Updated on July 13, 2024
Wild cards, matching the pot, and a fiery cross!
The game of
poker offers much more than🌻 traditional poker games. While many players today are
accustomed to more games played in a casino or poker room –🌻 games like Texas Hold’em,
Omaha, and Seven Card Stud – others may remember losing their shirts in a crazy home
🌻 game.
Those games at the kitchen table or back room with all sorts of differing card
numbers, wild cards, and other🌻 caveats make for some unique action at the
tables.
Here’s a look at some of those games. Grab your lucky charm🌻 and don’t get too
angry – in some of these games, suckouts are definitely on the menu.
#1 – Vanunu
This
was🌻 one of Daniel Negreanu’s favourite games growing up in Toronto, and he’s referenced
it often. Players are dealt all seven🌻 cards face down and roll their own, one at a
time. Bets are made until there are five upcards and🌻 two downcards.
This card game then
becomes a bit of an auction. Players can pitch a card back in, and buy🌻 another after
the last card is dealt face up, paying a predetermined amount for an upcard and twice
that for🌻 a downcard.
In Negreanu’s version, each player had to declare low, high, or
both by dropping coins on the table simultaneously🌻 – one for low, two for high, or
three for both. Players declaring both must win both ways, or they🌻 aren’t awarded any
of the pot. Additionally, if there are only multiple low declarations, the best low
hand scoops the🌻 entire pot with no high hand. It’s a unique game with many
variables.
So, this one can go from High-Low to🌻 Lowball, and players better get those
declarations right. Declaring both ways and then missing – that can be costly.
Hopefully,🌻 you’ll have Daniel’s reads and rake plenty of pots.
#2 – Pineapple and
Crazy/Lazy Pineapple
Pineapple poker has a “tropical twist” on🌻 traditional Texas
Hold’em and has become much-loved by many. In Pineapple, a player is dealt three cards
and then discards🌻 one before the first round of betting. The betting continues like in
traditional Texas Hold’em.
In Crazy Pineapple, players don’t discard🌻 until after the
flop. All other rules of Hold’em then apply. In Lazy Pineapple, players can hold onto
the three🌻 cards and then discard one after the river and last round of betting.
What’s
the catch? The extra card and discard🌻 element add an extra twist, and it inevitably
seems like a player pitches the wrong card back into the muck.🌻 You may have kept that
top pair, but that discarded card may have brought a straight. That deuce tossed in🌻 the
muck may have turned into trips with runner-runner 2s.
It’s enough to drive you crazy,
but a fun game nonetheless🌻 – and maybe worth serving up a nice frozen one too along
with the poker. Enjoy!
#3 – Criss Cross, Fiery🌻 Cross, or Iron Cross
There can be some
significant anticipation in this game. Each player is dealt four cards, and five🌻 cards
are also dealt face down in a “cross” formation in the centre of the table. After a
round of🌻 betting, one of the outside cards is turned up. Betting then continues, and
this pattern continues until only the centre🌻 card is face down.
The centre card is
turned last, and a final bet is made. Players have the option to🌻 use two, three, or
four of their cards and either the vertical or horizontal cards on the board and two🌻 of
their own.
There are numerous variations. Some allow for players to use more than two
of their hole cards or🌻 feature a high/low split. Another common addition is to make the
centre card wild – making for some interesting showdowns.🌻 That centre card could change
your hand entirely – good or bad. What had been a solid hand, can now🌻 be a costly
loser.
#4 – Irish Poker
This game combines a bit of Texas Hold’em and Omaha – and,
hopefully, a🌻 little luck of the Irish when it comes to your own hand. Players begin
with four cards and betting follows🌻 pre-flop in the traditional style.
However, after
the betting on the flop, players must discard two cards. The game is then🌻 played out as
in Hold’em. The discarding makes for some unique opportunities to cobble together a
hand, but would those🌻 two cards you threw away have made a better hand once the turn
and river are dealt?
No doubt, there will🌻 be plenty of thoughts like this at the
table:
“Damn, I’d have made a full house!”
“Those two spades on the turn🌻 and river
would have made me the nut flush if I’d kept that King. Argh!” Irish poker has a bit
🌻 more swing than Hold’em, and the above statements are all part of the fun. Just really
think about those cards🌻 you’re sending back.
#5 – Black Mariah or Low Chicago
Sometimes
it pays to do nothing more than get lucky. That certainly🌻 applies in these games. Black
Mariah and Low Chicago are versions of Seven-Card Stud. In Black Mariah, the player
with🌻 the high spade in the hole wins half the pot. That’s it. No three-betting, slow
playing, or in-depth analysis about🌻 any hand. Just get lucky enough to be dealt that
low spade and then keep that pot building – half🌻 of it is yours.
