2 Card Poker

  
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It’s a weekend and you and a friend or family member are wondering if you can play a game of poker with just the 2 of you. I have been playing for over 10 years and can give you a definitive answer.

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Can you play poker with 2 players? Poker can be played with only two players. It is called heads-up. Here are the two player rules:

  1. If you can form a hand containing two cards of the same value, you have one pair or “a pair”. The hand above contains a pair of aces. A pair of aces beats any other hand containing only a pair in NLHE (aces.
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  1. The dealer is the small blind and the other player posts the big blind. Players take turns being the dealer.
  2. The first card is dealt to the player in the big blind.
  3. The Dealer goes first before the flop and the Big Blind goes first after the flop.

Let’s cover a few more common questions that players typically have about 2 player poker in greater detail.

What Are the 2 Player Poker Rules?

Now that you are set up to play, let’s cover how to play 2 player poker. Here are the basic rules that you will need to know in order to play your game.

You may want to keep this page open in your browser in case questions come up during play.

1. How do the blinds work in 2 player poker?

How the blinds work is probably the most confusing thing in heads-up poker. However, once you get the hang of it it’s not that difficult to remember since there are only a couple of differences between 6-max or full-ring rules.

Who Is the Big Blind Who Is the Small Blind in Heads-Up Poker?

This is the most common question I get about 2 player poker.

The big blind is always the player who does not have the dealer button in front of him or her. That means that the person dealing is always the small blind.

How Do We Determine Who Gets the Button First at the Start of the Game?

The easiest and most fair way to determine who gets to be dealer first is for each player to draw a card from the deck. The high card gets to deal first.

2. How Are the Cards Dealt in 2 Player Poker?

Which Blind Gets Dealt to First Before the Flop?

The big blind gets the first card and the dealer gets the second card in heads-up play. The easy way to remember this is that the dealer never deals to his or her self first.

Can the Same Person Deal Every Hand?

It’s true that sometimes one person is better at dealing. In this case, it’s okay for the same person to deal every hand.

Just make sure that you move the dealer button each hand. It would be highly unfair if the same person had to play the big blind every single hand!

3. Who Goes First When Only Two Players Are Playing?

I remember walking up to observe the heads-up match between two friends in pub poker. I quickly realized that they were following the opposite order of play that they were supposed to.

I did not want to embarrass them so I kept quiet. It was apparent everyone else didn’t want to as well since none of the 10-15 observers said anything!

Who Goes First Before the Flop?

Pre-flop, the dealer always acts first in 2 player poker.

This rule is exactly the same as pre-flop however, it is easy to get wrong for inexperienced players. The easy way to remember it is that the big blind player acts last before the flop in 6 or 9-handed games, and it makes since to work the same way in heads-up.

Who Goes First After the Flop in Heads-Up?

This rule is also exactly the same for normal poker games. The dealer gets to always go last on the flop.

The biggest perk of playing on the dealer button is that you get to act last and have more information than your opponents. This is especially powerful in heads-up since the big blind can never act last.

What If the Dealer Open Folds in 2 Player Games?

When the Dealer decides to not play his or her hand before the flop, the small blind is relinquished to the player in the big blind. The dealer button then moves and the next hand begins.

Is it better to play Heads-Up, Cash Games or Tournaments?

Deciding what format to play in 2 player poker all comes down to personal preference. Each type of game has its perks.

Why Play Heads-up Cash Games?

There are a couple of reasons people might choose cash games over tournaments:

  1. Blinds Do Not Rise – Perhaps the biggest benefit of 2 person cash games is that you don’t have to worry about the blinds going up like they do in tournaments. You don’t need a special tournament clock, you can just choose your stake level and play indefinitely without having to adjust your style to the rising blinds.
  2. You Don’t Need Poker Chips – In tournaments, you really need to use poker chips that you can “color up” as the game goes on. That means to add higher value chips to compensate for the bigger stakes. Instead, you can use real coins or even paper money to play cash games.
  3. Cash Games Take More Skill – If you really want to practice and improve at poker, then the best way is through cash games. Once the blinds rise in tournaments, the game becomes more and more about who is the luckiest person.

