Triple Triple Bonus video poker puts most other Bonus Poker pay tables to shame when it comes to four of a kind hands. It even does better than the similarly named Triple Double Bonus in terms of payouts for quads. To achieve this, however, it lowers the payouts for two pair and three of a kind, two of the most common winning hands in the game.

• Triple Ace Video Poker

Video poker manufacturers toy with basic video poker and include special features for when players make extra wagers. Or they might simply add wild cards to the mix. But the most common way of is to change up the pay tables. In Jacks or Better, for example, payouts are based strictly on how likely it is for a player to achieve a hand. The harder it is to get a hand, the more it pays.

Bonus Poker pay tables change that formula just a bit. In particular, these pay tables add a little something extra when you achieve four of a kind. This usually makes this hand second only to a royal flush in terms of its payback level.

Overview: Our Free Aces and Faces Video Poker game obeys the standard video poker rules and is a single hand type video poker machine. It is played with a standard 52 card deck and the cards are shuffled before each hand. Aces Faces is similar to Jacks or Better Video Poker however the payout table is different. Aces & Faces has 2 special payouts, the Four Ace's payout is the second highest in the. Triple Ace Poker Play Triple Ace Poker online at Casino Club for an unforgettable video poker experience. Triple up your rewards in Triple Ace Poker.

Usually, in video poker, the longer the name of the game, the higher the payout will be for four of a kind. You can see this happen as you move through games like Bonus, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, and Triple Double Bonus. And of course, there’s Triple Triple Bonus video poker.

What Makes Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker Different?

The game takes the basic format of Triple Bonus video poker and turbo-charges it. If you’re the type of player who loves jackpot-style payments, this is the variation for you.

There are a couple of quad-kicker combinations which feature payouts that match the payout for a royal flush, which usually stands alone atop the pay table. When playing Triple Triple Bonus video poker, you have more opportunities for a significant payout on a single hand playing this game than any other.

But you have to give something up to pay for those quad payouts. Like many aggressive Bonus Poker pay tables, Triple Triple Bonus video poker gives out only even money for two pair. But it’s also the rare video poker game that only pays out 2 to 1 for three of a kind and 3 to 1 for a straight.

That leaves you with a combination of rare hands that pay a lot and common hands that pay off at discounted levels. As a result, you’d be hard-pressed to find a video poker game that is quite as volatile in nature as Triple Triple Bonus video poker.

In the following article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the game known as Triple Triple Bonus video poker. We’ll go into how you play basic video poker, then talk about how the pay tables affect gameplay. We’ll also look at your expected payback while explaining how to strategize.

Why You Should Be Playing Video Poker

That heading might be misleading if you’re already a casual video poker player who just wants to learn specifically about Triple Triple Bonus video poker. But you might not know why it’s so gambler-friendly, to the extent that many gamblers won’t play anything else.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons video poker might just be the ideal casino game:

• Video poker comes in many shapes and sizes. Triple Triple Bonus video poker represents only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unique video poker variants. You can find games with special twists, wild cards, and all kinds of bells and whistles, both literal and figurative, that can spice up play.
• Video poker stands as one of the easiest games to learn in a casino. It shouldn’t take you long to figure out gameplay if you’ve played before. Even if you haven’t, the concept is pretty simple.
• Video poker doesn’t require anyone but you to play it. There won’t be any other gamblers getting involved, and you won’t have to worry about dealing with casino employees. It’s just you and the machine.
• Video poker lets you use some strategy when you play. It’s not a mindless enterprise like slot machines tend to be. If you play your cards right, so to speak, your chances of winning rise.
• Video poker gameplay uses the probabilities involved with deck of cards. This means you can estimate how often you can form specific winning hands. Slot machines, by comparison, don’t give you any indication of how often you’ll win.
• Video poker machines come with a payback percentage attached to them. In other words, you can compare one machine to the next so that you have the chance to choose the most lucrative one. Again, slot machines don’t afford you this opportunity.
• Video poker puts up a strong performance in terms of payback. You can expect the average video poker machine to pay off better than the average slot machine. If you’re lucky, you might even find a pay table, including one in the Triple Triple Bonus video poker family, from which you can reasonably expect a long-term profit.
• Video poker makes for excellent online play. By this, we mean that someone playing video poker at a top online casino site won’t miss a thing compared to the person playing in a casino. As a matter of fact, video poker ranks right up there with slot machines when it comes to popular online casino games.