This was a favourite
of Phil Hellmuth growing up in Wisconsin. It must have been an interesting🌻 sight to see
the Poker Brat’s 3♠ beaten by the 2♠. That might have brought a bit of a rant.🌻 The game
is also often called Low Chicago with High Chicago being the opposite – the player with
the highest🌻 spade in the hole splitting the pot. This may not involve a lot of skill,
but it can make for🌻 some big pots.
Some players add a side pot to these games instead
of splitting the pot. Hellmuth’s games got even🌻 crazier, often with Deuces, One-Eyed
Jacks, and Suicide Kings as wild cards. The name “Black Mariah” may derive from the
🌻 villain in the Luke Cage Marvel comics. In the game, however, Black Mariah is a hero –
and can bring🌻 you plenty of profits.
#6 – Badugi
Be prepared to get confused or
frustrated. This game has gained more popularity in recent🌻 years with its inclusion in
some of the mixed games tournaments at the World Series of Poker and in the🌻 WSOP 2024,
Badugi had dedicated bracelet events for the first time. But it's certainly different
from traditional poker.
Badugi is a🌻 lowball game in which players are dealt four cards.
The game is played with blinds and features three drawing rounds.🌻 After betting, a
player can keep all his cards (called standing pat) or discard some or all.
Play
continues until all🌻 players have folded except one, or the third drawing round is
completed. The goal is to make the lowest hand🌻 possible without a pair and all cards of
a different suit. For example, A♥ 2♣ 3♦ 4♠ would be the🌻 lowest possible Badugi. A hand
with a pair or second card of the same suit, such as A♥ 2♣ 3♦🌻 7♣ or 6♥ 7♣ 8♦ 8♠, would
only qualify as a three-card Badugi. Either of these hands would lose to🌻 a completed
four-card Badugi. Straights and flushes don't count towards making a hand in
Badugi.
And that’s what can be frustrating.🌻 You may have A♥ 2♣ 3♦, and then keep
drawing another diamond, club, or heart – ouch!
Ready to mix this🌻 poker game up even
more? Badeucy is a combination of Badugi and 2-7 Triple Draw. Like Badugi, it features
three🌻 rounds of betting and drawing. The game splits the pot between the best four-card
Badugi hand and the best five-card🌻 2-7 hand. However, Aces count high in this game, so
the best Badugi hand would start with a 2, hence🌻 the name of the game. For example, a
player holding 2♣ 3♥ 4♠ 5♦ 7♦ would have the nuts in🌻 both Badugi and 2-7 – with the 2♣
3♥ 4♠ 5♦ as the best possible Badugi.
The challenge is that an🌻 extra card makes it
easier for players to make some lower Badugi hands. Higher Badugis will not win as
often,🌻 so that can be a challenge, especially in a game where players making solid
hands will continue to bet and🌻 grow the pot.
It’s a challenging game that makes you
think, but can be costly if you hang on too much🌻 hoping to outdraw opponents. Think low
in this Lowball/Lowball split pot game. Got all that?
#7 – Anaconda
Pass, pass, roll
those🌻 cards. This is a bastardised version of Seven-Card Stud in which players are
dealt seven cards face down. There is🌻 a round of betting and players then pass three
cards to a player to the left or right (determined by🌻 the dealer). After another round
of betting, players then pass two cards, and then finally one last card after another
🌻 round of betting.
Players then place their best five cards in a stack face down. Cards
are exposed one at a🌻 time followed by a betting round until all five are exposed. Some
players play with only two rounds of card🌻 passing, and it’s also often played as a
high-low split.
It can be a frustrating affair. You’ll often have to break🌻 up an
already nicely setup hand. And when you try going low, your neighbours will inevitably
pass you plenty of🌻 high cards.
Where did the name come from? That may be lost with
time, but perhaps it’s about the long time🌻 for betting or the snake of cards working
their way around the table. Whatever the inspiration, it can be a🌻 fun game with plenty
of action.
#8 – Three-Card Guts
This game can take some real courage – and quickly
empty your🌻 wallet. In this unique poker variant, players are dealt three cards and can
decide whether to play their hand or🌻 not by simultaneously dropping a chip in the
centre of the table. The winner takes the pot, and the losers🌻 match it. For example, if
three players stay and there isR$5 in the pot, the two losers each pony up🌻 making for a
newR$10 pot.
The process repeats until only one player is raking the entire pot. The
game builds some🌻 significant action and fun. Winning those big pots takes some guts as
the name implies, and pots can really balloon🌻 if several players stay in and have to
match the pot.
What started as aR$10 pot becomesR$40 if four players stay🌻 in. If three
more then stay, that becomesR$120. If three more remain? Well, you see where this is
going. Have🌻 you got the guts?