Why Play Heads-up Tournaments?

Even though I am a cash game specialist, when I play heads-up I actually prefer tournaments. Here is why:

  1. There Are Logical End Points – While cash games drag on and on, a tournament always ends up with one person having all the chips. You can then decide whether to start anew or call it a night. So, if you want to play best of 3 or best of 5, you have a better idea of when the night will end and can plan for it. For this reason, it’s also a great format for hosting a home poker tournament with multiple players.
  2. Tournaments Tend to Be Much More Exciting – There’s nothing more fun in poker than getting to the shove-fold phase of a tournament or sit and go. Chips change hands rapidly and anyone can win at that point. Who doesn’t love a race for all the chips?
  3. The Games Are Usually More Fun for Beginners – Many people that get into poker are used to watching the World Poker Tour or the World Series of Poker. Therefore, tournaments are what they are familiar with and likely to understand better.

If you don’t have poker chips, there are likely plenty of poker chip substitutes lying around the house or office.

A Fun Alternative Format: Play Short-Stacked Cash Games

Another idea is to mix both a tournament and cash game feel by playing short stacked cash games.

The way it works is that each player starts with 20, 30, or 40 big blinds and then play cash games. The blinds do not rise, but there is still plenty of heavy pre-flop action with lots of reraise shoving.

Post-flop also plays a lot easier as a short stack. Top pair is an easy hand to get all-in with when short whereas it can be difficult to play when deed-stacked.

What Is the Best 2 Player Poker Strategy?

The biggest adjustment when playing heads-up poker is that marginal hands go way up in value. 3rd pair or even high card Ace can often win at showdown.

So, loosen up and don’t let your opponent run you over if he or she bets a lot! Conversely, you should bet often when you have any piece of the board or a credible bluff. There is a good chance your opponent might fold a better hand or pay you off with a worse hand.

What 2 Player Games Can We Play Besides Texas Hold’Em?

If you are tired of heads-up No-Limit Hold’em and want to mix in another game occasionally, there are several good options:

  • Pot Limit Omaha: In PLO, the heads-up rules are exactly the same as Hold’em except that both players get four hold cards. You also have to use both cards at showdown. Having one Diamond in your hand does not make a flush on a four Diamond board in PLO.
  • 5-Card Draw: This is the traditional “old-fashioned” game that most people used to learn poker before No-Limit Hold-em became the dominant game. Both players have a designated ante that they pay before the cards are dealt. Then, you simply deal out 5 cards to each heads-up player. Instead of having a flop, turn, and river there is instead two betting rounds. Once when you get your initial cards and then after a discard round. You may discard up to 3 cards (4 if you have an Ace) and get those cards replaced by the dealer. There is then another betting round and then the cards are shown and a dealer determined. You can, of course, fold any time during the hand and only lose the money you have invested up to that point.
  • 7-Card Stud: This game is similar to draw except that you start with two cards down and one card up. There is then a betting round. Afterward, another card is turned up one by one with a betting round happening in between. Once both heads-up players each have 7 cards, the dealing is complete and showdown can be reached.

Accessories to Make Matches Even Better

If you want to make your games more classy, then I recommend picking up quality accessories. I wrote recommendation articles for each category, just click the links to learn more:

  • Playing Cards– My personal favorite is Copag, what’s yours?
  • Poker Chips– I prefer a higher-end set, but there are plenty of good budget poker chip sets available as well.
  • Poker Table– I like roll up poker table mats for ease of storage, but that’s just me.

Final Thoughts

Playing heads-up only happens in tournaments if you are the last two players left in the field. However, 2 player poker is something you can do for fun either as a cash game or tournament at home.

If you want to read more about heads-up poker, I wrote a detailed article on the heads-up poker rules for Texas Hold’em. Thanks for stopping by!

Related Questions

Do you have to use both cards in Hold’em? In order to make your best 5-card hand in Hold’em, you can either use both cards or just one.

Is Ace high or low in poker? In Poker, an Ace can usually either be the highest card or the lowest. It can make the highest straight of TJQKA and the lowest straight, often called the wheel, of A2345.

