RULES

REQUIREMENTS

2 - 9 players. (8 players at max, if cards are ‘burned’.)

A normal deck of 52 playing cards, no jokers.

Poker chips (betting version), or simple bookkeeping equipment (no betting).

A basic knowledge of how poker works.

LAYOUT & POKER HAND

In the center of the table is the community center (1 card) and alongside it will be built two communal towers (holding 3 cards each).

The final poker hand of each player consists of the following 5 cards:

• The remaining 2 or 3 hand cards,
• 1 card from each communal tower, and
• The community center card if dropped 3 cards away (= has only 2 hand cards left).

STARTUP

The game repeats a simple COMMUNITY-PLAYERS-BET -rhythm all throughout. The game starts by:

• COMMUNITY: First one card is dealt face up onto the middle of the table - this is the community center.
• PLAYERS: Each player is then dealt 5 hand cards.
• BET: Finally a traditional poker betting round is played, including the option to ‘fold’ (= choose not to participate in this pot) by discarding all hand cards.

PROGRESSION

The same rhythm is then repeated 3 times to build the communal towers and get rid of a few hand cards:

• COMMUNITY: Both communal towers are dealt 1 card face up. (Optionally the top card of the deck is ‘burned’ before building them.)
• PLAYERS: Each player then discards 1 hand card without showing it. On the 3rd time dropping is optional: each should end up with 2 or 3 hand cards.
• BET: And finally a new poker betting round is played.

POKER HAND & SHOWDOWN

Finally, it's 's time for showdown. The remaining players show their hand cards, and the players’ poker hands are evaluated according to the hand ranking system of choice.

• DEFAULT RANKING:  Straight flush  >  4 of a kind  >  Full house  >  Flush  >  Straight  >  3 of a kind  >  2 pairs  >  pair  >  high card.

After the hands are evaluated, the winner collects the pot - or for non-betters, the points are counted.

EXTRA INFORMATION - VARIANTS

SCORING BY WINNING / LOSING

At its simplest, you can just count the number of won pots. The winner is the first one to win 5 pots.

• Alternatively, you could reward the winner with 2 win-points and the second best with 1 win-point and play until 10 win-points.
• This works well with high-low-splits: The highest hand gets 2 win-points and the lowest hand 1 win-point.

SCORING BY POINTS

A little bit more complicated way is to use a point system (= absolute points per hand).

• For example, the American point system for Poker Squares / Solitaire goes from 2 points (one pair) to 100 points (Royal Flush).
• The game ends either after a predefined number of pots, or after reaching the point limit.

Here is a simple high-lowish point system called Straight-Up-or-Die. (Play until 15 points is reached.)

• STRAIGHT-UP:  Straight: 1p.  Flush: 2p.  Full-house: 3p.  Four of a kind: 4p.  Straight-flush: 5p.
• OR-DIE: If no one gets a straight or higher (a straight-up), the worst hand gets 5p. and the 2nd worst 2p. (while others get nothing).

LOWBALL VARIATION (6 hand cards)

When playing normal poker or high-low splits, the setup above is recommended.

When playing lowball (lowest hand wins), the below variation is recommended:

• Each player is dealt 6 hand cards (1 extra).
• The players must always drop a hand card (so they always end up with 6 - 6 = 3 cards).
• The player’s poker hand consists of 6 cards: The 3 hand cards, the community center, and 1 card from each tower.

Other implications:

• Ace-to-six is recommended - rather than ace-to-five, where straights and flushes are ignored.
• Consequently the maximum number of players is 7 players (with or without burning cards).
• Note: Sometimes a community pair might save you from a (lower) pair you would otherwise have (with your hand cards).

ABOUT DIFFERENCES & STRATEGY

This poker variant has some essential differences when compared to other forms of poker (for example, Texas Hold’em):

• NARROWING OF CHOICES: You must choose (3 times) the appropriate path to follow - that is, which card to discard (or which not to).
• HIGH HANDS MORE OFTEN: You are more likely to get straight-flushes, full-houses and other 'fun hands'.
• BLUFFING BY PLAYING CARDS: Bluff your opponents by your choice of discarding / not discarding a hole card (on the last round). Not just talk & such.
• SUDDEN SURPRISES: As 2 new cards arrive each cycle, the situations may change quickly. (So get rid of your opponents early enough.)

THANKS

FOR IDEAS, HELP WITH DEVELOPMENT & PLAYING

To the various unknown developers of poker, especially the Texas and Omaha hold'em variations.