As you can see, you really do have a lot to look forward to if you’re new to video poker. All of the best elements of video poker and table games can be found in a video poker machine. It’s an ideal hybrid of the two.

We’ll talk about the pay tables that make Triple Triple Bonus video poker special. But first, let’s go over basic video poker gameplay.

Video Poker Step By Step

Step 1: The Bankroll

You’ll create a bankroll so that you can make wagers and win real money from a video poker machine. When you’re playing in a casino, you’ll put money into the slot on the machine to start up your bankroll. If you’re playing online, you’ll need to create a gambling account to get started.

Once you have your bankroll in place, you’ll notice that it’s represented on screen in units known as credits or coins. Each of these units will be based on the denomination at the machine you’ve chosen to play.

Step 2: Your Bet

Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker plays in this area like the vast majority of video poker games. You get to wager anywhere from one through five coins per hand. Your payout for winning hands will go up in proportion to how much you bet.

The one exception to that rule is the royal flush. With one through four coins wagered, you’ll receive 250 coins for every coin that you wager. But that payback rises to 800 to 1 when you hit a royal flush with five coins wagered.

For that reason, we recommend that you bet five coins whenever possible when playing Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker. This is also known as the “Max Bet,” and you’ll usually see a button labeled that way on the machine. Pressing this button will allow you to speed up gameplay while also utilizing the best possible strategy.

Step 3: Your Hand

Video poker pretty much resembles the table game called Five-Card Draw. The rhythm of play for both games is the same. In both games, you get five cards, choose the cards you wish to discard, then draw new cards to replace them to make the best five-card hand possible.

But there are a few differences. In video poker, you don’t have to beat a bunch of different people to win the hand. And you don’t have to try and outsmart anybody with your wagers.

Instead, you just have to make one of the winning hands that pay out. These can be found on the machine in a chart known as the pay table. When playing Triple Triple Bonus video poker, these are the basic hands you’ll be trying to attain:

• Pair of jacks or better
• Two pair
• Three of a kind
• Straight (five cards of consecutive rank, like 3-4-5-6-7)
• Flush (five cards of same suit)
• Full house (three of a kind and two pair in the same hand)
• Four of a kind
• Straight flush (straight with five cards of same suit)
• Royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, and ace of the same suit)

When looking at that list, you’ll probably realize that, based on the cards contained in a deck of 52, the hands at the top are relatively easy to achieve. The ones at the bottom are rarities. Video poker machines pay off more for rare hands than they do for common hands.

One other thing you might notice is that some of the winning combinations, like a pair of jacks or better or two pair, require only a fraction of the five cards to complete them. Others, such as the straight or the flush, require all five cards.

When you see the five cards for your deal appear on your screen, you’ll scan them to see if there are any of these winning combinations in evidence. Even if not, you’ll look for potential winning hands that could be formed out of the cards you have. You’ll also try to assess which cards won’t be helpful to you.

Those latter cards will be discarded and replaced with others drawn from the same deck that was used for your deal. 47 cards will remain from that deck, since you already will have received five. Keep in mind that any card you discard cannot come back to you on the draw.

You’ll have to decide which hands you might be capable of making on the draw. And you should also be keeping track of how much those winning hands will pay. Let’s look at an example to illustrate this.

Imagine that you receive the following five cards on the deal:

You don’t have a winning combination among these five cards. But there are a lot of possibilities that you can pursue on the draw. Your decision about which cards to discard and which to hold will be your chance to control the hand and show off your strategy.

You could hold the pair of tens in the hopes of improving them with the three cards you’ll be getting on the draw. Going that route opens up the chances of hands like two pair, three of a kind, a full house and even four of a kind.