Do you have to match the big blind is poker? In order to qualify to see the flop, you must at least match the amount of the blind.

(Redirected from Big Two)
Big two
大老二or鋤大弟
OriginHong Kong
Alternative namesBig deuce, deuces, top dog, Chinese poker; dà lǎo èr; sho tai ti, chor dai di, co daai di, dai di; cap sa; ciniza, giappuniza; pusoy dos, chikicha, sikitcha, Filipino (Miguel) poker
TypeShedding-type
Players2-4
Age rangeall
Cardstwo players: 53four players: 13
DeckAnglo-American
Card rank (highest first)2 A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3,
(spades),
(hearts),
(clubs),
(diamonds)
Playing time1–5 minutes
Random chance90.5%
Related games
Winner, dou di zhu, daifugō
can earn money. Used in gambling

Big two (also known as deuces, capsa, pusoy dos, dai di and various other names) is a card game of Chinese origin. It is similar to the games of winner, daifugō, president, crazy eights, cheat, and other shedding games. The game is very popular in East Asia, and in Southeast Asia (due to overseas Chinese influence), especially throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. It is played both casually and as a gambling game. It is usually played with two to four players, the entire deck being dealt out in either case (or sometimes with only 13 cards per player, if there are fewer than four players). The objective of the game is to be the first to play of all of one's cards.

Names[edit]

This card game has many other names, including big deuce and top dog. In Mandarin Chinese it is 大老二, pinyin: dà lǎo èr; in Cantonese, 鋤大弟, sho tai ti (among other transliterations, including chor dai di, and rendered in jyutping tonal notation as co4 daai6 di2), or simply dai di. It is cap sa in Hokkien, 十三, meaning 'thirteen' (coming from the number of cards dealt to each player), a name is commonly used in Indonesia. In Malta, it is often referred to as ciniza ('Chinese') or giappuniza ('Japanese'), due to its East Asian origin. In English, it is sometimes ambiguously called Chinese poker because of its use of poker hands, but this name more often applies to another game of an entirely different nature.

A variant is called pusoy dos in Filipino, or in other Philippine dialects chikicha (also sikitcha).[1][2]

A commercial version of the game was published as Gang of Four by Days of Wonder[3] in 1990.

Big two is sometimes confused with tien len (a.k.a. thirteen); the two games differ primarily in that big two involves poker hands, while tien len does not.

Rules[edit]

2 card poker casino

Valid combinations[edit]

Cards may be played as singles or in groups of two, three or five (var. 1 and 8), in combinations which resemble poker hands. The leading card to a trick sets down the number of cards to be played; all the cards of a trick must contain the same number of cards. The highest ranking card is 2 instead of A. The combinations and their rankings are as follows, mostly based on poker hands:

