Playing Poker Tonight

Low Chicago:
Seven Card Stud, lowest spade in the hole takes 1/2 the pot. Gives bluffing a new edge, especially when you have garbage showing.

Black Mariah
Seven Card Stud, but if a black Queen comes up, there's a redeal(only for those still in the game). Make people double the ante if they want the last card down.

Jobu :
3 cards down to everybody, plus a dummy hand "Jobu" (The voodoo doll from "Major League" - Just so you can say "Fuck You Jobu").
Ante a low amount and there is no straights or flushes, just pairs and trips. Everybody puts a chip in their hand, and reveal if they are in or out at the same time. Jobu is always in. Person with the best hand sweeps the pot, everyone else matches it. Jobu wins, everybody matches it. This can escalate to ugly proportions quickly, so putting a max burn helps. We use $100.00, but $5.00-$10.00 is good for low stake games.

Pay the Winner

Everyone is dealt five cards. There is also five cards dealt down in the middle.

Depending on how many people you have playing, you can option to draw before the betting starts. If there is more than seven people playing obviously there cannot be a draw.

The five cards down in the middle are also part of each players hand just like texas hold 'em. After the draw the down cards are flipped one at a time, betting after each flip. The fourth card flipped is also the split card. If it is seven or lower the person with the low card of that suit splits half, eight or higher the person with the high card in his hand spits half. For example if the eight of diamonds is flipped, the winning split card would be the ace of diamonds. If the five of clubs is flipped, the winning card would be the two of clubs.

If a player stays after the fourth card is flipped they are locked into paying the winner (if they lose) an amount equal to that in the pot. (You could agree to put a maximum number on this before the game so no one gets broke off to bad, say match ten dollars for example.)

After the fifth card is flipped all hands are shown. The best poker hand wins half along with the person who has the appropriate split card. This could be the same person in which case he would rake the pot and every one who stayed would owe him the agreed upon match.

When this game was originally explained to me it sounded complicated, but once you play it, it is very easy to grasp, and quite fun. It is played several times during our sunday night poker game.

Let the questions begin.

If you are looking to throw in a couple of games to break up the seriousness, I'd go with Indian Poker (not a very PC name, I know) or Screw Your Neighbor.

Just in case they are new to you:

Indian Poker (my version, there are others, but you get the idea):

One card is dealt to each player, face down - no one can look at the card. The card is then held against your forehead, so that everyone can see it but you. First round of betting takes place. A second card is dealt to each player, face down – no one can look at the card. The card is then placed on your forehead next to the other one. The second and final round of betting takes place. The winner is the person with the either the highest pair, or the highest card w/kicker. Best hand possible is two Aces.

Screw Your Neighbor:

Three stacks of money are placed in front of each player. It depends on the stakes of game you are playing, but I would go with $1 pile for low stakes or $5 for mid-size. One card is then dealt to each player, face down. If you have a K, it is automatically flipped over, as it is a safe card. Starting with left of the dealer, the person gets to decide to keep their card or trade with the person to their left. If they keep the card, it then goes to the next person and they decide if they want to trade or keep their card. If the person to your left wants to trade you, have no choice – unless they have the K. If the K is flipped up, you are screwed and must keep your card.

This keeps going till it gets back to the dealer, who can choose to keep his/her card, or “hit the deck” and take the top card on the pile. Once the dealer has decided, all cards are turned over, and the person with the lowest card pays one stack (to the pot). Card order goes from Q -> A, and the A really screws you, as you have to pay two stacks. If two people at the table have the same lowest card, they both pay a stack. Game keeps going until only one person has any stacks in front of them – they win the pot.

The deal rotates throughout all players (with shuffling between each round), until the game is over. This way, the starting position changes. It is a really fun game, and pretty quick to learn, once you get the hang of it. It’s great to watch the first players A, go all the way through the table, being traded from player to player – getting all the way to the dealer. It’s even better when the dealer hits the deck, only to get another A. The other great thing is to have a low number card – like a 4, and have someone trade you a 5. Unless that card gets over-turned by the dealer, you pretty much you are safe that round.

If a person fails to flip over the K, they must put all remaining of their stacks in the pile.

Hope those makes sense.

If you're playing dealer picks, might as well pick a game to your advantage:

Shit or Git
5 cards down, no draw. Double or triple the usual ante amount and then rotating from dealer's left, each person declares they are either in or out by matching the pot. Best hand wins. You get a slight advantage because you declare last, so can steal the pot if no one has a good hand, or dump a mediocre hand if a few are in already.

I love match-the-pot games. Guts always works, but my personal favorite is 4-4-2.

Everyone antes, then four cards are dealt. 4s are wild. Only things that count are pairs, threes of a kind, two pair and four of a kind (no straights or flushes). Starting from the dealer's left, players declare whether they are in or not. If two or more people are in, each player gets to exchange two cards, then hands are shown. Highest hand wins the pot, losers must match the pot.

If only one person declares in after the first deal, they walk with the pot. If it gets all the way around to the dealer without anyone going in, the dealer must have a natural pair to walk with the pot.

Deal rotates left until one person walks with the pot.

That's a good one. I'm actually playing cards tonight, too. I'm going to deal that one!

We play this as "Dirty Dora" but minus the last card down option. But, if you have Dirty Dora in the hole you get haf the pot.

Low Hold Choice
Seven Card Stud. Your lowest hold card is wild. You can pay to get your last card, dealt up instead of down.

Jacks or better/Trips to win
A good pot building game is this simple 5 card draw, but with JACKS or better to open. And TRIPS (or better) to win.

Follow the Queen
Seven Card Stud. If a Queen is dealt, the next card dealt is wild. But if another Queen is dealt, the next card becomes the wild card, and negates the first.

High Low Both
Seven Card Stud. You either go for the best hand or worst hand. Or both. (Using any of cards to make to separate 5 card hands.)
When it's time to show your hand, you put a chip/s in your hand, (1 for low, 2 for high, 0 for both) and reveal. The kicker is if you go for both you have to win both or you get nothing. So that's rare.

Some fun games I recently learned, so bear with me if my explanations are overly convoluted.

7 Card High Low:

Each player is dealt 2 cards face down, followed by four cards face up (one by one), and then a final card face down, with a round of betting between each card dealt. Players are looking for either the best and/or worst 5 card hand, the high hand being just like regular poker, the low being shit (the best low hand is a broken straight, ace, 2, 3, 4, 6 being the lowest possible.) Before the final round of betting, the remaining players must simultaneously declare (using either thumbs up/down or palming and revealing a high or low chip) whether they're playing for the high hand or the low hand, or both (in which case you have to win both to get anything.) Pot is split between the winners of the high and low hands. If everyone goes high, or low, or someone tries for both and wins, its winner take all.

Anaconda:

Another high/low game. Players receive 7 cards, face down, and must then pass 2 cards of their choice to the left, and 1 to the right. Now players must figure out whether they're going to go high, or low, and discard the 2 two cards they aren't using for their hand in the middle. Each player then puts their cards in an order of their choosing, face down on the table. Everyone then has overturn the first card, followed by a round of betting. The second card is overturned, followed by another round of betting, and so on, until only one card remains face down. At this point, players must publicly declare whether they're going high and/or low (same rules as above) before a final round of betting and overturning the final card. The idea is to put your cards in a deceiving order, so people won't know which way you're going until the very end.

I hate that game. Whoever has a 5 or 6 showing just bluffs, then milks the people trying to go high, so if I've got nothing resembling a bluffable low, I just fold. It's not worth it.