With four Diamonds in the deal, you’re just one diamond shy of a flush. There are nine diamonds in the deck still out of 47 total cards. Doing some math should tell you that your chances of drawing a flush if you drop the ten of hearts are a little less than 1 in 5.

In the eight, nine, and ten of diamonds, you have three of the cards that you’ll need for a straight flush. A look at the pay tables below will show you that the straight flush pays very well. But it will be a long shot draw to achieve that.

Speaking of long shot draws, you would have even less of a chance of drawing the jack, queen, and king of diamonds if you discard the eight and nine of diamonds and the ten of hearts. Yet you might be tempted to try because achieving that would get you a royal flush. And that’s a monster payout.

As is the case with so many gambling games, it’s a matter of deciding what the risk is compared to the reward that you would receive if things go your way. Many video poker hands will present tricky decisions like this, while others will be much more obvious. We’ll explain how to make those decisions when we get to the strategy section.

In any case, once you decide, you press the buttons lined up with the cards you plan to hold (if any). You’ll then hit the draw button, which signals the machine to replace your discarded cards with others from the draw deck. At that point, your hand is over and any winnings you’ve amassed will be added.

You can play hands of video poker in that manner as long as you still have credits in your bankroll to bet. At any point, you can also cash out your bankroll and collect what’s left. If you go that route, you’ll receive a redemption ticket which you can use elsewhere in the casino.

That’s all it takes to play a hand of video poker. When you first start playing, you might have to really take it slow and consider all of the possibilities. But once you’ve played for a while, you’ll be able to process all the information, make your decisions, and complete a hand in a matter of seconds.

Now, let’s take a look at Triple Triple Bonus video poker and what separates it from other video poker games. Mainly, it’s the pay tables.

Pay Tables for Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker

When playing video poker, you won’t find a more important piece of information than the pay table. And yet many gamblers won’t even acknowledge it. Instead, they’ll start playing immediately, not realizing that the pay table should show them the right strategy to use.

At its most basic level, a pay table shows you how much you’ll receive for each winning hand depending on how much you’ve wagered. But it also can tell you a lot about the style of play to expect. And, combined with the probabilities, will reveal what kind of payback will come your way.

As we said above, Triple Triple Bonus video poker is closely based on another pay table called Triple Double Bonus. Let’s start by looking at the pay table for Triple Double Bonus:

Triple Double Bonus

If you know a little about Jacks or Better, which is the most common pay table in video poker, you’ll probably see how Triple Double Bonus alters that. Triple Double Bonus distinguishes the amount of payout on four of a kind hands based on the cards that are involved and, in some cases, what the kickers are. (A kicker is the odd card out in a five-card hand that contains four of a kind.)

No matter which cards are involved, however, the Triple Double Bonus pay table pays out more for four of a kind hands than Jacks or Better, which pays 25 to 1 for all quads. But Jacks or Better pays off 2 to 1 for two pair, a common hand that shows up often. Triple Double Bonus pays even money for that hand.

Now, let’s look at Triple Triple Bonus video poker. The following table is the full-pay version of the game, which means the level of payback is higher than other pay tables found in the Triple Triple Bonus family:

Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker

Take a look at how this table differs from the Triple Double Bonus one. On the top end, Triple Triple Bonus video poker jacks up the pay for every four of a kind. It tops out at 800 to 1 for both four aces with any two, three, and four kicker and four twos, threes, and fours with any ace kicker.

That latter grouping is separated on the Triple Triple Bonus video poker table. In the Triple Double Bonus table, that particular combination would be lumped in with the four aces with any ace, two, three, and four group. It’s just another way that Triple Triple Bonus raises the stakes for quads.

Anytime you see a particular video poker game going over the top in paying out a certain hand, you can expect some hand lower down the pay table will have to take a hit. In the case of Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker, both the straight and three of a kind suffer.

The straight pays only 3 to 1, while the three of a kind earns only 2 to 1. On most video poker pay tables, including Triple Double Bonus, those hands pay out 4 to 1 and 3 to 1, respectively.

