Guts is a comparing card game, or family of card games, related to poker. Guts is a
gambling game involving 7️⃣ a series of deals of 2, 3, or 4 cards. Hand are ranked
similarly to hands in poker. The betting 7️⃣ during each deal is simple : all players
decide whether they are "in" or "out",[1] and announce this at the 7️⃣ same time. Each deal
has its own showdown, after which the losers match or increase the pot, which grows
rapidly. 7️⃣ A round of the game ends when only one person stays in and wins the pot.
Basic
rules [ edit ]
In 7️⃣ "Two-Card Guts", each player is dealt down, two hole-cards, at the
beginning of a new deal. Two Card Poker rankings 7️⃣ apply; Pairs are ranked over high
cards; however there are no 'straights' or 'flushes' in two card guts (or two 7️⃣ card
poker).
One variation of 2-card guts, ranks 23 (of any suits) as the highest ranking
hand, trumping AA (pocket aces). 7️⃣ Even though getting dealt 23 is more probable than AA
(16 possible combinations of 23 compared to only 6 combinations 7️⃣ of AA, or 1.2% vs 0.45%
respectively), rather, it's the role reversal of the worst hand in heads-up, two-card
poker. 7️⃣ The name for the 23 hand, in this variation, is called the "Royal Crumpler",
among other names.
All players have a 7️⃣ chance to say 'in' or 'out' at the same time by
holding out one or two fingers, or holding a 7️⃣ chip or nothing in their hands; those who
are 'in' have a showdown.
Each round starts with an ante. The players 7️⃣ then play a
series of deals; after each one, the winner takes the existing pot and the losers match
it, 7️⃣ so that the pot or some multiple of it carries over to the next deal.
For example,
if the pot isR$5 7️⃣ and three people stay in, then one player will receive theR$5 pot and
two players will be forced to addR$5 7️⃣ each to the next pot, escalating the size of the
pot for the next deal. Then the hand is re-dealt, 7️⃣ and all players (even those who were
"out" in the last round) can participate again. The round ends when only 7️⃣ a single
player has the guts to stay "in", and thus the pot is taken without
replenishment.
Declaring "in" or "out" 7️⃣ is similar to declaring high or low in high-low
games. Each player takes a chip, places their hands under the 7️⃣ table, and either places
the chip in one fist or not. Each player then holds their closed fist above the 7️⃣ table,
and the players simultaneously open their hands to reveal their decision (a chip
represents "in", an empty hand represents 7️⃣ "out").
Rapid pot growth [ edit ]
One of the
characteristics of guts is that the pot grows quickly. As it can 7️⃣ double or more each
round, pots of 50 or 100 times the original ante are possible.
There are many
variations. Sometimes 7️⃣ only the single player with the worst hand (who stayed in) must
add to the pot, but they must double 7️⃣ the pot rather than match it. In one variation,
nobody wins the pot unless nobody else stays in.
One solution to 7️⃣ the exponentially
growing pots is to cap them at 50x or 100x the ante. That is, if there are 5 7️⃣ players
with an ante ofR$1, the pot started atR$5. If there were 3 doublings, the pot is now
atR$40. Suppose 7️⃣ the "cap the pot atR$50" rule were in force. Then, if another doubling
occurred, each loser would payR$40, but the 7️⃣ pot would now be atR$50 and the extraR$30
would be set aside as the ante once there's a hand with 7️⃣ a winner and no loser.
Common
variants [ edit ]
straights and flushes In some variants, straights and flushes count
for two-card 7️⃣ guts (making them higher than other no-pair hands). In others, straights
and flushes do not count for three-card guts.
high three 7️⃣ of a kind Some variations for
three-card guts rank three of a kind above a straight flush, but the latter 7️⃣ occurs less
frequently.
partial hands Each player receives all but one card face down, and if they
are in, they receive 7️⃣ their last card face up.
dummy hands Many variants include a dummy
hand that must be beaten if only one person 7️⃣ stays in. In some variants, rather than a
dummy hand, you must have a pair or better. In others, the 7️⃣ dummy hand always plays
against the other hands, and may be called "Granny", "The Kitty", "Herb", or "The
Pot".
The Batey 7️⃣ one community card is flipped over from the top of the deck after all
hands have been dealt which each 7️⃣ player uses in making their hand. Named after its
inventor, Justin Batey
dealer option In variants where players do not declare 7️⃣ all at
the same time, the dealer declares last; if no other player has stayed in, the other
players sometimes 7️⃣ have another chance to declare and challenge the dealer. With this
variation, there is generally no dummy hand.
chicken fee If 7️⃣ no one stays in for a hand
(more common in variants where there is a dummy hand to beat), everyone 7️⃣ has to pay
another ante on the next deal.