#9 – Cincinnati
Here’s yet another geographically named
poker game. In this one, each player is dealt five🌻 cards face down. Five cards are also
dealt face down in the middle of the table with each exposed one🌻 at a time, followed by
a round of betting. After the final round, players use any of their hole cards🌻 and
those on the board to make their best five-card hand.
This isn’t Big O – you have five
cards to🌻 make your best hand. It can make for some huge hands! Be ready to have your
flush or straight beaten🌻 regularly. Don’t be a lamebrain.
Speaking of lamebrains, an
alternate version is known as Lamebrain Pete, and the lowest card on🌻 the board is
considered wild – making for an even crazier twist on an already crazy game as players
hope🌻 one of their low cards ends up being wild.
#10 – 2 and 22
No man’s land out in the
middle won’t🌻 work in this one. This split pot game is quite a bit different from
regular poker games. An Ace can🌻 be used as 1 or 11 as in Blackjack. However, face-card
count as half. Players are dealt one card face🌻 down, and one card face up. The goal is
to get as close to 2 or 22 to split the🌻 pot. After being dealt two cards, there is a
round of betting and players can decide to take another or🌻 stand-pat.
Players who pass
three times are locked and can’t take more cards. After everyone is locked or no one
takes🌻 a card, there is a showdown. The added fun in this one may be the unique
bluffing. Players with a🌻 low up card tend to bet at a pot and at least bluff at the
low. If no one else🌻 has a high up card, that makes for a smart play. A player may have
a King up but still🌻 have a high card underneath. The savvy bluffer may actually win the
low with a 10-1/2.
A player dealt a 2🌻 down, and a King up has 2-½, an excellent hand.
Also, a lucky player dealt Ace-Ace will win the pot🌻 both ways and certainly be looking
to build the pot. There can be some added frustrations. In this game, low🌻 beats high so
a player with 21-½ would top a player with 22-½ – and 2-½ would be topped by🌻 1-½. Also,
a player going high may be close to that completed hand and keep getting low cards, and
then🌻 boom – a 10 hits your hand and ruins it all. There are numerous variations, but
it’s a fun game🌻 to shake things up.
#11 - Mexican Sweat
Mexican Sweat makes
decision-making in Hold'em seem like a walk in the park. In🌻 this game, each player is
initially dealt seven hole cards and then two cards are dealt face up in the🌻 middle of
the table. The first card is the kill card, which means that any hand with this card
must🌻 be folded immediately. The second is the card to beat. The players may not look at
their cards.
After the initial🌻 deal, the player to the left of the dealer is the first
one to act. They begin revealing their hole🌻 cards, one at a time with the objective of
beating the high card in the middle. For example, let's say🌻 the card in the middle is
an 8. The player would need to flip a 9 or higher, a pair🌻 of any rank, a flush, a
straight etc. If they turn another 8, it's not enough to beat the 8🌻 in the middle.
When
the player successfully beats the card in the middle, they immediately stop revealing
cards. A betting round🌻 begins, led by the active player and, after it's done, the
player to the left starts flipping their cards. This🌻 time, though, they're not trying
to beat the high card in the middle, but the exposed portion of the hand🌻 of the player
that precedes them.
But there's another twist. Remember the kill card? If a player
reveals a card of🌻 the same rank as the kill card, they must fold immediately and
forfeit the possibility of winning the pot. Now🌻 imagine knowing as much about your hand
as your opponents and having to bet based on that. Hard enough for🌻 you?
#12 - Follow
the Queen
If you're a fan of Seven Card Stud, you will love this one. Follow the Queen
🌻 plays out just like a Stud game. Each player is dealt 2 cards face down and 1 card face
up.🌻 This is followed by a betting round that is started by the player with the lowest
face-up card. Then each🌻 player gets dealt another face up card, one by one, until each
has 7 cards total, with a betting round🌻 in between each deal.
The twist? There are wild
cards. Every Queen that is dealt face up becomes a wild card🌻 and the card dealt after
the Queen also becomes wild for every player. So let's say a player is dealt🌻 a Queen
and the next player is dealt a deuce. Now Queens and Deuces are wild and any player
with🌻 a Deuce has a wild card. If another Queen is flipped, then the previous wild card
is no longer wild🌻 and the one dealt after that Queen becomes the new wild card for
everyone who holds one.
And that's the fun🌻 of it! Not only do you need to account for
what each opponent might have considering their up-cards, but now🌻 you also need to
consider the possibility of wild cards coming into play. Can you imagine your friends
whining each🌻 time a Queen changes everything?
Find out how to set up a private home
game on 888poker for you and your🌻 friends to play.