By contrast, the straight and three of a kind hands happen with relative regularity during a video poker session. As a result, your bankroll will suffer when you play Triple Triple Bonus video poker if you can’t manage a four of a kind now and again.

Get one of those four of a kinds, however, and your bankroll will be in excellent shape. Putting all of that together, we can say that Triple Triple Bonus video poker is an extremely volatile game. You’ll have more opportunities for quick, massive payouts, but you’ll also have to deal with low ebbs in your bankroll when those quads are absent.

You might not be able to find the full-pay version of Triple Triple Bonus video poker. Here are some of the other pay tables you might encounter:

Payback Percentage for Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker

When assessing the various aspects of video poker, you should think about volatility, which we talked about above, as a short-term concern. In a short session, your bankroll playing Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker is likely either to be way up in the rafters or way down in the doldrums. An even keel is unlikely.

Payback percentage, on the other hand, is more of a long-term concern. Those who want to make Triple Triple Bonus video poker their regular game have to know if the pay table they’re playing pays them back well. When you play thousands of hands, your results will likely resemble the payback percentage.

Payback percentage can be computed by combining the probabilities of hitting winning hands with the payoffs for those hands. You can also look online for those figures, or plug the totals of the pay table into a video poker calculator.

Ideally, you can find a payback percentage of 99% or above. That translates to an expected loss (or house edge) of 1% or less. Such small expected losses can easily be overcome if you use the perks awarded to you by casinos or gambling websites.

Once you see that payback percentage drop below 99%, your hopes of making a long-term profit on the game will dwindle and eventually evaporate. Luckily, the full-pay version of Triple Triple Bonus video poker comes in at a robust 99.8%.

You’ll certainly want to find that version of the game if at all possible. Once you get into the lesser pay tables that we listed, you’ll see that payback drop a few points. And that drop will hurt your bankroll over time.

Casual players shouldn’t worry too much about payback percentage. Assuming you make common sense decisions about what to hold and discard, your results will be the product of luck more than anything else.

If you really want to get serious about Triple Triple Bonus video poker, however, you need to keep an eye on the pay table. In particular, look for the payback amounts for the full house and flush. These are the hands most likely to be adjusted when you encounter a lesser pay table.

Video Poker Strategy for Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker

If you do want to play Triple Triple Bonus video poker and match the payback percentages that are attached to each pay table, you have to learn perfect strategy. Notice that we said “perfect” strategy, and not “good” or “adequate” strategy. You need to make the right choices on every hand.

And you have to do it while keeping in mind the specifics of the Triple Triple Bonus video poker and how much each winning hand pays out. Take, for example, the following hand:

If you were playing a video poker game like Jacks or Better, you’d be making the obvious choice of keeping the two pair. That would pay off 2 to 1 on a common pay table, and you’d still have a chance at a full house.

But the Triple Triple Bonus video poker demands that you play the hand differently. You should actually hold the two of hearts and the pair of aces, dropping the pair of sixes.

Why? Well, remember that two pair pays only even money on a Triple Triple Bonus video poker pay table. A pair of aces, which you already have, pays the same amount.

Remember also that four aces is a massive payout in the game. And four aces with a two kicker pays off a ridiculous 800 to 1, same as a royal flush. That’s why you should keep the two around.

You need to be able to figure all of that out in a hurry when you’re playing Triple Triple Bonus video poker. Complicated hands like that one might leave you guessing about the right play. And guessing will inevitably lead to wrong decisions.

It might take some time to do this. But, if you do and can learn perfect play on a Triple Triple Bonus video poker machine, it will be more than worth it in the long run.
Here are the two methods of video poker instruction that we recommend the most.

Video Poker Training Software

This is the perfect way to learn strategy for newcomers, since you’ll also have a chance to play sample hands and get a feel for video poker as a whole. Make sure you get one that can incorporate the totals on a Triple Triple Bonus video poker pay table. Otherwise, you could end up getting the wrong information.

