Poker Variants

House rules for the games we play. Pick one.

2-Card Guts

With the weenie rule (if the dealer says so)

The short version: everyone gets two cards and decides whether they're in. The best hand takes the pot, and everyone else who went in has to match it. The game keeps going until someone goes in alone and beats the dummy.

Setup

The dealer picks the game and has to say whether the weenie rule is on.
Everyone antes a dime. That's the starting pot.
The dealer deals two cards to each player, plus a two-card dummy hand face down in the middle.

The drop

Everyone looks at their cards, then holds them up over the table in a circle.
The dealer counts: "3, 2, 1, drop."
On "drop," let go of your cards to fold. Keep holding them if you're in.
Everyone still holding cards flips them over.

What beats what

Any pair beats any non-pair. Higher pair wins.
No pair? Highest card wins, then the second card. Aces are high.
No straights or flushes. Suits don't matter.
Ties split.

Who pays, who wins

Two or more players in: the best hand drags the pot. Everyone else who went in matches the pot, and that money becomes the pot for the next hand.

One player in: they play the dummy. The dummy gets flipped:

Beat the dummy and you take the pot. Game over.
Lose to the dummy and you match the pot. Keep playing.

Nobody in: it depends on the weenie rule.

The weenie rule

If nobody goes in, everyone flips. The player with the best hand is the weenie and has to match the pot. (You had the cards and you chickened out.) Then the game keeps going.

If the dealer didn't call the weenie rule and nobody goes in, nobody pays. The deal just moves on.

The $3 cap

Whenever you "match the pot," you only pay up to $3. You can never lose more than $3 on one hand, but you can win a pot of any size.

Example: the pot is $5.40 and you lose. You put in $3, not $5.40.

After the ante, the only ways to lose money are going in and losing, or being the weenie.

Dealing and ending the game

The deal moves one seat clockwise every hand.
The game ends when someone goes in alone and beats the dummy.
The next game is picked by the player to the left (clockwise) of whoever picked this one, the same as all our multi-hand games.

Iron Cross

Rules coming soon.

Challenge

Rules coming soon.

High/Low Chicago

Rules coming soon.

Anaconda

Rules coming soon.