Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (76 page)

VARIATION 3: JACKS TO OPEN, TRIPS TO WIN

Follow the rules for Jacks to Open until the showdown. At this point, only players holding three-of-a-kind or better are eligible to win the pot. If nobody meets these requirements, the hand is dead, the pot is carried over, and new cards are dealt.

VARIATION 4: KNOCK POKER

All players ante a single chip (typically worth 50 cents or $1) and receive five cards, face down. The undealt cards (called the stock) are placed on the table. The player to the left of the dealer takes the topmost stock card and then discards (face up) any card from his hand. The next clockwise player takes the topmost stock card or the previous player’s discard, and ends her turn by discarding one card.

Any player, after drawing and before discarding, may knock by tapping on the table and discarding. The other players each have one turn to draw and discard (the knocker does not get another draw). After drawing, each player may fold (immediately, paying the knocker one chip) or stay in.

At the showdown, the high poker hand wins. If the knocker is victorious, the other players pay him two chips each. If the knocker loses, he pays two chips to all players who stayed in, and the actual winning hand collects the original antes (minus any that were already paid to the knocker). In case of a tie, the antes are split evenly and no other penalties are paid.

VARIATION 5: SHOTGUN POKER

Play is the same as in a standard five-card game, but before the final betting round, all players stack their cards in a pile, face down. The player who opened the last bet flips one card face up on the table, followed by a round of betting. The next clockwise player must beat the previous hand (keep turning up cards
until he does), or fold. There’s a round of betting each time the previous hand is beaten. The last player standing wins the pot.

VARIATION 6: SKINNY MINNIE

This is the standard Shotgun Poker game played high-low, with the pot split 50-50 between the players holding the highest and lowest poker hands.

VARIATION 7: SPIT IN THE OCEAN

Deal all players four cards, face down, and deal a single fifth card face up on the table. This card is shared among all players and is wild (so in effect all players have a wild card in their hand). If you’re holding other cards of the same rank, they’re also wild. After a round of betting, players draw cards from the deck as usual and bet as usual. The high hand wins at the showdown.

VARIATION 8: WHISKEY POKER

Deal five cards face down to all players and five cards (also face down) to a
widow
hand. After a round of betting, the player to the left of the dealer has three choices: pass, exchange, or knock.

The first player to choose the exchange swaps his entire hand for the widow. The replacement widow hand is turned up for all players to see, and each player in turn has the option of exchanging one (or more) face-up widow cards with a card(s) from her hand. If the widow comes around to the dealer untouched—i.e., all players have passed—the dealer turns the widow face up and each player has another turn to exchange cards. Players may pass multiple times and jump back in on a subsequent turn; the only restriction is that you may not pass two turns in a row.

At any point, a player may knock to signal that she likes her hand and will not draw additional cards. After a knock, the remaining players have one final chance to exchange cards with the widow. After a round of betting, the high hand wins the pot and the low hand (worst hand) pays a penalty of 50 percent of the current pot’s value into the next pot.

1. DIFFICULTY
   :
   low
   
2. TIME LENGTH
   :
   short
   
3. DECKS
   : 1
   

Five-Card Stud is a classic poker game—that’s Classic as in Old West, six-shooters, and whiskey by the pint. Part of the allure, no doubt, is that Five-Card Stud has always been an all-or-nothing game. Then as now, your choices are to play aggressively with a strong hand, bluff the competition with a weak hand, or drop out early to avoid the expensive heartache of getting caught in between.

All players are dealt five cards (one down, four up). At the
showdown
, the highest poker hand wins.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

INITIAL DEAL
Each player is dealt one card face down and a second card face up.

FIRST BET
The player with highest face-up card opens.

SECOND DEAL
Each player is dealt one card, face up.

SECOND BET
The player with the highest visible pair (if none, the highest face-up card) opens.

REST OF GAME
One card is dealt face up to all players, followed by a round of betting. This is repeated until all players have five cards each.

STRATEGY TIPS
An unpaired ace or A-K combination often wins this game. Keep in mind that the odds of pairing your
hole card
are only 20–25 percent, so don’t count on pairing up. Conversely, bet as aggressively as possible if you have a hidden pair.

VARIATION 1: FIVE STUD HIGH-LOW

This is similar to the basic game, except that the pot is split 50-50 between the highest and lowest winning hands.

RULE CHANGE
Any player may ask to receive his fifth card face down (this is called a
swap
).When swapping, players turn up their hole card for all to see. They then receive the fifth card face down.

STRATEGY TIPS
The fifth card swap can be an important part of your betting strategy. For example, use the swap aggressively (by disclosing a previously hidden pair) or defensively (by disclosing an inside straight or four-card flush, and possibly scaring off the competition).

VARIATION 2: FOUR FLUSH

Use this variation to spice up either the basic stud or high-low games.

RULE CHANGE
A “four flush” is any hand with four cards of the same suit. This beats any pair, but loses to any two pair or higher hand. A four flush does not affect low hands. For example, a player with 8 of hearts-6 of hearts-5 of hearts-2 of hearts-7 of diamonds could win the low hand (8 high) and the high hand (four flush).

STRATEGY TIPS
Even starting with three cards of the same suit, you have only a 25 percent chance of suiting up on the fourth or fifth cards. These odds are not great.

VARIATION 3: LET IT RIDE

This is a popular casino variation, no doubt because the odds of winning are against you! All players play alone, against the dealer.

RULE CHANGE
Each player puts three bets of equal amount in front of them—typically three stacks of $2 or $5 in chips. All players and the dealer each receive three cards face down. The dealer immediately discards one card without looking. All other players look at their three cards and ask for one of their three bets back (by sweeping their cards along the table, as in blackjack) or agree to “let it ride” by doing nothing. The dealer returns any bets requested (leaving some players with three stacks of chips, others with two) and then turns up one card.