Home Poker Games
There are many different forms of poker that are played in cellars, dens, garages and kitchen tables throughout
the poker world. They often include wild cards, changing wild cards, being able to buy extra cards, redraws, matching the pot if you
lose, and other interesting twists. I've assembled the rules to many of them, grouping them by the game they most resemble (5 or 7 card stud and draw poker).
The "twists" that people put on a basic style of poker are called "variants". So, if you're looking for a home game that you don't see here, you can check the list of poker variants at sites like Pagat or Poker Mike's.
There is also a list of variants on Wikipedia, and if you're still in a browsing mood, you can always just google the term.
For all of these games, someone needed to come up with them. So, if you're seeking entertainment, there's little sense in restricting yourself to someone else's imagination. When playing a session of "Dealer's Choice", here are some common rules that are added to base versions of poker to spice up the game.
Wild Cards
You can use Jokers, or select a particular card from the deck to be Wild (One-eyed Jacks, for instance). You can set the card that follows an event to be Wild, like Follow the Queen. Or, designate a particular hole card as Wild, say, Low Heart in the Hole.
The cards can be wild for everyone (every player with a low heart has a Wild card) or it can be the lowest at the Showdown, so if two players show a Heart at the Showdown, only the lowest is Wild.
Wild cards can be completely Wild, or perhaps only be used in certain situations. For example, they might only be allowed to substitute for Face Cards, and nothing else. Or, they would only be able to substitute for an Ace.
There are plenty of different variations to the game of poker that you can create by simply introducing a Wild card into the game.
High or Low
Games can be played where the highest hand wins, or where the lowest hand wins. They can also be played where both the highest and lowest hands win (they'll split the pot).
In some cases the low hand must "qualify" by being below a certain value to count. (Often all the cards must be 8 or below). And, you can either count straights and flushes, or disallow those for low hands.
Another twist is to require players to "declare" whether they are competing for the high or low hand portion of the pot before the final Showdown.
Redraws and Passing Cards
In order to build more action into a game, you can allow for additional redraws. Or allow redraws when a certain event occurs. For instance, in Baseball Stud a player is allowed an additional card if they are dealt a four. In Triple Draw Lowball, there are three draws instead of one.
While a lot of the poker games being played today are taken quite seriously, kitchen table poker games still exist. By taking a base form of poker, and adding a few twists to the rules, you will find an endless variety of games that all differ enough to keep the games fresh. And while these games may not be fit for highly skilled high stakes action, they can certainly be great fun.
