The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (178 page)

Seventy-Five (75432 of mixed suits), unless it is agreed to count Ace

low, when it is a Sixty-Four (6432A).

Lowbal Here the pot is won exclusively by the lowest hand. In

Kansas City Lowbal , the lowest is a Seventy-Five. In British

Lowbal , Ace can count low, making the lowest hand 6432A,

known as a royal six. In California Lowbal , straights and flushes are

ignored, so the lowest possible is 5432A, known as a wheel or

bicycle.

Seven-Card Draw When fewer than five play the winning hands are

mostly rather dul . They can be improved by playing Seven-Card

Draw. Each receives seven cards, and, in the draw, discards two

more than cal ed for, thereby ending up with a five-card hand.

Strip Poker Whoever has the lowest hand removes an article of

clothing specifiedby the winner. Alternatively, bets are madein

termsof clothing, one article being equivalent to one chip; but this

is suitable only for players in an urgent hurry. The main problem

with Strip Poker is that it is dif icult to tel who has won, and why.

Stud Poker

2-8 players, 52 cards

Stud Poker livens the game up by increasing the amount of

information available and the number of players to eight – or even

more, as several players can usual y be expected to fold before

more cards need to be dealt.

Five-Card Stud (Short Stud)

The dealer antes as many chips as there are players (unless it’s

agreed that everyone antes for themselves) and deals each player a

hole-card face down and an upcard face up. Everyone examines

their hole-card and replaces it face down and half covered by their

upcard. First to speak is the player showing the highest card or, if

equal, the matching player nearest from the dealer’s left. When bets

have al been equalized, a second card is dealt face up, then a third,

and final y a fourth, with a bet ing interval after each. At each deal

the opening bet is made by

the player showing the best combination (pair, three of a

kind, etc.)

or, if none, the player showing the highest card or cards

or, if equal, the player nearest from the dealer’s left.

The game ends on the last round when al but one player have

folded, or when everyone has cal ed or passed, in which case

everyone reveals their hole-card for the showdown.

Canadian Stud

Five-CardStud admit ing four-card straights, flushes and straight

flushes as acceptable hands. A fourstraight beats two pairs, a

flushes as acceptable hands. A fourstraight beats two pairs, a

fourflush beats a fourstraight, and a four-card straight flush beats a

ful house.

Seven-Card Stud (Long Stud)

This variety continues to enjoy world-wide popularity. Deal two

hole-cards and one face up. After a bet ing interval, deal a second, a

third, and a fourth face up, then a third face down, with a bet ing

interval after each. In a showdown, everyone selects the best five of

their seven cards. Can be played Hi-Lo or Lowbal . In Hi-Lo, you

can’t go for low if any of your upcards is higher than an Eight. (‘An

awful hybrid, but for some reason fairly wel spread in Poker circles

in the US and the UK,’ says Dan Glimne.)

Razz

Lowbal Seven-Card Stud.

English Long Stud

A hybrid of Stud and Draw recorded only in British books. Play as

above until everyone has received five cards and the bet ing interval

is closed. Each in turn may then either stand pat or make one

discard in return for a replacement. The replacement is dealt face

down or up depending on whether the abandoned card was down

or up. A bet ing interval fol ows. Anyone who discarded on the

previous round may then either stand pat or make one more

discard, which again matches up or down the card it replaces. A

final bet ing interval fol ows.

Mexican Stud (Flip Stud, Five-Card Turn-up,

Peep-and-Turn)

You get two cards face down and, after looking at them, turn one of

them face up. Each of the next three is dealt face down, and you

may either ‘flip’ it (turn it up) or leave it down, in which case you

flip the previous hole-card instead. Players must flip simultaneously

so as not to influence one another’s choice of flip-card.

Often played as low card wild. (See Wild-card Poker.)

Basebal

One of the most popular of the ‘fancy’ games in domestic circles,

though despised by the experts. The significance of its various

features wil be apparent if you know how America’s national

outdoor sport works, and irrelevant if you don’t, so we’l take them

as read.

Play as Seven-Card Stud. Al Threes and Nines are wild. Anyone

dealt a Three face up must immediately double the pot or fold.

