This list originally compiled by Tim P. McNerney. Many Thanks.
NAME: 5-card Draw
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-6, 7 w/small possiblilty of reshuffle
INITIAL DEAL: five down cards to each player
PLAY: There is a betting round after the deal, starting with the player to the
left of the dealer. After the betting round, each player is allowed to
trade up to three cards with the deck. There is then another betting
round, after which the players remaining show their hands.
RANK OF HANDS: standard poker hands
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Adding wild cards to play (and allowing five-of-a-kinds if chosen).
Requiring a minimum hand to open first betting round.
Allowing for four card draw with an ace.
STRATEGY:
If you want strategy for this game, go buy a book.
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NAME: 5-card Stud
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-10
INITIAL DEAL: varies
PLAY: Same as 7-card stud but with five cards. Usually dealt 2d-3u, 1d-4u or
1d-3u-1d.
RANK OF HANDS: poker
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
STRATEGY:
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NAME: 7/27
TYPE: counting
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4-10
INITIAL DEAL: one card down, one card up to each player
PLAY: The object is to get as close to seven or 27 as possible. The value of
the cards is one or eleven for aces, 1/2 for face cards and face value
for all other cards. Alternating, rotating rounds of betting and taking
another card ensue until there is a round where no one takes a card. A
player can take a card on any round irregardless of his actions on previous
rounds. A final betting round, a declaration for hi, lo or both, and then
a showdown, follow. If two people are the same distance from 7 or 27, they
split the pot.
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Setting inside, outside, high or low to be better (Ex. with inside, 7 1/2
beats 6 1/2 and 26 1/2 beats 27 1/2).
STRATEGY:
Bluffing in this game occurs mostly for the low hand. And when I say
bluffing, I mean balls-out, it's only money, never let them see you sweat,
I didn't bring any money anyway, here are the keys to my car bluffing.
Thus, if you can make a stab at it, it is often worth your while to go low.
Going high means that it will be a while, and often a few quarters, before
you know what you have. And if your bluff is not working, you can always
decide to go high later (right Craig?). By the same token, don't be
scared out with an eight because someone with a five showing keeps
throwing in quarters. Most importantly in 7/27, though, is to remember
that if you get an A-A-5, DO NOT begin dancing around and singing "I'm in
the Money", as this is considered bad taste and will tend to decrease the
amount you milk from the suckers (I mean, other players).
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NAME: 7-card Stud
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player
PLAY: Betting round starting with the high hand showing. Then another card
is dealt up and another betting round. Repeat until four cards are face
up. Then a final card is dealt down and a final betting round held.
RANK OF HANDS: poker using best five cards.
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Adding wild cards to play (and allowing five-of-a-kinds if chosen).
STRATEGY:
See strategy for five-card-draw.
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NAME: Anaconda (Pass the Trash)
TYPE: hi-lo
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4-7
INITIAL DEAL: seven down cards to each player
PLAY: There is a betting round, which rotates, followed by each player passing
three cards to the person to their left. Another betting round, then each
player passes two of his seven (four kept + three from the right) cards
to the left. Another betting round and then one card is passed. Each
player then chooses five of his seven cards to play and discards his extra
two cards. Play continues, alternating between betting and rolling a card.
Cards must be rolled in the order they were put down. Cards speak for
themselves.
RANK OF HANDS: poker
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
The cards are passed to other than the person to the left (Ex. 3-left,
2-right, 1-left or 3-left, 2-two-to-the-left, 1-three-to-the-left).
The player keeps all seven cards at the end and chooses which to turn up.
This allows the player to change from hi to lo depending on what is
being played.
STRATEGY:
Full house usually wins high in this game, though every once in a while a
black horse hand will snatch victory away. If you have jacks over or
better, you are pretty much in it till the end, unless you realize you
passed four aces to your neighbor. Which brings up the point, remember
what you pass your neighbor, you may end up battling him in the end. Low
hand is usually 8 high or better, but sometimes everyone decides to go
high, so it is usually worth it to throw in a card. Pay attention to what
has been turned up, so you don't give yourself an ulcer worrying if
Tom has the spade straight flush when Craig breaks it up (this is really
an unnecessary as someone is usually generous enough to point out the
failed bluff attempt).
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NAME: Auction
TYPE: hi-lo
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down to each player
PLAY: A number of cards equal to the number of players is turned up in the
middle of the table. Each person then secretlychooses an amount of at
least a nickel and places it in their hand. Then everyone drops their
coins at once. The person who "bid" highest gets to choose his card
first. Then the person who "bid" second highest and so on. If more
than one person bid the same amount, then the person nearest a spot
rotating clockwise from the left of the dealer chooses first with
the other people choosing in clockwise order. This continues until
all people have 7 cards. Then there is a single betting round
starting with the high hand on the table. Then, declare for high, low
or both.
