Poker and Other Card Games

I love playing poker and other card games, so here are some of my favorites with the variations I like to use.

HEARTS is most commonly played by 4 people. Each heart is worth +1 point, Jack of diamonds is worth -10 points, and the queen of spades is worth +13 penalty points. The other cards have no value. However, if you manage to win all the + scoring cards (which is known as shooting the moon), your score is reduced by 26 points. The object of the game is to avoid scoring points and the games ends when you reach the predetermined score. All the cards are dealt out one at a time, so that everyone has 13.

On the first hand, after the deal, each player passes any three cards face-down to the player to their left. On the second hand each player passes three cards to the player to their right. On the third hand each player passes three cards to the player sitting opposite. On the fourth hand no cards are passed at all. The cycle then repeats until the end of the game.

The person who holds the 2 of clubs must lead it to the first trick. The other players, in clockwise order, must play a card of the suit which was led if possible. If they do not have a card of that suit, they may play any card. The person who played the highest card of the suit led wins the trick and leads to the next trick.

It is illegal to lead a heart until after a heart has been played (as a discard) to another trick, unless your hand contains nothing but hearts. Discarding a heart, thus allowing hearts to be led in future, is called breaking hearts.

7 - 27 is a betting game that doesn't use poker rankings, instead the rankings are numeric like Black Jack. Numeric cards are worth their given value (1 is 1 point, 2 is 2 points, etc.). Face cards are 1/2 point each and aces are either 1 or 11. One card is dealt face down and another card is dealt face up to start the game. From now on after each round is dealt, a round of betting ensues. The point of the game is to get as close to 7 or 27 as you can. The closest player to those numbers splits the pot. Each player declares to the dealer if they want a card for each round (and only one card is dealt per person on a given round). The ultimate hand is 5-A-A which totals 7 and 27.

FOUR 7's is a betting game which uses Black Jack scoring (face cards are 10, Aces are 1 or 11, and the other cards are as indicated). The object of the game is to 1) discard all 4 of your cards 2) get the best high hand or 3) get the best low hand. 4 cards are dealt face down to each player. Now the dealer flips one card at a time in the center of the table. If a player has that card, then it is discarded from the players hand and a round of betting occurs. The dealer repeats this process until 7 UNIQUE cards have been shown. The first player to discard all 4 cards wins. If no players have gone "out" after 7 unique cards have been shown, then the players determine if they will go high or low. A new round of betting occurs and then the high and low winners split the pot.

ACY-DEUCY is a betting game where each player competes individually at a chance to win the money in the pot. Two cards are turned over face up in front of the play to the dealer's left. The player bets any amount up to the value in the pot on the chance that the 3rd card flipped will fall in between the value of the first 2 cards. For example, if a 5 and 10 are shown, the bet is based on getting a 6, 7, 8, 9. If one of those cards is flipped, then the player wins, if not the player adds the betted amount to the pot. If a 5 or 10 are flipped the player has to pay double. After the 1st player is done, the dealer flips 2 more for the next player and so on. If an Ace is flipped, the player has to declare high or low. The game continues until the pot is cleared out. The best thing to do is chant "BET THE POT" when it's not your turn.

POKER

There are many games of poker and with them the common theme is the rank of cards. The rank and odds are as follows:

POKER GAMES

7 CARD STUD 7 cards total are dealt to each player in the following manner - 2 face down, 4 face up, then 1 face down. Betting occurs after the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th card are dealt out. Best hand using 5 out of your 7 cards. You can play hi/lo so that the high winner splits the pot with the low winner. There are many variation of 7 card stud with wild cards, such as Follow the Queen, Baseball, Jackson 5, and low spade in the hole.

5 CARD STUD This game varies on the number of face up and face down cards. 1 face down, 3 face up, 1 face down is one way to do it. You can add a "roll 1" where players can trade in 1 card for a new card or hi/lo as variations.

OMAHA 4 cards are dealt out to each player, face down, and 3 common cards are displayed face up. Betting occurs after the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th card are dealt out. You can play hi/lo so that the high winner splits the pot with the low winner.

5 CARD DRAW 5 cards are dealt face down to each player. A round of betting occurs and players are given the option to trade in up to 3 (4 if you have an ace) cards for new cards. Another round of betting occurs.

THE OTHER ACY-DEUCY The poker Acy-Deucy involves trying to get the best 2 card poker hand or the lowest 2 hand poker hand. The winners split the pot. 1 card is dealt out face up, and one face down. There are 4 rounds of betting and 3 opportunities to trade in either of your cards for a different card. High or low is declared and the winners split the pot.