Henry Rule Similar to the chicken fee. If no one stays
in, 7️⃣ the player with the hand that would have won must match the pot.
One low "in" and
wild In this three 7️⃣ card game, everyone is dealt one card face up. The player with the
lowest card face up is automatically in, 7️⃣ but that number is wild.
Two low "in" and wild
In this three card game, everyone at one point is dealt 7️⃣ a card face up. The people with
the two lowest cards are automatically in but these card numbers are also 7️⃣ wild.(If more
than one person has the same number card, then more than two people can be in.)
Hi-Lo
When deciding 7️⃣ to stay in, each player also indicates high or low, usually by having a
high-valued chip in hand for high, 7️⃣ low-valued for low, or none for folding. If multiple
players stay in, the best hand among those indicating high gets 7️⃣ half the pot and the
others have to match the pot. Similarly for low. Usually played with a dummy hand 7️⃣ which
has to be beaten in the appropriate direction to take the pot. If no dummy hand is
played, a 7️⃣ single player choosing high can take half of the pot uncontested even if
other (low) players are in the game. 7️⃣ Some games also allow "Hi-Lo" option, usually
indicated by both a high-valued chip and a low-valued chip in hand at 7️⃣ the reveal. The
player going "Hi-Lo" competes amongst both the high players and the low-players, and is
usually only a 7️⃣ good idea with hands such as ace-deuce.
No Peek A pure gambling game,
each player gets two (or three) cards, but 7️⃣ cannot look at them before deciding to stay
in.
Winner Takes All The winner of a round gets the pot and 7️⃣ all the money matched by
losers. This variant is usually played with a dummy hand and a chicken fee. The 7️⃣ pot
will only grow if there is a chicken fee and no players stay in, or if there is a 7️⃣ dummy
hand and the sole remaining player loses to it.
School Bus In this variant, the highest
possible combination of the 7️⃣ two-card hand is the 6 and 9, for obvious reasons. Any
player who loses against this hand must then double 7️⃣ the pot in the next round.
Nuts [
edit ]
There is a variant of Guts called Nuts. Each player is required 7️⃣ to place a
certain amount of money in the pot. For example, the bet starts with one dollar. With
five 7️⃣ players, there would be five dollars in the pot. Each player is dealt two cards,
and the lowest cards win 7️⃣ (Pairs are strong). If a player is "in" and no other players
are, the player gets a "nut." If two 7️⃣ players go in, then neither gets a nut. These two
players have to compete their cards against each other. The 7️⃣ lower cards win, and the
loser has to pay the winner money equivalent to the pot, in this case five
7️⃣ dollars.
When the third card is dealt, the best cards are the highest cards. Here the
process of in and out 7️⃣ is repeated. With the fourth card, the low cards are the best.
Then with the fifth and last card, the 7️⃣ higher the better. When a player gets three
nuts, he or she will get the pot. If three nuts are 7️⃣ not awarded within the first round,
a second round is needed. With the second round, each player adds a dollar 7️⃣ to the pot,
so the pot doubles. This continues until someone gets three nuts, and thus the
pot.
Similar games [ 7️⃣ edit ]
There are a few other games which share the geometric pot
growth and in/out betting of guts.
Toh [ edit 7️⃣ ]
Toh is a high-card game in which
players act in order to decide whether they are in or out, as 7️⃣ in guts. There is a
balance between the number of players and the number of points/cards needed to win;
this 7️⃣ number of points is announced before the game begins. The game is designed for 4
to 10 people. 4 players 7️⃣ might play to 5 points, 8 or more players to only 3 points.
The
rules of the game are as follows: 7️⃣ the pot is seeded with a penny. Each hand, every
player is dealt one card face down. The deal rotates. 7️⃣ After each deal, discards are
kept in a separate discard pile; as long as there are enough cards in the 7️⃣ remaining
deck to deal the next hand, there is no reshuffling. (In a friendly game, the last hand
before a 7️⃣ reshuffle may be announced as such.) Each player in turn announces whether
they are in or out. If only the 7️⃣ dealer stays in, players have a second chance to stay
in as well.
At the showdown, the losers match the pot, 7️⃣ and the winner keeps the high
card face up next to her. High card wins; card value increases by suit,
7️⃣ club-diamond-heart-spade. The first player to reach the declared number of points wins
the game, and takes the pot.