  • Single cards: Any card from the deck, ordered by rank with suit being the tie-breaker. (For instance, A beats A, which beats K.)
  • Pairs: Any two cards of matching rank, ordered as with singular cards by the card of the higher suit. (A pair consisting of the K and K beats a pair consisting of K and K.)
  • Triples: Three equal ranked cards, three twos are highest, then aces, kings, etc. down to three threes, which is the lowest triple. In some variations, a triple can only be played as part of a five-card hand.
  • Five-card hands: There are five (var. 2) different valid five-card hands, ranking from low to high as follows (the same ranking as in poker, where applicable):
  • Straight (also known as a snake in Cantonese or mokke in Malaysia): Any 5 cards in a sequence (but not all of the same suit). Rank is determined by the value of the biggest card, with the suit used only as a tie-breaker. Therefore 3-4-5-6-7 < 2-3-4-5-6, since 2 is considered the largest card in the 2-3-4-5-6 straight. The largest straight is A-2-3-4-5, second 2-3-4-5-6, third 10-J-Q-K-A while the smallest straight is 3-4-5-6-7.
  • Flush (also known as a flower or sama bunga in Malaysia): Any 5 cards of the same suit (but not in a sequence). Rank is determined by Face value of the cards (highest first, then each lower card in order). Suit (,,,), is used to break ties. In some popular variations, flushes are not permitted as a playable hand, and thus it is the lowest possible combination.
  • Full house (also known as a gourd in Chinese): a composite of a three-of-a-kind combination and a pair. Rank is determined by the value of the triple, regardless of the value of the pair. Also known as a Fullen.
  • Four-of-a-kind + One card (nicknamed King Kong, tiki, or Bomb or ampat batang in Malaysia, or Iron bullet (tieji) in Chinese): Any set of 4 cards of the same rank, plus any 5th card. (A four-of-a-kind cannot be played unless it is played as a five-card hand) Rank is determined by the value of the 4 card set, regardless of the value of the 5th card. It is also known as a poker. (Some play the Four-of-a-kind hand as the beat all, therefore nicknamed the bomb, King Kong, or also tiki.). In some variations, when a bomb was dealt, it immediately makes the 2s to be the lowest cards in the game (with 2 of diamonds becoming the lowest)
  • Straight flush: A composite of the straight and the flush: five cards in sequence in the same suit. Ranked the same as straights, suit being a tie-breaker. (Sometimes also called a 'bomb' (or tiki or sunn) in Malaysia, greater than a four-of-a-kind)

The dealer (who may be chosen by cutting the cards, as usual) shuffles the deck to begin with and begins dealing out the cards singly, starting with the person of his right, in a counter-clockwise manner around the table. The cards are dealt out among the players as far as they can go while retaining an equal number of cards for each player. Leftover cards (not possible if there are 4 players) are then given to the player holding the 3. If this card is in the kitty, then the holder of the next lowest card adds them to his pile (var. 5). The Joker cards are not used under normal rules and are taken out before dealing.

At the beginning of each game, the player with the 3 (var. 6 and 9) starts by either playing it singly or as part of a combination, leading to the first trick. Play proceeds counter-clockwise, with normal climbing-game rules applying: each player must play a higher card or combination than the one before, with the same number of cards. Players may also pass, thus declaring that they do not want to play (or do not hold the necessary cards to make a play possible). A pass does not hinder any further play in the game, each being independent, referred to as jumping-back. (var. 14).

When all but one of the players have passed in succession the trick is over (some variations have when 1 player has passed the trick is over), and the cards are gathered up and a new trick is started with all players, initiated by the last player to play. When a player plays the 2 either as a single or as part of a pair of 2s, it is often customary for that player to start the next trick immediately by leading a new card or combination, since the 2 cannot be beaten whether as a single or as part of a pair of 2s, and the passes are mere formalities.

It is often courteous for a player to warn others when they are one playing combination away from winning. The goal is, then, for the other players to play (and get rid of) as many cards as possible while avoiding the combination that would allow the calling player to win the game. For example, if said player has one last single card, the other players would play doubles or other combinations to force that player to pass.

The game ends when one player runs out of cards. Refer to scoring section.

In most popular variations, ending with a single or double two is not allowed.

Reshuffling[edit]

If a player receives a hand with only 3 points or less, s/he may declare his cards, and the cards shall be reshuffled and dealt again. Point counting rules: J=1, Q=2, K=3, A=4, 2=5, others=0. These point-counting rules may vary from place to place, or may be voided. A variation states that a player holding a hand with no cards with faces on them (namely Jacks 'J', Queens 'Q', and Kings 'K') may request a reshuffle and the cards shall be dealt again. In addition, if a player has four twos, it might be mandatory to have a reshuffle.

Scoring[edit]

Scoring varies from place to place. The most common version is that after a game each player with cards remaining valued at one point each, and doubles if they have 10 or more cards, or triple is all 13 cards are intact and not played at all. The points is then paid to the winner. (Example: North player wins, and East, West, and South respectively still had 3, 11, and 8 cards left, then East would score -3, West would score -22, South would score -8, and North would score +33.)

