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

Trips to Win

A five-card draw game where someone has to start the betting with a pair of Jacks or better, and then you need three of a kind of better to win.

If no one can meet either requirement, the cards are folded and re-dealt. The problem is, if you fold before calling any bet – you are out of the hand completely. There is usually an ante every time there is a deal and no one can make the “pair of Jacks” requirement.

Then, guys with a high pair, or a pair with an ace, will raise as a semi-bluff. This builds a pot if they hit, and makes the rocks fold. That increases the odds that he could win the pot eventually, but makes it harder for the remaining players to hit trips.

Hands can take a long time to finish and pots can build to massive amounts. Players who folded have to sit there and watch the action. Some dealers put ‘legs’ on it, where you have to win twice or even three times to get the pot! It is poker’s equivalent to bingo, unless you are a card sharp that can slowly build a pot and also…..slowly win yourself legs with dirty dealing.

Faldo says “Nay”.


Twin Beds

This is simply a Holdem, Omaha or Omaha Hi-Lo game with an extra board dealt. It spices up the action as you have a double chance of hitting your hand. Odds wise it makes it very difficult to fold pre-flop. With the double beds, just about any holding could be a monster after the flop.

If you progressively build the betting, let’s say in a 1-2-3-4 as the rounds go on, you progressively build a nice pot, while giving player a chance to ditch their hands if they miss BOTH flops (what Faldo does repeatedly).

Triple Beds is also dealt sometimes – mainly for a Holdem deal out, but not always.

Faldo says “Yea”.


Zig-Zag

A form of Triple Beds, that saves two cards in the deck for being dealt into players hands. The two, three or four cards are dealt to the players face down. Then a board is dealt face down on the table like this:

X X X X X
......X
....X
..X
X X X X X

There is a betting round, and the three cards on the top and bottom rows closest to the middle row are turned up, as is the center card of the diagonal row. A betting round, and then the turn is flipped and then the river. Which card flipped first in the diagonal row is of course optional for the dealer. It doesn’t really matter anyway.

Some play it with only two cards being flipped at a time. Or they play High only with either the center card wild or the two posts of the Z wild. Lots of variations possible.

Faldo says “Yea”.

Hope you enjoyed this ten-part series and feel free to search and reference it before your next home game!