Round of
betting.
Stage 3: The Draw. Players may
discard 0, 1, or both of their hole cards (but not their door card) and get
replacements. (The betting order established by the high door card is followed
here as well.) The usual Draw Poker procedure is in effect here: All players
discard first, card is burned, then replacements
dealt. Round of betting.
Stage 4: The River. Card is burned,
then each player gets 1 final, private card face down.
Final round of betting.
At the
showdown, the pot is split equally among the best 5-card high hand, best 5-card
low hand (if any qualify), and best 3-card high hand (if any qualify) -
however, note the following scoop rule:
Scoop
Rule: If there are
qualifying low and 3-card hands, and one player wins two of the three hands,
that player scoops the pot (wins the entire amount in the pot). The player must
win both hands outright (winning a share of a hand when there is a tie is not
good enough). (To further clarify this, the winner of a scoop only needs to win
2 hands outright. If he is also involved in a tie for the 3rd hand,
he still scoops the entire pot. However, if a player only wins 1 hand outright,
he cannot scoop if he only wins a portion of one or both of the other hands.)
As
mentioned above, the high card showing has to make the initial bet on the first
round (with suit breaking ties), and leads the betting on all subsequent
rounds.
Everyone
antes initially (this rule may be dropped if desired).
Stage 1: Initial Deal. Each player
is dealt 4 cards face down. Players must discard one card. One card must be
turned face up ("Door Card"). The other 2 cards remain face
down ("Hole Cards"). Players should segregate their cards, then all players should show their door card at the same
time, not in turn. Round of betting: Betting starts with the highest door card
showing after the initial deal (aces are considered high here); if a tie, break
via the suits-break-ties rule (Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades in
lowest-to-highest order). This high card must bet the first round fixed or (at
least) minimum amount. Once an order is established, it remains (it is not
constantly re-evaluated as the game progresses). Use of a “first to act” button
is recommended.
Stage 2: The Flop. Dealer burns a
card and then deals 3 community cards to the table. Round of
betting.
Stage 3: The Draw. Players may
discard 0, 1, or both of their hole cards (but not their door card) and get
replacements. The order established by the high door card is followed here. The
usual Draw Poker procedure is in effect here: All players discard first, card
is burned, then replacements dealt. Round
of betting.
Stage 4: The River. Card is burned,
then each player gets 1 final, private card face down.
Final round of betting.
At
showdown, there are various ways to earn points. The points each player earns
are accumulated, and the highest point total wins the pot.
For ties
in these categories, split the points. (Note that numbers that are evenly
divisible have been chosen to make this simpler). In the rare case of a multi-way
tie that cannot be evenly divided, divide the points to be awarded by the
number of players involved, and drop any fractions. For example, if there were
a 5-way tie for low hand, 12 / 5 = 2.4. Round down to 2 and award each of these
players 2 points. In the very rare case of a multi-way tie that would result in
less than a point per person, award each player one point.
In
addition to these basic point categories, unusually good hands in certain
categories get a 10-point bonus award. These 10 points are not divided, even if
multiple players achieve them, and even if a player does not have the best hand
in that category. For example, if one player has a 5-card straight flush, and
another player has 4 Kings, they both get a 10-point bonus for these hands.
Bonus
award categories:
Points Summary
18 Best 5-card high hand
12 Best 5-card low hand
12 Best Badugi hand
8 Best
3-card high hand
6 Best
‘Blackjack’ hand
3 Highest
hole-card spade
10 All Bonus Awards
Notes
and Variations
1) Points categories can be dropped (or new ones added) as the players like, if everyone agrees. Some additional possible concepts:
2) “Rummy” Draw option: Instead of the final card being
dealt in the normal fashion, use a “rummy” draw. As in rummy, a card is turned face-up on
table. The 1st player to act can take that card or topmost down card
(if the face-up card is taken, it is placed in the player’s hand face down, and
a new face-up card is revealed). Other players have same option.
3) A second draw round could be added after the first draw, or after the last hole card is dealt. (This would limit the maximum number of players a bit.)
