SAINT POKER

Players: 2-5.

Description: Loosely based on Texas hold 'em poker card game but without a bidding phase. The game is played over several rounds and has more strategic decisions to make because you have more knowledge and influence of the cards.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xmMGI7-e_G0qN7syWGXz9bQV2PkKtZnIPPmjIPntx2E/edit?usp=sharing

Components required:

Standard deck of 52 cards. Pen and paper for keeping score.

Rules:

At the end of each round of play, each player will make a poker hand of 5 cards according to the standard poker Texas hold'em rules.

The 5 cards may be made from any combination of cards in the 'river' (the communal cards in the middle of the table) and the 2 individual cards the player has selected.

Each poker hand is then ranked to determine which player won.

Hand Ranking Order:

                         Straight flush.        Five cards in a sequence, all in the same suit.
                         Four of a kind.        All four cards of the same rank. e.g. 7,7,7,7
                         Full house.            Three of a kind with a pair. e.g. Queen,Queen,Queen,5,5
                         Flush.                 All 5 cards are of the same suit.
                         Straight.              5 cards in a sequence. e.g. 4,5,6,7,8, any mixture of suits.
                         Three of a kind.       Three of the same rank. e.g. 8,8,8
                         Two pairs.             Two pairs. e.g. Queen,Queen,5,5
                         One pair.              A single pair e.g. Queen,Queen
                         High.                  None of the above, the highest card.

Note 1: To settle ties for similar tricks like flushes the rank of the highest card is used. Ace high.

Note 2: To settle ties for tricks requiring less than 5 cards, the number rank of the 'kicker(s)' (the other card(s)) is(are) used.

Example round:

                         Winner:                Player B wins with a straight flush:
                         2nd:                   Player C has a king flush with hearts:
                         3rd:                   Player A comes next with a straight:
                         4th:                   Player D comes last with a (lower) straight:

Game Setup:

Shuffle the deck.

Deal 10 cards to each player.

Next turn over a number of cards depending on the number of players face-up, these are the ‘Future river’ cards. 3 cards in a 2-player game. 2 cards for 3 players, 1 card for 4 players, 0 cards for 5 players.

The remaining cards become the 'deck’.

Playing a Round:

River Setup Phase:

Move the face up cards from the future river and place them in the middle to make the start of the current river.

From the deck, place face-up the same number of cards to one side to make a new future river.

To complete the current river, each player must select 1 card from their hand and simultaneously reveal them.

This will make a total of 5 face-up cards now showing the complete current river.

Reveal and Score Phase

Each player selects 2 cards from their hand. Simultaneously players reveal their 2 cards.

According to poker rules, determine the winner order.

The winner receives points equal to the current round number. So 1 point in the 1st round, 2 points in the 2nd round, etc. Everyone else receives 0 points for their hand. If multiple hands tie for a win, the points will be split evenly (rounded up), and a random pickup turn order will be determined between any tied players. (e.g. 2 players tie for the win in the 7th round, each of these players will receive 4 points).

Keep a running total score, anyone is allowed to know the current score at any time.

Pickup

Following the reverse winning order, take a card back from either the river or any of the players revealed cards, and place it in your hand, the winner being the last to take a card.

Repeat the process again so everyone picks up a total of 2 cards.

Discard the remaining 5 cards, they will no longer be used.

Repeat for 8 rounds.

The winner is the player who has the most points at the end of the game.