You can learn perfect play with training software through trial and error. As you play more and more often, you’ll start to realize which hands are giving you trouble because the software will tell you when you make a mistake. Eventually, perfect play will become second nature.

Strategy Charts

To use a strategy chart that is tailored to Triple Triple Bonus video poker, you have to compare the cards in your hand to what is on the chart. The chart ranks all of the combinations you might receive on a deal based on their expected value. You can then pick out the cards that you have that are ranked the highest and hold onto them.

The best way to take advantage of a strategy chart is to memorize it. If you try to bring it with you into a casino, you’re more likely to get in trouble with management. It’s best to memorize it anyway, since you’ll be able to play much faster without having to look at the chart on every single hand.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker

Advantages of Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker

• Some of the biggest payouts for hands besides a royal flush in all of video poker
• Many different ways to score when you end up with four of a kind
• Full-pay version pays off quite nicely

Disadvantages of Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker

• High volatility could collapse your bankroll in a hurry
• A lot of the payback is tied up in hard-to-achieve four of a kind hands
• Lesser pay tables will bring down your payback significantly

Conclusion on Triple Triple Bonus Video Poker

Triple Triple Bonus video poker pushes the Bonus Poker concept to the absolute limit. With some four of a kind hands paying as much as a royal flush, it’s a real bonanza for quad seekers. But it’s not the right game for those who want to play a long session on a small bankroll.

Draw poker is any poker variant in which each player is dealt a complete hand before the first betting round, and then develops the hand for later rounds by replacing, or 'drawing', cards.^[1]

The descriptions below assume the reader is familiar with the general game play of poker, and with hand values (both high and low variations). They also make no assumptions about what betting structure is used. In home games, it is typical to use an ante, and betting always begins with the player to the dealer's left. In casino play, it is more common to use blinds; the first betting round thus begins with the player to the left of the big blind, and subsequent rounds begin with the player to the dealer's left, thus draw games are very positional.

Some sample deals below will assume that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing in the examples, Bob, who is sitting to her left, Carol to his left, and David to Carol's left.

Standard five-card draw[edit]

This is often the first poker variant learned by most players, and is very common in home games although it is now quite rare in casino and tournament play. Two to eight players can play.^[2]

Other draw games[edit]

Gardena jackpots ('Jacks to open' or simply 'Jackpots')[edit]

Played as above, with standard hand values, and with a single joker in the deck acting as a bug. It is always played with an ante and no blinds. On the first betting round, no player is allowed to open the betting unless their hand already contains a pair of jacks or a better hand. Other players who checked on the first round may subsequently call or raise if someone else opens. If no player opens, a new deal begins and everyone antes again into the same pot. The player who opened the betting keeps their discarded cards near them on the table so that they can prove, if necessary, that they had a sufficient opening hand. For example, a player with the K, J, 9, and 7 of clubs and the J of hearts has a pair of jacks and may open. They may wish to 'break openers' in this case by discarding the jack of hearts in an attempt to make the club flush, so they keep the discarded jack to prove that they were entitled to open.

In addition to the opening requirement, no one is allowed to win a pot with less than three of a kind. In the event no one makes the winning requirement, the pot is moved on to the next hand. The strongest possible hand in this game is five aces which is achieved if the player obtains the four aces plus the joker (joker counts as an ace if there's neither a straight nor a flush to complete).

This can result in some enormous pots, and is where the term 'Jackpot' comes from.

The game is named after the city of Gardena, California, where this game was especially popular from the 1930s to 1970s (though it was always secondary to lowball). At that time, there were more public poker tables in that small city than in all the rest of the United States. Public poker rooms are still a big industry there, though Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and other locations now have many more poker rooms than they did at that time. Because 'Jacks to open' was the primary form of high-hand draw poker played there, traditional draw poker was often described by the retronym 'Guts to open'.

In home games, it is common that when a deal is 'passed out' (that is, when no one opens), the players re-ante, and the qualifier to open is raised to a pair of queens. If that deal is passed out, the qualifier is raised to kings, and finally to aces. This is called 'progressive' jackpots.

