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Games...

Stud Games
Draw Games
Community Games
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Draw Games

5 Card Draw 
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: five down cards to each player
PLAY:There is a betting round after the deal, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. After the betting round, each player may exchange up to three cards. Another round of betting ensues, followed by the showdown. With fewer than six players, a player may draw four cards if they show that their remaining card is an Ace. 
WINNER: High hand 
VARIATIONS:
· Double draw: After the first exchange and subsequent betting, there is another exchange and betting round. 

Anaconda (Pass the Trash)
PLAYERS: 4-7
INITIAL DEAL: seven down cards to each player 
PLAY: Each player passes three cards to the player on their left. Each player then chooses five cards to keep and discards the remaining two. Play continues with a rolling showdown. Cards speak for themselves. 
WINNER: high hand 
STANDARD VARIATIONS: 
· The cards are passed to other than the person to the left.
· Love Thy Neighbor: High hand and the person to his left (who is still in) split the pot. 
· Low hole wild card (Fang's favorite game)
· Random wild card drawn from the deck at the end of card exchanges

Howdy Doody 
PLAYERS: 4-7 
INITIAL DEAL: seven down cards to each player 
PLAY: As with Anaconda, but with these exceptions: this game is high/low and has wild cards. Threes are wild if and only if the hand they are in is used to try to win the high pot. Kings are wild if and only if the hand they are in is used to try for the low pot. No betting until the showdown. 
WINNER: High and low hands split 
NOTES: The low pot is usually won by a perfect low. High is usually won by at least a full house.

Jacks to Open, Trips to Win 
PLAYERS: 3-7
INITIAL DEAL: five cards down to each player 
PLAY: Played like 5-card draw, with the following differences: Only a player with a hand as good as or better than a pair of Jacks may open the betting. If someone has such a hand, they must open the betting. If nobody can open, the hand is discarded, everyone antes again, and hands are redealt. Once the betting is opened, play continues as in 5 Card Draw until the showdown. At this time, anyone who has at least a 3 of a kind must reveal his hand. The best revealed hand takes the pot. If nobody reveals a hand (that is, nobody has at least 3 of a kind) everyone still in may make another exchange. Repeat this process (exchange, bet, check for winner) until someone wins. 
WINNER: High and low hands split
VARIATIONS:
· Allow bluffing in the showdown (i.e. allow a player to bluff having trips to win in order to get other players to fold-once players have folded, they cannot get back in.)
· Everyone hits Tom over the head with a stick because he complains about the idea of bluffing in this game.

Kings and Little Ones 
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-10 
INITIAL DEAL: 5 down to each player 
PLAY: As in 5 card draw, but after the draw there is no further betting. Instead, each player clockwise (starting to the dealer's left) declares whether he's in or out. If nobody stays in but the dealer, everyone in turn gets another chance to stay in. Players who stay in compare hands. Losers pay the amount of the pot to the winner. If only one player stays in, he takes the pot and the game ends. Otherwise the pot stays and the deal rotates. Kings are wild, as are all cards of the lowest rank in your hand. 
WINNER: High hand

Psycho
PLAYERS: 3-6 (tricky with 6--may not have enough cards)
INITIAL DEAL: 5 down to each player 
PLAY: As in 5 card draw. Immediately after draw, players show 3 cards. After a round of betting, players receive one card up. Bet. Receive a last card down. Bet, then showdown.
WINNER: High and low hands split.

Trees
PLAYERS: 3-10
INITIAL DEAL: 5 down to each player
PLAY: Bet. Now every player can trade cards freely with every other player. Any number of cards can be exchanged, but a player must give the same number of cards he is receiving. Card values are NOT revealed before they are exchanged (similar to the game "PIT"). When no more trades are forthcoming, there follows a final round of betting before the showdown.
WINNER: High hand.
VARIATIONS: This game can get really frustrating if people just keep trading the same cards over and over again. So, we've made a one minute trading limit (we use a timer) and it makes things much more interesting. Once the timer goes off, trading must stop.

Weeping Willow (an MNPC original) 
PLAYERS: 3-10
INITIAL DEAL: 5-7 down to each player (as long as everyone gets the same amount)
ANTE: There is no "ante" but each player must place 6 nickels (or whatever your group chooses) in front of him. These will be used to purchase trades with other players once the game begins)
WINNER: High hand.
PLAY: This game sort of evolved from the game "Trees" (see above) that we used to play. Once the cards are dealt, optional trading begins. A player may exchange any equal number of cards with any other player (e.g. Player A trades 3 cards with Player B). Each trade costs a player one nickel. Upon making the trade, he or she places one nickel into the pot. Each player has a maximum of six trades (one for each nickel). There are no requirements for trading (i.e. players can trade mixed cards, pairs, sets, single cards, whatever) as long as the exchange consists of the same amount of cards for each player--1 for 1, 2 for 2, etc. Once trading is done, each player selects the five cards he will use for his hand and places them face down in the order he wants to reveal them one at a time (i.e. "roll your own"). The betting round starts with each player turning over his first card. Once the card is turned up, the highest showing card bets. Play continues until the fifth card is turned over and there is a winner.
STRATEGY FOR TRADING ROUND: Many players will use up all of their trades. However, some may opt to stop trading early. One might stop early in order to get other players to assume the presence of a good hand. Or, one might stop early to ensure that his or her cards (if traded) do not increase the chances of someone else trading into a better hand. Then again, some players are just too cheap to give up all of their nickels.
STRATEGY FOR BETTING ROUNDS: As in any "roll your own" variation, players carefully choose the order in which they will reveal cards. Since other players (especially those who are apt at keeping track of cards) will know the location of certain cards, it might make sense to play those early. Players like to keep opponents guessing at the actual value of their hand until late in the game. This allows for bluffing.