Faldo Says “Yay” or “Nay” to Common Dealer’s Choice Games – Part IV

There are other poker games besides what is dealt in casinos and tournaments. The casino games are there because of their speed and simplicity in dealing. More hands equals more rake for the house.

But there are some fun, entertaining and exciting poker games you can deal in a home game, which make you have to think outside “the flop” sometimes.

The description of the following games in this series is Faldo’s opinion only. Others may like my take on a game and some will not. That’s fine. It’s all good. Here we go:

Criss-Cross / Southern Cross

Each player receives five cards (although 4 or 3 per hand is playable also). There can or cannot be a betting round here. It is up to the dealer to declare prior to looking at his cards. Then a window is placed on the table as such (ignore dash):
-X
XXX
-X
Southern Cross has the same board but it has 5 cards in the row/column instead of 3.
An outer card is chosen to be turned over, and another betting round.
The dealer then chooses anther outer card to be turned over, but not one in the same row or column as the first one. And another betting round happens.
This continues until all the cards in the window are exposed, with the middle one being last.

You make your hand using ANY of the cards in your hand and the cards in either the row or the cards in the column to help you out.
You can play this game turning two cards at a time and then the one in the middle, to lessen the betting rounds. You can play this game High-Low. You can play this game with the middle card being wild. I have seen and played every variation.

Faldo says “Yay” to this game, although If the middle card is to be wild, I prefer it be the first card turned.

Deuces Wild

Usually dealt like 5 card draw or 7 stud poker,with the added twist that any Deuce (2) can be named any card the player holding it wants it to be. Some people name a different card wild or multiple cards wild.

Faldo says “Yay” to this game, and here is why. There is an interesting quirk about a wild card game that you may not know. But now you will.

First of all, with a wild card game, there are 30,816 possible 4-of-a-kind hands, and only 12,672 full house hands possible. This means it is easier to get quads than boats, but quads of course rank higher! In addition, there are only 13,204 possible flushes.
Two-pair (95,040) also should rank above trips (355,056).

How many of you did not know this? Well, that is why I am here.