California lowball[edit]

This was the primary poker game played in California during the heyday of Gardena in the 1970s.^[3] It is still played today, though its popularity has somewhat lessened since the introduction of stud poker and community card poker to the state.

Played as above, using ace-to-five low hand values, with a single joker in the deck. Always played with blinds rather than antes, so players may not check on the first betting round (but may on the second round). A player with a 7-high hand or better who checks after the draw forfeits his right to win any money placed in the pot after the draw. (In other words, a 'seven' may not be checked unless the player intends to fold when another player bets). Another common rule in low-limit games is that a player who checks on the second betting round may not subsequently raise on that round. This latter rule is never used in games with a pot limit or no limit betting structure.

Kansas City lowball[edit]

Five-card draw, with no joker, and deuce-to-seven low hand values is called 'Kansas City' or 'Low Poker' or even 'Billy Baxter' draw in honor of the player who dominated the world championship in the event for many years. Often the game is played no-limit. The 7-high rule and the no check-and-raise rule do not apply. In the eastern United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, ace-to-six low hand values are common.

Double-draw and Triple-draw[edit]

Any game above can be played with two or three draw phases and therefore three or four betting rounds. Triple draw lowball, either ace-to-five or deuce-to-seven, has gained some popularity among serious players. The 2004 World Series of Poker included a deuce-to-seven triple-draw lowball event, and each WSOP from 2007 on has featured one event as well. The Poker Player's Championship, which was introduced in 2010 as the replacement for the $50,000 buy-in HORSE tournament that had been in every WSOP since 2006, includes 2–7 triple-draw lowball as one of its rotating games.

Badugi[edit]

Sometimes spelled as Padooki or Badougi, Badugi is a four-card ace-to-five low lowball variant where traditional poker hand rankings are changed. A Badugi is a four-card hand where all the cards are of different ranks and suits. Any card which match another card in rank or suit does not play and the first criterion for evaluating hands is the number of cards which are playing. The following is the ranking of several example of hands from best to worst:

1. Ace of spades, 2 of clubs, 3 of hearts, 4 of diamonds: 4-card 4-high best possible Badugi
2. 4 of spades, 6 of hearts, 8 of diamonds, J of clubs: 4-card J-high Badugi
3. Ten of clubs, J of hearts, Q of diamonds, K of spades: 4-card worst possible Badugi
4. Ace of hearts, Ace of diamonds, 4 of clubs, 5 of spades: 3-card hand, 5-high
5. Ace of clubs, Ace of spades, 4 of spades, 6 of spades: 2-card hand, 4-high
6. Four kings: 1-card hand, worst possible hand

Badugi is usually played triple-draw, with a 1-1-2-2 betting structure, although it is sometimes played in pot limit or 1/2 pot limit structures.

Baduci[edit]

Not to be confused with Badugi, Baduci is a lowball hybrid of Badugi and deuce-to-seven triple draw low. This game has a split pot, one half for the strongest Badugi hand and the other half for the best deuce-to-seven triple draw hand. Players are essentially trying to form two different sets of hands by using five cards with a goal of winning both halves of the pot in the same hand.

California high/low split[edit]

Played as above, with a single joker, used as a bug. High hand and low hand (using the ace-to-five low values) split the pot. An 8-high or better low is required to win low. If no hand qualifies for low, the high hand takes the whole pot. Played cards speak, that is, players do not declare whether they intend to win the high or low half of the pot (or both); they simply show their cards and the best hands win. Because ace-to-five low values are used, a hand such as a low straight or flush can win both high and low, called 'scooping' or 'hogging' the pot.