RANK OF HANDS: poker
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
STRATEGY:
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NAME: Baseball
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two down and one up
PLAY: In this game, threes and nines are wild, and a four up allows you to buy
an extra card. If a player gets a four up, he has the option to buy an
additional card for $.25, which comes either up or down as decided
beforehand.
RANK OF HANDS: poker, with or without ?-of-a-kind (? > 4), with recommended
because of the large number of wildcards and possiblity of > 7 cards in
the hand
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Rainouts - queen of spades up means that the cards are redealt, but only
for those players who are still in.
Luxury tax - charge for threes and nines
Paying x for additional card up, y for down.
STRATEGY:
With eight wild and extra cards, it is usually fair to say, if you ain't
got 'em, get out. That is unless you are dealt a natural royal flush.
Rainouts can be nice when someone else has a nine and two fours showing,
but don't count on them to save you, unless you really want to, of course.
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NAME: Chicago
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player
PLAY: Betting round starting with the high hand showing. Then another card
is dealt up and another betting round. Repeat until four cards are face
up. Then a final card is dealt down and a final betting round held.
The one variation between this and 7-card stud is that the high spade in
the hole splits the spot.
RANK OF HANDS: poker using best five cards
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Adding wild cards to play (and allowing five-of-a-kinds if chosen).
STRATEGY:
Always remember, you can get the ace of spades on the last card.
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NAME: Elevator Shafts
TYPE: hi-lo
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4-11
INITIAL DEAL: four cards to each player and seven down on the table, arranged
in two rows of three (the shafts) and one in between (the elevator)
PLAY: Table cards are turned up one at a time, followed by betting rounds.
The player will use the four cards in his hand along with three on the
table to create a seven card hand. The player must use the elevator and
one card from each shaft, and the three cards must be in a line, though
the elevator can be in any of the three possible positions. For example,
the * cards in the following table cards could be used:
* * * C C C C * C C *
C C * * * C C C * C C * C
C C C C * * * C * * C
So the middle card can be thought of to be on any "floor". The order
of determing which card to flip is such that the elevator is turned over
last and no two shaft cards which can be used in the same hand be turned
up until necessary. After all seven cards have been turned up, there is
a final betting round and then each player must declare whether they are
going high, lo or both. If the go for both, both hands must be made up
of the four cards in their hand and ONE set of three from the table. They
may not use one set for high and one for low.
RANK OF HANDS: normal poker hands for high and low
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
One evil variation of this game is to make the middle card wild.
STRATEGY:
It is usually pretty easy for someone to get either a straght or a flush,
considering they have five possible set of three cards. If the middle
card is good for you, then you are pretty happy, but then again, you don't
get to see it till the end and if you stay in till the end hoping that
the middle card is going to make your hand, it will end up being the worst
card possible.
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NAME: Follow the Queens
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards down and one up to each player
PLAY: Play the same as 7-card stud, with the following variations. The card
dealt after an up queen is wild. If another queen comes up, the previous
wild card is replaced by the card after the queen, so there is at most
one wild card. If a queen is the last up card dealt, the previous wild
card remains.
RANK OF HANDS: poker, with or without five-of-a-kinds
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Pay for wild cards.
Queens are wild, also.
If last card up is a queen, no wild cards.
All cards after a queen are wild (no cancellations).
STRATEGY:
Basically, play like 7-stud with a wild and hope you don't get screwed.
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NAME: Indian Poker
TYPE: bluff your ass off
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-10
INITIAL DEAL: one card to each player, $1 fine and out if player looks at his
own card
PLAY: Each player holds his card up so that everyone else can see it. Then
starting with the player to the left of the dealer, betting begins. There
should really be no limit in this game, since otherwise it is difficult to
scare people out, but to each his own. Once the betting is down with,
each player looks at his card and the winner takes his pot. The deal then
rotates to the left. The game continues for one deck. This is the
ultimate game of bluff and balls.
RANK OF HANDS: ace high, two lo
STANDARD VARIATIONS: none
STRATEGY:
You will never bluff someone out if you call. You may look silly rasing
$.50 while holding a two, but you will look even sillier calling against
an ace.