Any unused 2's, or a Four-of-a-kinds or Straight Flushes also doubles the points paid to the winner. If the winner ends the game by discarding a 2, a four-of-a-kind, or a Straight flush, the base points will also be doubled, but does not stack regardless of an ending hand. (Example: North players wins with a 2 as a last discard, and East, West, and South respectively still had 3, 9, and 8 cards left with the West had an unused Straight Flush and South left with an unused 2, then East would score -6, West would score -36, South would score -32, and North would score +74.)

Likewise for a three-player game, a player with 17 cards remaining is deducted triple points. A player with more than 11 cards and less than 17 cards remaining is deducted double points. An alternative scoring method to deduct one point per remaining card, is to double the count for each unused 2's.

Penalty for assistance[edit]

If Player B won a game by playing her or his last card (the case of more than one card played is excluded) after Player A has played theirs and Player A could have prevented this from happening by playing a higher card, s/he is deemed to have assisted Player B.

There are several ways to penalize Player A. The most common way is for Player A to be deducted the total points that the other two losers have lost on top of her or his own so that the other two may win some points.

This rule can vary between styles of play. If the scoring system is based on ranks (e.g. who finishes first, second, third or last), the rule would not apply.

Variations[edit]

  1. Smack-down: Also known as a chop, can be played to defeat the 'big 2' only when the 2 is played as a single. A smack-down is either four-of-a-kind or a run of pairs (Example: 4-4-5-5-6-6), and is often executed with a violent smack of the playing surface. The run of pairs may be any length of at least 3. After a smack-down has been played, any player is allowed to 'smack-back', or 'chop-chop', with a higher four-of-a-kind or run of pairs of equal length as the smack-down.
  2. If a player leads off with three 3s, the following player is required to play three 2's if no other play is possible.
  3. Some allow four-of-a-kind without extra card; 2s rank high, as usual.
  4. Some variations allowing four-of-a-kind without extra card do not allow for two pairs.
  5. Some allow four-card combinations (two pairs or four cards alone, without an odd card). Four-of-a-kind beats two pairs.
  6. Some allow a sixth five-card combination called 'two pair junk' or 'butterfly', consisting of two pairs (of different ranks) and one odd card (the junk); rank is determined by the highest pair. This combination ranks below the straight.
  7. Some allow the three-of-a-kind poker hand, consisting of a triple and two junk cards. This combination ranks below the straight.
    Or it can be more specific, known as 'sisters', where two consecutive pairs are played, with any random card. This combo is lower than a straight, making it the weakest five-card combo in the game, if it is played. An example of sisters is double jack, double queen and a single nine. This would be beaten by a double king, double ace and a three (only the 'sisters' count, not the random card.)
    3-K-K-A-A > 9-J-J-Q-Q (tie-breaker rules vary)
  8. Some variations allow for straights longer than five cards, or even as short as three cards.
  9. There are many variations on ranking straights, suit of last card is tie-breaker unless otherwise stated.
    • 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 10-J-Q-K-A < A-2-3-4-5 < 2-3-4-5-6 (suit of 2 is tiebreaker; Malaysian variant)
    • 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 10-J-Q-K-A < J-Q-K-A-2 (Indonesian variant)
    • 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 10-J-Q-K-A < 2-3-4-5-6 (Suit of 2 is tiebreaker) < A-2-3-4-5 (suit of 2 is tiebreaker; Singapore/Hong Kong variant)
    • 2-3-4-5-6 < 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 9-10-J-Q-K < 10-J-Q-K-A < A-2-3-4-5 (suit of A is tiebreaker)
    • 2-3-4-5-6 < 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 9-10-J-Q-K < A-2-3-4-5 (suit of A is tiebreaker) < 10-J-Q-K-A
    • 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 10-J-Q-K-A (Vietnamese variant)
  10. Some rank flushes by highest suit, K-Q-J-10-8 in spades defeating A-K-Q-J-9 of diamonds.
  11. Some discard the extra cards. Some play that the lowest cards are consciously removed to avoid having the 2, the highest card, in the kitty. Yet others give the kitty to the holder of the lowest diamond (not necessarily the lowest card).
    Whereas sometimes in a three-player game, the extra card is not revealed (or is revealed), and the holder of 3 is given a chance to make a decision to or not to trade his/her 3 for the extra card. If he/she does, the starting player will be 3 holder, or the previous winner depending on the rules.
  12. Some switch and , to conform to contract bridge tradition, and play begins with the 3. Another variation rearranges the suit ranks from (lowest to highest) , , , . Another variation of suit ranks is (lowest to highest) , , , . Taiwan rule of suit ranks is (lowest to highest) , , , .
  13. In some variations, suit rankings are not used, for example, a 3-single cannot be used to beat any other 3-single, and an 8-high straight cannot be used to beat any other 8-high straight.