High/low with declare[edit]

This is common in home games but is rarely found in casinos today. Played as are other versions of five-card draw, but after the second betting round and before the showdown, there is a simultaneous declaration phase. Each player takes two chips from his stack and takes them under the table, bringing up a closed fist that contains either no chips (indicating that the player intends to win the low half of the pot), one chip (indicating that the player intends to win the high half), or two chips (indicating that he intends to scoop). When everyone has brought up the closed fist, the players all open their hands simultaneously to reveal their choices. If any player shows two chips, and his hand is the best low and the best high, he scoops the pot. Otherwise, half of the pot goes to the player with the highest hand who declared high, and the other half to the player with the lowest hand of those who declared low. There is no qualifying hand to win either high or low, and if no one declares in one direction, the full pot is awarded in the other (for example, if all players declare low, the low hand wins the whole pot rather than half). A player who declares for a scoop must win both ends outright, with no ties. For example, if a player declares scoop, has the lowest hand clearly but ties for high, he wins nothing. The other player with the same high hand wins the high half of the pot and the next-lowest hand wins low (assuming he declared low—if no other player declared low, the high hand who declared high wins the whole pot).

This game can be played with deuce-to-seven low or ace-to-six low hand values, but in that case it is nearly impossible to scoop (though the whole pot could still be won if everyone declares the same direction).

Four-before[edit]

Another variation that can be applied to any game above, but that is especially suited to lowball. On the initial deal, only four cards are dealt to each player. A betting round follows, then each player draws one more card than he discards, completing his hand to five cards. Then the final betting round and showdown. Note that it is impossible to be dealt a 'pat' hand, that is, a hand (such as a straight or flush) that is complete before the draw.

Johnson (and 'Jacks back')[edit]

Played with one joker which acts as a bug. Must be played with antes and no blinds. Each player is dealt five cards. The first betting round begins with the player to the dealer's left, who may check or open with anything. If any player opens, the game continues as traditional five-card draw poker. If the first round is passed out (that is, no one opens), then the player to the dealer's left may now open if he chooses, but the game has switched to California lowball. On the rare occasion that the deal is passed out yet again, players re-ante and deal again. This game plays well head-up (that is, with only two players). When the game is played that a pair of jacks or better is required to open on the first high-hand round, the game is called 'Jacks back'.^{[citation needed]}

Q-Ball[edit]

This is a lowball game designed by Michael Wiesenberg that combines some of the variations mentioned above. It is generally played with three blinds—one unit from the dealer, one unit to his left, and two units for the second player to the dealer's left. The deck contains one joker. Each player is dealt three cards, followed by a round of betting beginning with the player immediately after the big blind who may call the big blind, raise, or fold (there is no checking on the first round). Next, each player is dealt a fourth card, followed by a second round of betting starting with the still-active player to the dealer's left. No checking is allowed on this round either, despite the fact that there is no bet facing the first player; the first player must open or fold. Each player is then dealt a fifth card, followed by a third betting round beginning on the dealer's left. At this point, checking is allowed. Finally, each player draws as in normal draw poker, followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Ace-to-five low values are used.

Played at fixed limit, it is recommended that the betting structure be 1-2-2-4; that is, the second and third betting rounds should allow a bet of twice the amount of the first round, and the final bet should allow four times the amount of the first round.

'Home' games[edit]

These are somewhat less-serious games that are typically played only in home games at small stakes. This does not necessarily mean that there is less opportunity for skillful play, just that the games are seen as more social than competitive.

To help grow the betting pot in a home game, one can add a variant known as the 'kill card' to the rules. Kill cards work best with stud games or shared card games as no one player can control when the 'kill card' is played.

Shotgun ('Roll 'em out' and 'Skinny Minnie')[edit]

This is a draw game that plays much like a stud game. First five cards are dealt to each player, followed by a betting round, and a draw. Now, in place of a second round and showdown, there is a rollout phase, which begins with the players arranging their five cards in any chosen order, placing them face down in front of themselves. Each player's top card is now revealed, followed by a betting round. Then each player reveals his next card, followed by a betting round. Then a third card is revealed, followed by a betting round, a fourth card, a betting round, and finally a showdown. Players may not change the order of their cards at any time during the rollout phase.

This game can be played for high or low, but plays best at high-low split, in which case it is called 'Skinny Minnie'.

