Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (81 page)

Where you sit is an important factor. The dealer has the best position, as being “on the button” means you always act last and can decide to fold, raise, or re-raise based on how your opponents play. Conversely, the worst seats at the table are the so-called “early positions”—the first three players left of the button, who must act without knowing anything about the other players’ hands.

Finally, a piece of advice for first-time players: the best Texas Hold’em players either raise bets or fold; they almost never call a bet.

It is wholly appropriate—not to mention a smart play—to “muck” your cards (discard without showing them to anyone) if you win a pot because all other players folded.

VARIATION 1: POT LIMIT TEXAS HOLD’EM

This is played exactly like the standard game except that raises and re-raises are limited to the current value of the pot. So if the pot holds $15.25 at the start of a betting round, the maximum bet, raise, and re-raise is $15.25. All money added to the pot in the same betting round is not incrementally added to the pot total; the pot total is not recalculated or adjusted until the following round of betting.

VARIATION 2: NO LIMIT TEXAS HOLD’EM

This is the game you see played on late-night television. It’s the most gutsy and dramatic way of playing Texas Hold’em because any player may—at any time—declare himself
all-in
and bet everything he has on the table (you may
not buy in or use money not already on the table). In some cases, an all-in bet is less than the current pot’s total. If this happens, create a
side pot
that the all-in player cannot win.

VARIATION 3: OMAHA

Omaha is Texas Hold’em with more cards, more action, and more betting. On the initial deal, all players receive four cards, face down. The game proceeds as normal until the showdown, during which the winning hand must use
exactly
two hole cards and three community cards.

Flushes and straights are common in Omaha, so it’s important to have a high card in the hole to gain an edge. It’s also a good idea to bet hard if you have a strong opening hand—your opponents likely will improve their hands if you let them stay in the game. Like all Texas Hold’em variations, you may play Omaha with a limit, pot limit, or no limit.

VARIATION 4: BUSH LEAGUE

Follow the general rules of Omaha, but deal the communal cards face down. These are turned up one at a time, followed by a betting round. All 3s and 9s are wild, and when a communal 4 is turned up, all players receive an extra hole card from the deck. As in Omaha, the winning hand must use exactly two hole cards and three community cards.

VARIATION 5: PINEAPPLE

This game is essentially basic Texas Hold’em with one nasty little twist. On the initial deal, all players receive three cards face down (instead of two). Continue play as normal. After the flop and a round of betting, each player must throw out one hole card, face down. This card is useless for the remainder of the game. So, even if you’re dealt A-A-A and the flop contains A-K-Q, you must discard one of your pocket aces. The remainder of the game continues as normal.

VARIATION 6: BAGUDI

This is lowball Texas Hold’em played with draw cards. Follow the standard Hold’em rules, but deal each player four hole cards instead of two. After a betting round, the small blind may draw zero to four cards from the deck; then the draw moves clockwise around the table. Reshuffle the discards when the stock is low. Once all players have drawn cards, a betting round is followed by a second draw, a bet, a third draw, and a final bet. Aces are always low in Bagudi, so the best low hand is 4-3-2-A. Ties split the pot evenly.

1. DIFFICULTY
   :
   medium
   
2. TIME LENGTH
   :
   long
   
3. DECKS
   : 1
   

Look no further if you’re searching for a serious pot-building game. 7–27 is one of those games that infuriates some players because the betting never seems to stop, at least not until every last player has exactly the cards they want. The upshot? Pots in 7–27 grow quickly.

The goal is to collect cards as close as possible in value to 7 or 27. The pot is split 50-50 between the player closest to 7 and the player closest to 27.

Use a standard fifty-two-card deck. When calculating hand values, all face cards are worth ½ point, and aces are worth either 1 or 11 points (your choice). All other cards are worth their
index value
. Aces may be played both high and low in the same hand—for example, the best possible hand is 5-A-A because it totals to both 7 and 27.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS
4 to 10

INITIAL DEAL
All players ante and receive one card face down, one card face up.

FIRST BET
The player to the left of the dealer opens the betting. The betting ends as soon as all players pass the bet.

REST OF GAME
All players (starting with the player to the left of the dealer) either draw a single face-up card or stay. It’s perfectly acceptable to stay one round and jump back in the next. The player to the left of the dealer opens the betting after each drawing round.

There’s an immediate showdown when no players want an extra card. The pot is split 50-50 between the two players closest to 7 and 27. In case of an exact tie (two players both have 27 exactly) they split 50-50 the 50 percent share of the pot awarded for holding 27. In case of non-exact ties (one player holds 26½ and a second holds 27½), the player below the target wins outright
(the player holding 26½ wins the entire 50 percent share of the pot awarded for holding 27). It’s also possible for a single player to win both 7 and 27, in which case they capture 100 percent of the pot.

VARIATION: 31

Instead of splitting the pot 50-50 between two players, the entire pot is awarded to the player closest to 31. All face cards are worth 10 points, aces are worth 1 or 11, and all other cards are worth their
index value.
After an ante, all players receive one card face up and one card face down. There’s a round of betting, followed by a third (and final) card dealt face up to all players. After a final betting round, the player closest to 31 wins the pot. Ties split the pot evenly.

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

This game is hugely popular throughout the United Kingdom and its former colonies, and for good reason. It’s a superb betting game that blends skill and luck in just the right amounts. The betting process can confuse seven-card-stud poker players. Don’t let that stop you from introducing Three-Card Brag and its variants at your next home game.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS
4 to 8

HOW TO DEAL
Use a standard fifty-two-card deck. The rank of cards is standard, with aces always high. The hand rankings in Three-Card Brag (low to high) are:

HIGH CARD
In a showdown, the highest-ranking card wins, so A-5-6 beats K-Q-10.

PAIR
In a showdown, the higher pair wins (A-A-5 beats K-K-Q). When the pairs are of equal rank, the highest
kicker
card wins (Q-Q-10 beats Q-Q-4).

FLUSH
Three cards of matching suit. In a showdown, the flush with the highest-ranking card wins, so A of hearts-5 of hearts-4 of hearts beats K of hearts-Q of hearts-9 of hearts.

RUN
Three cards in sequence, in mixed suits. The highest run is A-3-2, followed by A-K-Q, K-Q-J, etc.

RUNNING FLUSH
Three cards in sequence, in matching suit. The highest running flush is A-3-2, followed by A-K-Q, K-Q-J, Q-J-10, etc.