  14. A variant to discourage passing disallows a player from playing any further cards to a trick after he or she passes.
  15. A rare variation involves a three-player game, where each is dealt 17 cards. A 'Dragon' consists of 13 cards in straight (A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2), is considered a valid combination and may be played once the player has gained control of the game. Suit of 2 is tie-breaker.
  16. In Malta, a dragun or 'dragon' is not a thirteen-card straight, but it is the initial thirteen cards that the player is dealt, consisting of six pairs and any other single card. A player who is dealt a dragon immediately wins the game. However, if the dragon contains a pair of 3s it is called a dragun bla-bajd and the player immediately loses.
  17. In tournaments, starting the game with 3 is only true for the first round. In subsequent rounds, the winner of the previous round plays first.
  18. If only two players are available, deal thirteen cards each and play as normal. When one player passes she or he is forced to pick up one card from the remaining deck and add it to his hand. This variation is taken from the card game Go Fish.
  19. If three people are playing, deal four thirteen-card hands as if a fourth players were present. The hand to receive the last card that would normally become the dealer's now becomes the 'ghost hand'. No one plays the ghost hand and its cards are not shown, play continues as normal.
  20. If three people are playing, deal three seventeen-card hands, leaving one left over. The one card is placed in the middle, and whichever player possesses the two of spades or three of diamonds receives that card.
  21. In some places, owning 4 Twos is also a condition for Immediate Win. Some play Immediate Win rule in three-player game too. There are more cards involved, the chance of occurring and points transfer is therefore very high. On the contrary, some variations said that it's an automatic draw when 1 player has all 4 twos, as having all 4 twos gives the player amazing amount of power.
    The chance of getting 4 Twos is (489)(5213)=0.264106%=1:379{displaystyle {frac {tbinom {48}{9}}{tbinom {52}{13}}}=0.264106%=1:379} games.
  22. In some rules, four-of-a-kind + one card, and straight flush, can also be played on a pair or a single card, regardless of value.
  23. Some players rank all poker hands with traditional poker rules, except for the full house 2, which is higher than full house ace, and a hand must be won exactly, not just by a tiebreaker of suit.
  24. In some rules, a single 2 is not allowed to be played as the last card. Others do not allow any combination that includes the 2 of spades to be played as the last hand.
  25. A four-of-a-kind can be used to beat all card combinations that lack a four-of-a-kind.
  26. Some require the person to call 'last card' when he/she only has one card left right after the last play. If the person holding the last card won, but forgot to call 'last card' beforehand, he/she will take the penalty of all the other player's remaining cards, while other players will score 0.
  27. In some variations, a straight is considered higher than a flush. This can be determined beforehand.
  28. In Hawaii, a game variant called penning is played. The main difference is that the ranking of cards is diamonds high, followed by hearts, then spades, and clubs as lowest. When playing with three or four people, the 2nd and 3rd place titles are done by person with the lowest card going first.
  29. Joker rules: Jokers are added to the deck, and they can be played as any card with any suit. Also, the jokers are deemed higher than the Two of Spades, but the black joker is considered higher than the red joker. Another variation sets the joker as valueless: it can be played to beat any card, but any card can be played to beat the joker(s). These variations allow for more in-depth and strategic game play.
  30. No poker rules (a.k.a. no soccer ball rules): The players are not allowed to play a different type of 5 card hand over the current. For example, a full house can not be played over a straight.
  31. In some variations, any five-card combination can be played on top of any other five-card combination with a lower card value, e.g. 4-5-6-7-8 can be played on top of 7-7-7-6-6 even though full house is higher than straight in traditional big two.
  32. Some variants do not score; rather, play continues till all but one person have rid all cards, and at the end, players are ranked according to the order they got rid of their cards, e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.
  33. The direction of play (clockwise or anti-clockwise) can be determined by a race between the two players on either side of the leader (previous round winner, or holder of 3).
  34. Playing with two decks: this enables up to eight players per game (and is required for five-of-a-kind hands to be possible). In this case, five-of-a-kind defeats four-of-a-kind, but may or may not defeat a straight flush. Players may or may not be allowed to play a hand equivalent to the previous hand, such as 3 followed by the other 3.
  35. Some variations do not allow any of the 2s to be played as the last single card of a player's hand.