Anyone dealt a Four face up is immediately dealt an additional

hole-card as a bonus, and wil therefore enter the showdown (if he

doesn’t fold) with a choice of five from eight cards instead of seven.

Under these rules (there are variations) the average hand is at least

four of a kind. Experts say it is one of the best games for ‘reading’

tight players.

Stud Poker. From five- to eight-card Stud. In each case the first

bet ing interval usual y occurs after the deal of the first upcard, and

another fol ows each card subsequently dealt.

Chicago

Seven-Card Stud in which the pot is equal y split between the

player with the best hand and the player with the highest hole-card

of the spade suit. The point is to encourage players with weak

hands to stay in the game.

Flop Poker(Hold ’em, etc.)

2-9 players, 52 cards

One or more cards may be dealt face up to the table and counted

by each player as part of their own hand. Such cards constitute the

flop. The most popular example, Texas Hold ’em, is largely

responsible for the phenomenal rise in the popularity of Poker

since the 1990s.

Hold ’em (Texas Hold ’em)

This has been the professionals’ high-stakes game for many years

now and is annual y featured in major tournaments such as The

World Series of Poker and the Carnivale of Poker, both at Las

Vegas.

Deal two hole cards to each player. Bet. Deal a three-card flop

face up and bet again. Then deal a fourth card (the ‘turn’) and fifth

(the ‘river’) face up to the flop, with a bet ing interval after each. At

(the ‘river’) face up to the flop, with a bet ing interval after each. At

a showdown, players may use any five cards out of the seven

comprised by their own two and the flop. If no one can improve on

the complete five-card flop, then no one wins and the pot is shared.

Bedsprings

Deal five hole-cards, bet, then ten flops face down in two rows of

five (see il ustration). The flop cards are faced one at a time with a

bet ing interval after each. Each player counts any pair of vertical y

adjacent cards as part of his own hand, and any five of those seven

as his final hand.

Cincinnati

Deal five hole-cards, bet, then five flop cards face down. These are

faced one at a time with a bet ing interval after each. Each player

chooses any five out of the ten available.

Crossover

Deal five each, bet, then five flop cards face down in a cross (see

il ustration). These are faced, the arms first and the centre one last,

with a bet ing interval after each. Each player counts any five from

the five of his own hand plus either the vertical or the horizontal

line of three in the cross.

Omaha

An informal relative of Hold ’em. Deal two hole-cards each,

fol owed by a bet ing interval, fol owed by five flop cards face up

with a bet ing interval after each. At as how down, players must use

their two hole-cards and may use any three upcards. Often played

hi-lo.

Procter and Gamble

Deal four hole-cards, bet, then three flop cards face down, each of

which is flipped (faced) one at a time, with a bet ing interval after

each. The rank of the third flop is wild.

Seven-Card Mutual

As Omaha, but: two hole-cards, a four-card flop, and a third hole-

card to each.

Flop Poker. Layouts for Hold ’em and other varieties of Poker with

a flop.

Spit in the Ocean

The ancestral game was basical y a variant of Draw designed for

more players at a table. Deal four cards each and one face up to the

centre. This card, the eponymous ‘spit’, counts as the fifth card in

everybody’s hand. For fun, the spit itself, or al four cards of the

same rank, may be designated wild.

Wild-card Poker

2 or more players, 52 cards

Any form of Poker may be played with one or more wild cards. A

wild card is one which its holder may count as any card lacking

from his hand, though sometimes with restrictions. The purpose is

to increase the chances of making the higher and more interesting

combinations, such as four or five of a kind and a straight flush.

Which cards are made wild depends on how many are wanted: the

more there are, the higher the winning hands, and the more

incalculable the mathematics involved. For one wild card, add a

Joker; for two, specify ‘one-eyed Jacks’; for four, any given rank; for

eight, any two ranks; and so on. Wilder stil are variable wild cards

– for example, Stud is often played with a rule that any card

subsequently dealt to a player that matches the rank of his hole-

card is wild, but for that player only.

Although wild cards alter the mathematics, they do not normal y