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NAME: Jacks to Open, Tripps to Win
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: five cards to each player
PLAY: Played like 5-card draw, with the following differences. Jacks or better
are needed to open the betting (if no one can open, re-ante and re-deal).
Then there is the standard betting round, draw and betting round. Then,
if anyone has three-of-a-kind or better, he says so, and the highest hand
wins. If not, then everyone who is still in gets another opportunity to
draw. If a player has at least three-of-a-kind, he must say so and cannot
keep drawing. This game almost always requires reshuffling and it must
be decided beforehand when to reshuffle (after the last card, when there
are less than 3 cards left or when the player asks for more than the number
of cards left).
RANK OF HANDS: poker
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
STRATEGY:
It is pretty unlikely to get tripps on the first draw, so don't be scared
out right away. If you are dealt two pair, it is usually wise to ditch
one so you have a better shot at tripps. It is often wise to bet high
with a pair to scare people out so they don't have a chance to burn you.
A good method for bluffing with a pair is to only draw two on the first
round. It decrease your chances of actually getting tripps, but it sure
increases the odds of convincing people you have tripps.
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NAME: Liar's Poker
TYPE: poker, sort of
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-10
PLAY: Each player puts two quarters in front of him. Everyone is then dealt
two down cards. The first person calls a poker hand. After that, a
person must call a hand which beats the previous hand or call the hand.
If a person calls the hand, then everyones cards are pooled to determine
if the hand exists. If it does, the person who called the game loses
one of his quarters and starts the next game, with only one card dealt to
him (if he only had one quarter, he is out and play begins with the next
person in order). Deck is reshuffled after each round. Game ends when
only one person has a quarter left.
RANK OF HANDS: singleton, pair, two pair, three-of-a-kind, straight, flush,
full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Throwing up an extra card for the hand after each player.
Adding a card for reversals.
STRATEGY:
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NAME: Lowball
TYPE: lo
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: five cards to each player
PLAY: Played like 5-card draw, except trying for worst hand.
RANK OF HANDS: lo hands
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
STRATEGY:
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NAME: Mexican Stud
TYPE: hi-lo
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4-10
INITIAL DEAL: two cards to each player
PLAY: Players roll one of their two cards and then there is a betting round.
This continues until one down, four up. Declaration of high, lo, or both.
Down card is wild for both.
RANK OF HANDS: Poker, usually with five-of-a-kind.
STANDARD VARIATIONS: none
STRATEGY:
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NAME: Nickel-Dime-Quarter
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: two cards to every player and two up cards on the table, one being
the nickel card, the other the dime card
PLAY: Players build their hands by drawing and paying for a nickel card, a dime
card or a quarter card (from the deck). Nickel and dime cards stay up,
quarter cards stay down. If a nickel card is bought, dime becomes nickel,
quarter becomes dime. If a dime card is bought, quarter becomes dime.
This continues until everyone has seven cards. There is one betting
round.
RANK OF HANDS: poker
STANDARD VARIATIONS: none
STRATEGY:
Flushes and straights are fairly easy to get. Buying quarter cards
allows for more bluffing. It also makes it more likely that you will be
able to buy the nickel and dime cards you want (since you want have some
bozo saying, "Nothing is going to help me much, so I think I'll take that
dime card to screw _____ over"). It is not worth dropping out until it
is impossible to beat a straight, and even then it might be worth staying
in if you can still beat what is on the table. This is a fairly cheap
game if you so choose, and even if you throw in quarters each time, it
shouldn't cost much more than $2.
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NAME: Night Baseball
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: seven cards face down to each player and one up card on the
table. If a player looks at his down cards, he puts in $1 and is out
if he did so on purpose.
PLAY: This game is similar to baseball, except you don't get to look at your
cards. The player to the left of the dealer starts rolling cards until
he can beat what is on the table (the up card). He pays any luxury taxes
imposed or for additional cards. There is a betting round as soon as he
beats what is on the table. If he does not beat what is on the table,
then there is no betting round. The next player then tries to beat the
high hand. Each time the previous high hand is beaten, there is a
betting round. The game continues until all the cards have been turned
up or there is only one person left in the game.
RANK OF HANDS: poker, with or without ?-of-a-kind (? > 4)
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Because the order of play matters (though I don't know which is the
best place to be), you might want to play a couple of rounds starting
at different places.
