101 Poker Games - Now Available!

Through years of playing, dedicate research, and a labour of love, I have published my Kindle book entitled 101 Poker Games.

As the name suggests, it is a compilation of 101 different poker games, from a simple game like 5-Card Stud to Henway, a two-handed poker game.  I have also included some of my own poker game creations that you won't find anywhere else.

Is this book for you?  I would say no, if:

• you already know over 100 poker games
• don't want a repository of games on the Kindle
• don't care to have (or don't need) a guide to have with you at all times

Otherwise, this make be just the book for you!

Visit Amazon today to get your copy of 101 Poker Games!

5-Card Stud Hi Lo

Name of the Game: 5-Card Stud Hi Lo

Deal: 5 card deal (1 down, 4 up)

Draws: 0 draws

Wild Cards: None

Rules:  An excellent variation of the classic 5-Card Stud game.  In this version the game is a slipt pot, with a high poker hand winning 50% of the pot and a lowball hand winning the other 50% of the pot.

Just like 5-Card Stud, the initial deal will be 1 face down card and then one face up card to each player.  The bets starts with the player to the left of the dealer and goes around the table.  The dealer will then deal another face up card, followed by another betting around.  This is followed by two more rounds of 1 face up card deals each with a betting around.  In the showdown, the players must first declare whether they are going for a hi or lo hand.  To do this, each player will take a coin (or chip) and secretly put it (or not) in their hand.  When everyone is ready, they open their hands and everyone with one coin is playing for a high poker hand and everyone with no coin is playing for a low poker hand.

5-Card Stud

Name of the Game: 5-Card Stud

Deal: 5 card deal (1 down, 4 up)

Draws: 0 draws

Wild Cards: None

Rules:  This is a classic game that all poker players should know.  The initial deal will be 1 face down card and then one face up card to each player.  The bets starts with the player to the left of the dealer and goes around the table.  The dealer will then deal another face up card, followed by another betting around.  This is followed by two more rounds of 1 face up card deals each with a betting around.  In the showdown, the player with the best poker hand wins.

Bankers Hours (a.k.a Will's Hours)

Background: One day we were explaining to our good friend Will the rules of Nine-Two-Five. At the end of the explanation, he asked why the Dolly reference. We mentioned the movie of course, and why it was called 9-2-5 (i.e. as people typically work 9am to 5pm each working day). This shocked Will, as in his current job (at an unnamed bank), he worked 10am to 4pm most days. We all got a good laugh with (or at?) Will,and created this game.

Number of Betting Rounds: 5

Draws/Deal: Typical 5 Card Draw (2 draws of 2 are normal)

Wild Cards: All 10s, 2s, and 4s are wild.

Other Rules / Notes:

1. If you don't have at least 4 of a kind, you likely won't win.

Nine Two Five

Background: To honour the hardest working lady, Dolly, the game 9-2-5 was created. This can be played as a 5-card or 7-card game. All 9s, 2s, and 5s are wild, a lot like Dolly.

Number of Betting Rounds: 3

Draws/Deal: Five cards are dealt out initially, then there are two drops of 2 cards. There is a betting round after the deal and after each drop round.

Wild Cards: All 9s, 2s, and 5s are wild..

Let's Make a Deal

Name of the Game: Let's Make a Deal

Deal: 5 cards

Draws: 2 draws of 2 cards

Wild Cards: dealers choice

Special Rules: An extra hand is dealt at the beginning of the game. After players review their initial cards, they can chose to bid on the spare hand. The bid continues until no one else wants to top the last bid. That person then gets the cards and the bid collected goes to the pot. If no one wants the cards then they are discarded and the game continues as per a normal 5-card game.

Variant: An excellent variant is to make a pair of king's take the game. If two players have a pair of kings, the one with the king of spades takes the game. This makes the game more interesting as players will hold a king in hopes for a second one, even though it hurts their odds for the normal low hand.

Low Ball

Name of the Game: Low Ball

Deal: 5 cards

Draws: 2 draws of 2 cards

Wild Cards: none typically

Special Rules: In this game, you are going for the lowest possible poker hand. So a Royal Flush is the worst hand to have (assuming no wild cards), and the best hand is a 2, 3, 4, 5, 7.

Variant: An excellent variant is to make a pair of king's take the game. If two players have a pair of kings, the one with the king of spades takes the game. This makes the game more interesting as players will hold a king in hopes for a second one, even though it hurts their odds for the normal low hand.

Past the Dutchie

Name of the Game: Past the Dutchie

Deal: 5-card deal

Draws: 0 draws

Wild Cards: Second lowest card in your hand.

Special Rules: After the initial deal and bet, there will be three rounds of passing cards to the player to your left (each followed with a betting round). The first round will be three cards passed, then two, and the last pass will be one card.

Background: Invented by the infamous Dutchman Johan van der Smut, this amusing game was an occasional diversion while creating his giant tractor beam. It proved to be effective in annoying the hell out of his poker buddies as well.

Crazy 5s

Name of the Game: Crazy Fives

Deal: 5-card (2 up, 2 down, 1 up)

Draws: 0 draws

Wild Cards: 5s are wild.

Special Rules: 5-card poker where you deal 2 up initially, then 2 rounds of a card down, and a final card up at the end. A pair of 5s win automatically. If two people have a pair of 5s, the one with the 5 of spades wins.

Background: Once a fierce street gang in Tokyo, the Crazy 55s were influential on the Japanese subculture during the 1960s. Their leader was often spotted Chishima Chichibu on Shimbashi street, playing cards to the wee hours of the morning. On one such occasion, it was reported that the pot between him and a rival reached 500,000 Yen. He lost with a only a pair of 5s. After that day, he insisted that he play games where 5s are wild. Thus, Crazy 5s was born.

Gagnon Poker

Name of the Game: Gagnon Poker

Deal: 5-card draw

Draws: 2 draws of 2 cards. Adjust if more players.

Wild Cards: Kings and little ones (the lowest card in your hand).

Special Rules: Play the better and draw rounds like other poker hands, but after the second draw and bet, everyone has an exchange round. The player to the left of the dealer can exchange one card with anyone else at the table (cards are exchanged down, and you cannot look at the card you are receiving before deciding what to give). After all players have exchanged, there is one final better round.

Background: Invented in the early part of the 21st Century. This game takes it name from the musician Daniel Gagnon, a scrupulous gambler often known for his intentional and unintentional look of bewilderment. It is said that in the earliest days of when this game started, Dan lost large sums of money from poorly player swap cards.

Leaners

Name of the Game: Leaners

Deal: Can be a 5-card or 7-card draw game

Draws: For 5-card, typically 2 draws of 2 (if 5 players or less)

Wild Cards: Consecutive suited cards in you hand are wild (i.e. 7 and 8 of spades, J, Q, and K of hearts, etc.)

Special Rules: Played like any poker game, but where the wild cards are your "leaners" - i.e. two or more cards in numerical order (leaning) and are of the same suite. This can be played with any 5-card, 7-card, or community poker game.

Background: I think we learned this from John's work friend King in 2005 or 2006. It stuck!