Big two president variation[edit]

The usual rules of big two apply, with the following features borrowed from the game of president:

Two Card Indian Poker

  • The first player to clear all his cards becomes the President for the next round. The players next to the new President can follow the President's last play if possible (singleton, pair, three-of-a-kind, 5 cards). If no one can follow the President's last play or choose not to do so even when able (the player immediately next to the President has a strong incentive not to follow), the player next to the President gains control and may start a new sequence of his own. Eventually, this will produce the Vice-President, followed by the Vice-Scum. The last player remaining becomes the Scum for the next round.
  • The first game proceeds without anyone being President, Vice-President, Vice-Scum and The Scum.
  • Subsequent games involve the following:
    • President passes their lowest 2 cards to the Scum. The scum passes their highest 2 cards to president.
    • Vice-president passes their lowest 1 card to vice-scum. Vice-scum passes their highest 1 card to vice-president.
      • A variant to the rule is where president passes any 2 cards to scum, after receiving cards. This can make a difference as their 2 lowest cards may form a five-card hand.

Team play[edit]

It is possible to play in teams of two with four total players. Each player's teammate is the one opposite of him (i.e., the two players who you are adjacent to are your opponents). Teammates are not allowed to have any communication with each other regarding their cards, preferred combinations or the quality of their hands.

The winning team is determined by the total number of cards held by that team when the one player runs out of card. If one player plays his last card but his teammate has more cards left than the other team's total, his team loses. (Ex: Mike and Dave are on one team against Lionel and Brendan. Mike has 4 cards, Dave has 5, Lionel has 10 and Brendan has 1. Brendan plays his last card but Lionel has 10 cards and Mike and Dave have 9 cards total. By playing his last card Brendan has lost the game for his team.) Any player can ask what the card count is for each team at any point.

If the card count is tied at the end of a game the players proceed to a five card shootout. This is where each player receives five cards and the game is played as normal. The lowest card holder starts and the same team grouping is still used. Further ties lead to further five card hands; this determines the final winner of the original game.

2 Card Poker Unblocked

Cheating[edit]

Players in collusion with one another have massive advantages over any non-colluding player(s). The basic strategy of colluding players is to preserve the high 'control' cards against the non-colluder(s), and not to waste these cards amongst themselves. This strategy is called 'holding' or 'warrening'. Other collusive techniques include signaling (through the played cards, e.g. odd/even as in bridge, or non-verbal cues) where the strength of the hand, number of controls, hand type, exact high cards, and other features of the hands are transmitted to the partner.

Other cheating methods includes false shuffles, kiddening, peeking and cold decking. Cheating, especially collusive techniques, is rampant in online and higher stakes games.[citation needed]

Another method of cheating is practiced in in-person games, and involves concealing the number of cards a player has by stacking their hand tightly together, so that other players will mistake the cheating player for having fewer cards than he or she actually does. This may lead other players to exhaust their higher cards earlier on the assumption that their opponent has almost won.

See also[edit]

  • Dou di zhu (similar rules, played with three players)
  • Daguai luzi also known as wild escape or the joker's way

References[edit]

  1. ^http://www.istorya.net/forums/general-discussions-10/515824-chikicha-card-game.html
  2. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2015-08-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^Gang of Four on Boardgamegeek.com

2 Card Poker Felt

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