STRATEGY:
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NAME: Numbers
TYPE: counting, hi-lo
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4-8
INITIAL DEAL: five cards to each player and seven down cards on the table
(usually in a row)
PLAY: A card on the table is turned over. Anyone with that card in their
must throw them out on the table. There is then a betting round which
starts with the player to the left of the dealer and then rotates clockwise
each round thereafter. After this, play alternates between turning up
cards and betting rounds. If a card which is turned up is already up on
the table, then it is discarded and the top card from the deck replaces
it. This card must also be unique or more cards will be used from the
deck, thus guaranteeing that seven different cards will be thrown out.
If anyone looses all his cards, they win the pot. After all cards have
been turned up and the last betting round, each player must declare high,
low or both.
RANK OF HANDS: high and low are determined by point totals, with cards being
their face value, face cards being ten and aces being one or fifteen (thus
allowing for the both option).
STANDARD VARIATIONS: none
STRATEGY:
55 is a good hand, as is one. Other than that, things are hard to
predict, without knowing how many cards people have, and what cards are
left. One could say > 30 is usually a decent hand, but if everyone has
five cards left and the 2-3-4-5-6-7-8 are out, I would advise against
heavy betting with a 36. By the same token, if no one has more than
two cards left, that pair o' aces is looking mighty fine for high. Even
if there are some people with three cards, but the 10-J-K are out, you
have a very good shot at high (and low, for that matter).
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NAME: Polish
TYPE: hi-lo
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4-10
INITIAL DEAL: down card to each player
PLAY: The dealer deals an up card to the player to his left. The player has
the option of either keeping that card or passing it on. If he passes it
on, he gets dealt the next card up and the next player is given the same
option. If he keeps it, the next player is dealt the next card up. This
continues until all players have five cards. There is a betting round
each time the deal makes it around. Everyone then declares hi, lo or both.
The hole card is wild for high.
RANK OF HANDS: poker, usually with 5-of-a-kind
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
You can have the extra card thrown away after each round.
STRATEGY:
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NAME: Roll Your Own
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: three down cards to each player
PLAY: Each player decides which card he wants to turn up, then all the players
turn up their cards at one time, followed by a betting round. Repeat
until four cards are face down. The last card is dealt down, but no
rolling, and there is a final betting round, followed by the showdown.
RANK OF HANDS: poker using five best cards.
STANDARD VARIATIONS:
Adding wild cards to play.
Having the low card in the hole being wild. Called Mexican Stud.
STRATEGY:
Throwing twos is almost always good idea (except, perhaps for bluffing)
since it prevents twos from nullifying other down pairs (for example,
a pair of threes and a two down is probably not as good as a pair of
threes and something else down).
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NAME: Threes
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-5 (this games uses a lot of cards so there is still the
chance of running out of cards with four or five)
INITIAL DEAL: five cards to each player
PLAY: This games is played similar to 5-card draw, except there are three
drawing rounds with betting rounds 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.
RANK OF HANDS: five-of-a-kinds allowed
STANDARD VARIATIONS: none
STRATEGY:
Don't throw away threes.
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NAME: English Stud
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-7 (You can play with 8 or more, but either people
must fold or you'll have to reshuffle the cards. Since no more
than 5 cards are out at once, 10 is a theoretical max).
INITIAL DEAL: 2 down, one up.
PLAY: This game starts out similiar to 7 card stud. However, after the
fifth card is dealt and the betting is done, the player to the
dealers left must discard a down card, an up card or stand pat.
If he discards a card, his new card is dealt the same way. If
you discarded a down card, you get a down card. Discard an up card,
get an up card. After you get a card, you should have 2 down and
three up. After the 6th card and betting, there is another round
of card exchanging, then a final round of betting and showdown.
Remember, it is important that players discard and get cards in order.
drawing rounds with betting rounds betting rounds before, between and
STANDARD VARIATIONS: none, really.
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NAME: Cincinatti
TYPE: poker
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-9
INITIAL DEAL: five cards to each player, five cards (face down) in
the center of the table.
PLAY: One of the center cards is flipped up, followed by a round of
betting. Repeat. (Flip up a card and a round of betting).
After the last round of betting, there is a showdown, each
player making the best hand possible out of their 5 cards and
the five cards in the middle.
RANK OF HANDS: Standard
STANDARD VARIATIONS: Criss-Cross (aka Souther Cross) has the cards
lined in a cross. The outside cards are flipped (top, right,
bottom, left) and then the center card is flipped. Players
can pull cards from their hand and either across (left,
center, right) or up-down (top, center, bottom) to form
their hand. For a truely evil variant, the center card,
and all cards of that rank, are wild.
STRATEGY: Typical winners are full houses, and with a pair
on the board, expect a full house or four of a kind to win.
However, without a pair, a flush or even a straight might
take the pot.