Spit in the ocean[edit]

This might be classified as a hybrid draw/Community card game, but it is placed here because it plays mostly as a draw game. On the initial deal, each player is dealt four cards, and then a single card is dealt to the center of the table face up. This card plays as if it were the fifth card in every player's hand. It is also a wild card, and every other card of its rank is also wild. The first betting round is then played, followed by a draw in which each player replaces cards from his hand with an equal number, so that each player still has only four cards in hand. A final betting round is followed by a showdown. High-hand values are used. (An alternative is to deal similar to a regular draw poker hand, during which any player can shout 'Spit!', whereupon the next card is dealt face up, after which dealing resumes until all players have five cards. In some variants, only the 'spit' card can be used as a wild card.)

Here's a sample deal: Alice deals four cards to each player, then deals the next card face up to the center of the table. it is the 6 of diamonds, and this makes all 6-spot cards wild. Bob opens for $1, Carol raises to $2, David folds, Alice and Bob call. Bob discards two cards, and receives two replacements. Carol draws one card, and Alice draws one. Bob checks, Carol bets $2, Alice raises to $4, Bob folds, Carol reraises to $6, and Alice calls. The cards in Carol's hand are Q-Q-6-4. Because the 6 in her hand and the one on the board are wild, her hand is four queens. Alice's hand contains K-J-9-7, all spades. With the shared wild card, this gives her a flush, which loses to Carol's four queens.

The game is mentioned in the Ray Stevens song 'Shriner's Convention'.

Anaconda ('Pass the trash')[edit]

Seven cards are dealt to each player. Before the first betting round, each player examines his hand, and removes exactly three cards from his hand and places them on the table to his left. After each person has thus discarded, he picks up the cards discarded by his right-hand neighbor and places them in his hand (thus, each player will have given three cards to his left-hand neighbor). It is important that each player discard before looking at the cards he is to receive. After the first pass, there is a betting round. Then a second pass occurs, each player passing two cards to his right. A second betting round is followed by a third pass, each player passing one card to his left. Finally, a third betting round and a showdown, in which the player with the best five-card high hand he can make out of the seven in his hand wins the pot.

In some casual games, the showdown is replaced by a rollout phase, as described above in 'Shotgun'. This makes a total of eight betting rounds in the game, which generally destroys any chance for skillful play in the later rounds.

Ad hoc variants[edit]

Any of the above games can be modified in many ways upon player whim, by designating additional wild cards, betting rounds, more or fewer cards, altered hand values, and any other change agreed upon by all players prior to each deal. Such a game can be announced by using the name of an existing game and specifying the variations, for example 'Three-card Triple-draw California lowball, Kings wild'. Many times this will result in a game that does not play well, but occasionally will produce a game that is well-suited to a particular group of players.

Here are some general guidelines:

• If designating some normal suited cards as wild, it is advisable to choose cards that would otherwise be bad for the game being played. For example, deuces wild for high-hand games, kings wild for lowball, 9-spots wild for high-low split (where an 8-high or lower is necessary to win low).
• High-low split games play best with more than four players.
• When playing high-low split, it is necessary to have either a declaration phase or a qualifier (but not both). The most common form is 8-high or better to qualify low, but also common is any pair/no pair (that is, a pair or better is required to win high, and no pair or better low is required to win low), and 9-high for low.
• Designating more than four wild cards (or possibly six) will result in considerable confusion and many ties.
• Two to five betting rounds makes a good game. One round or more than five rounds reduces the amount of skill involved.
• Sometimes there is no betting round before the draw; players pick up their cards, discard and draw, and then the betting starts.
• Giving each player more than eight or nine cards can often make a bad game. In Anaconda, each player will have seen up to thirteen cards.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Cardoza, Avery (8 December 2011). Basics of Winning Poker. Cardoza Publishing. p. 19. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
2. ^Brown, Aaron (26 August 2011). The Poker Face of Wall Street. New York City: John Wiley & Sons. p. 39. ISBN9781118161104. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
3. ^Waldie, D. J. (2017-03-15). 'Draw, Stud, and Hold'em: A Brief History of Poker in L.A.'KCET. Retrieved 2020-05-06.

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