The Exotics
Funny thing happened to poker in the late 1990s.
It used to go that if someone said “hey you want to play poker?” someone else would say “sure, what game?” Nowadays when someone says ‘let’s play poker’ someone deals Texas Hold’em, no questions asked.
For this generation of young players, poker is Texas Hold’em. They are growing up spoiled and with a narrow view of a very diverse category of games. I’m only 28 years old but I remember when there were more stud games than anything else at my casino and the poker room wasn’t a clean, well-lit place (R.I.P. EH). More like a bingo hall, you couldn’t cut the smoke even with an insult because that might get drowned out by the bells and whistles of the slot machines RIGHT behind you. We didn’t get comped, the waitress never came by, and ash trays sat on the table next to beer bottles. I saw fights, drama and a lot of hustling. I’m getting off track.
Sure, the younger generation has seen the OTHER games but Stud and 5-card draw are the bastard children of Poker. The only reason Omaha gets respect is because it looks like Hold’em and Razz is like the Nintendo Wii, everyone’s heard of it but you can’t find one anywhere.
I know the bread and butter of poker today is Texas Hold’em. But the o-b-j-e-c-t of playing poker well is to make money. I first learned how to play profitable poker in house games. And we didn’t play Texas Hold’em that much. We played dealer’s choice and often we had to explain the rules seconds before dealing the cards. Talk about an edge! You had position AND preference.
Well if you have a house game consider running a dealer’s choice night to ‘break up the Hold’em’ and introduce these favorite games of mine in to the mix. There are some well known games not mentioned below, like low ball, 5-card draw, jacks or better, but there are books on those games. These below are EXOTIC and very different than what you’re used to. Remember these games and tips as well and watch the pots get pushed your way.
EXOTIC: Follow the Bitch
Deal seven card stud, but this game has wild cards. When a queen is dealt on someone’s board, the card immediately following that card is wild. So if it comes queen to you and I catch a 4, all 4s are wild. However, if another queen is dealt that round and then say an 8 is dealt, then the wild card changes. 4s are no longer wild, 8s are. If a queen is the last up card dealt, then it cancels all wild cards and nothing is wild. If no queen is dealt face up then there is no wild.
KEY: You want to see 5th street with any pair in your hand or 3 cards to a straight flush. Exposed wild cards hurt your chances of making money, wild cards in the hole help a lot. Don’t put much money in with flushes and straights. You want full houses and quads.
EXOTIC: High Chicago, Low Chicago, No Love, etc.
As seen in Rounders, briefly. Deal seven card stud, but there is a suit that competes for half the pot. In Low Chicago, the lowest spade in the hole takes half the pot, no love it’s the lowest heart. Of course, high Chicago it’s the highest spade. Aces play high.
KEY: Be very tight when you enter the pot to draw to a high hand. You really only want to get in there when you have the lowest or second lowest spade because you’re getting half the pot most of the time and occasionally scooping. When you do have a lock low, hammer away and make the high hands pay a premium.
EXOTIC: 3-5-7
This is a match pot game, meaning if you lose you have to match the pot. Everyone antes $1 or whatever your stakes are but remember the bets can really escalate in a match pot game. Deal three cards to every player. Right now 3s are wild. Count down “1-2-3-drop.” All players who think they have the best hand hold their cards, the others drop theirs face down. Those who held their cards privately pass their hands around and agree on who has the best hand, not exposing the cards to those who dropped. Losers match the pot. Deal two more cards out to each player (including those that previously dropped). Now 5s are wild, 3s are not. Repeat the “1-2-3 drop” and share routine. Losers match the pot. Now deal two more cards out to each player. 7s are now wild. Repeat the process. Continue until only one person holds while others drop. If two or more players hold on the 7s round there will be a sizable pot. Muck all cards and reshuffle, starting over at the 3s round.
KEY: During the 3s round you want to hold with a pair of Jacks or better but more importantly remember what you saw. If you see someone has a 5 or 7 in their hand, you can get an idea of what hand you may be facing on those rounds. If you see someone has a pair of 5s or 7s, jesus fold on those rounds! On the later rounds you want to hold with only a big flush or better.
EXOTIC: Bloody Cross
This is a match pot game, so everyone starts off with an ante. Everyone gets two cards and their lowest card is wild only for them. Now deal out five cards in the center of the table and make it look like a cross or a plus sign +. Imagine a compass. Flip up the north card and the west card. Players must use the two cards in their hand plus three cards from the five in the center to make the best 5 card hand (like Hold’em). Players can either play north to south, west to east, or they have the option of playing the cards not exposed. Do the “1-2-3 drop” thing and starting on the left of the dealer the player who held will announce which three cards he’ll use and continue around the table until all holding players stated their intentions. You then expose all the cards in a dramatic fashion and decide who has the best hand. Note that if the player is holding Ace 6 then the 6 is wild. If there is a 6 in the 3 cards he selected, that is wild also.
KEY: Only hold when you have a wild card in your hand WITH a face card AND it matches one of the cards exposed (giving you 2 wild cards) OR you have a pair in your hand (then choose the three unseen cards unless one matches your pair). You basically want two or three wild cards.
They may sound like carnival games, perhaps a bit gimmicky. But these are true poker games, requiring a lot of skill an the ability to fold MONSTER hands. More importantly though, your opponents will be stuck in a Hold’em mindset and you should be able to separate them from their money with ease.