4) An accumulated version of Columbia Points Poker would eliminate all betting within each hand. Each player contributes an equal amount of money to a single betting pool. A running count of the points for each player is accumulated across hands. The first person to a pre-determined point goal wins the betting pool. If multiple players get to the pre-determined point goal at the end of a hand, the player with the most points wins; if they both have the same number of points, they split the pot. Variation: Only the winning hand(s) get to add their points to their running total at the end of each hand (I think this is a better idea). Variation: Instead of aiming for a pre-set point total, player simply accumulate points as they go, and settle up with each other at the end of play, based on a pre-determined money amount per point (the same way points are accumulated and paid off in Chinese Poker).
5) An alternate version of accumulated Columbia Points Poker would have normal betting for each hand. At the end of each hand, award 80% of each pot to the winner(s). 20% of each pot goes into a special reserve pot. The first person to cross a pre-determined number of points (say, 500) gets the reserve pot. This version should use the rule that only the winning hand(s) get to add their points to their running total at the end of each hand.
Stage 1: Initial Deal. Each player
is dealt 4 cards face down. Players must separate their cards into 2 2-card
groups, and turn one group of 2 cards face up. Players should clearly segregate
their up cards from their hole cards, then all players
should show their up cards at the same time, not in turn. Round
of betting.
Stage 2: The Flop. Dealer burns a
card and then deals 3 community cards to the table. Round of
betting.
Stage 3: The River. Card is burned,
then each player gets 1 final, private card face down.
Final round of betting.
This game
can be played high, high-low split, or 3-way split. The 3-way split rules
follow:
At the
showdown, the pot is split equally among the best 5-card high hand, best 5-card
low hand (if any qualify), and best 3-card high hand (if any qualify) -
however, note the following scoop rule:
Scoop
Rule: If there are
qualifying low and 3-card hands, and one player wins two of the three hands,
that player scoops the pot (wins the entire amount in the pot). The player must
win both hands outright (winning a share of a hand when there is a tie is not
good enough). (To further clarify this, the winner of a scoop only needs to win
2 hands outright. If he is also involved in a tie for the 3rd hand,
he still scoops the entire pot. However, if a player only wins 1 hand outright,
he cannot scoop if he only wins a portion of one or both of the other hands.)
A
cross between Poker and Bridge.
Deal 6
cards to each player face down, followed by a betting round.
In the
second, third and fourth rounds, each player may discard up to 2 of his cards
and get replacements. Each round concludes with betting.
After the
third draw, the showdowns occur. A showdown consists of each player moving 1
card, face down, in front of their other cards. There is a simultaneous reveal.
Showdown
rules:
For the
first 3 showdowns, the lowest card wins. For the last 3, the highest card wins.
Denomination
order is the usual 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, and an Ace can be
either high or low.
Suit order
is Club, Diamond, Heart, Spade. For low hands, clubs
are best; for high hands, spades are best.
(Suit order is used to break denomination order ties.)
For each
showdown round, the winning player keeps his winning card, face up, next to his
other cards. This is an easy way to keep count. At the end of play, if there is
a tie, each of the players with the highest total turns their winning cards
face down, and another round of showdowns takes place (using all of their
winning cards in any order desired). In the tie-breaker rounds, the highest
card always wins. A further tie results is another round of showdowns, until a
winner is determined.
Jokers:
Jokers may
be used. They outrank everything else (both high and low). If multiple jokers
are used, determine before play the ranking order of the jokers, in case
multiple jokers are played in one showdown.
Variation:
When the
initial 6 cards are dealt, deal them 4 down and 2 up. After
the first round of betting is complete, the up cards are turned face down and
integrated into the player's down cards.
Additional Games
These are
some game variations that I and others have invented.
From a
website:
Various
base poker games can be modified. Some of the cards in play are distributed in
this manner: Deal, face up to the center of the table, one card for each player
currently in the game. The first player to the left of the dealer gets to
choose one card, then it rotates to the left. For the
next set of cards, the first player to select rotates left one position. The
number of cards distributed to the players in this manner should equal the
number of players currently playing.
In stud
games, I would have these cards remain face up on the table during the
remainder of gameplay, to avoid making memory too important.
This would
be an interesting variation on Chinese poker to have some of the cards
distributed this way. For 4 players,
cards 6-13 could be distributed this way.
For 3 players, cards 6-11 would be dealt this way, with the final 2
dealt in the normal fashion.
Variation: When dealing the cards
to the middle of the table, leave 1 card face down. The player selecting the face down card must
place it in his tableau, but gets to keep the card face down. Could be applied to either
Open or Closed Face Chinese.
Only
straights, flushes, and straight flushes count (no pairs, trips, etc.). The
best 5-card hand wins, using the normal order: straight-flushes are best, then
flushes, then straights. If no one has such a 5-card hand, the best 4-card hand
wins, using the same order of hand quality. If no 4-card hand, then the best
3-card (or even 2-card) hand wins. Could be applied to any
base game: draw poker, stud, community card, etc. Works well as a 5-card
triple-draw game. This rule can be applied to more-than-5-cards poker, such as
a 7-card game where all 7 cards are in play.
Variation: Also allow 3-card plus 2-card hands, or 2
2-card hands (see explanation in the “Wheelers” game below). Variation: Lowest hand wins.
(from a
web site): You
only go for straights. The rank of hands is
1) straight flush
2) 5-card straight
3) 4-card straight
4) 3-card straight + 2-card straight
5) 3-card straight
6) 2-card straight + 2-card straight
7) 2-card straight
8) high card
Aces can
be high or low. When comparing similar hands, the highest card in the straight
counts first. If a tie, then highest unattached card is considered.
In hand
type (4), the 3-card straights are compared first, then the 2-card straights.
In hand type (6), the higher straights are compared
first, then the lower straights, then the odd card.
In this
modified version of Ace-5 lowball, Aces are the lowest cards, straights do not
count, nor do flushes, nor do pairs, trips, or quads. Furthermore, the hands
are compared from the lowest card upward (opposite of normal lowball poker). The
lowest possible hand (in a 5-card game) would be A-A-A-A-2. This could also be
played with an Uno deck of cards with the special
action cards removed (using just the 0 through 9 cards). 5-card triple-draw
would play well, as would 7-card stud.
Another
variation on Chinese-type poker games is to have separate pots for each hand
created, not of the same size. For example, players ante 2 chips into 1 pot, 3
chips into a second pot, and 4 chips into a 3rd pot. The best 3-card
hand wins the first pot, the best middle hand wins the 2nd pot, and
the best back hand wins the 3rd pot. Any variation of rules
(regarding number of cards dealt to each player, number of hands created from
them, which rules determine the best hands, etc.) could be utilized. The normal
Chinese rule about each hand being stronger than the previous one should be
removed, so that players are free to concentrate their strengths based on which
pot(s) they are trying to win.
Another
variation for Open Chinese would be to allow each player to place 1 card in his
tableau face down instead of face up.
Alternate
rules for 3-player Open Chinese that incorporate several of these ideas: Cards 1-5 are dealt as usual. For cards 6-10, the 3 top cards from the deck
are displayed in the middle of the table.
Each player can select any of these 3, or the top down card still in the
deck. Whenever a face up card is
selected from the table, it is replaced with a new face up card in the middle
of the table. No need to alternate
“first selection” here, just go around in a round-robin. After everyone has 10 cards, the 3 remaining
face up cards are discarded, and the rest of the deck is used to deal cards
11-13 in the traditional manner. During
gameplay, players may place 1 card face down in each of their 3 hands in their
tableau if they desire. Optional
additional element: After everyone has
created their 3 hands, a 14th card is dealt to each player. They may replace 1 card in their tableau with
this card if desired. If they are
replacing a face up card, the replacement must be shown. If they are replacing a face down card, the
replacement may be played face down. If
they discard the 14th card, it may be discarded face down or face
up.
A
5 card triple draw game. Uses the “rummy” draw
technique (see below). At the start of
the draw rounds, a single card is turned up and placed next to the rest of the
deck, which is face down. On each draw round, a player can pass (stand pat), select the up
card on the table, or select the topmost down card on the stack. If a card was selected, the player then
discards one card from his hand, placing it face up on the table (only the
topmost face up card is available at any time for selection). Bets occur after the initial deal and after
each draw round.