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3*5*7 evolved from five card guts (the latter is played with wild queens but we have a different method of determining who stays in or out). For 3*5*7, begin with each player putting 4x the normal ante into the pot (we put in the equivalent of about US$2 each into the pot). For 5 players you begin with $10 in the pot. First player to win 5 "wheels" gets the total pot. Every hand it a side bet on the amount currently in the pot.

Begin the deal with three cards to each person. For this round of betting, only 3's are wild. Beginning on dealer's left each person declares in turn whether they are in or out. To reduce the bias in favor of the person who declares last (and to add a dimension of bluffing and deceit into the game), if you declare out and someone subsequently declares in, you are given another chance to change your declaration (but those who declare in stay in). Those who remain in at the end of declarations, show each other their cards but do not show the others who remain out. The loser(s) pay the winner whatever the current pot total is.

For the next round of dealing and betting, everyone keeps their cards and two more cards are dealt to each player (so everyone has 5 each). 3's are no longer wild. 5's are now wild instead. Another round of declarations and resolutions.

For the last round of dealing and betting, everyone keeps their cards again and two more cards are dealt to each player. 3's and 5's are no longer wild. 7's are wild instead (hence the name 3*5*7). Last round of declarations and resolutions.

After this round, all cards are recovered and shuffled and dealing begins again at the 3 card round. However, everyone pays in again so that the pot grows (with 5 people playing, the second deal will see a US$20 pot). Repeat the 3 round, 5 round and 7 round again.

You may be thinking about the wheels. One wins a wheel when he is in and nobody else is. It is difficult to earn one of these in the early rounds (even if you are the last to declare in, all the other players still have one chance to go in with you). In the later rounds, one naturally becomes more tentative. First one to 5 wheels wins the entire pot.

The dealer deals two cards to each player. If both cards in the player's hand match, then that player has a pair. Otherwise, the hand is called simply by the high card between the two. For example, a King and an eight would be a King-high. Beginning to the left of the dealer, each player decides whether or not they will go "in" or "out". Those players who are "out" have no further stakes in the game unless it is re-dealt. Of those players who are "in", the one with the best hand collects the pot while the others who called "in" throw into the pot the amount of money that the winner has collected. If the pot was worth 50 cents, then the winner collects that 50 cents while the other players who called "in" but lost EACH put 50 cents into the new pot. If three players go "in", then one player collects and two players match the pot, which would now be a dollar.

The game is then re-dealt by the player to the dealer's left and the same format continues. This game ends when one player goes in. That player collects the pot and the game is over.

This is the basic version of Guts Poker, from which all guts games stem. A couple of the variations below can also be added to any guts game. In this way, just about any Draw Poker game can be turned into a guts game, simply by adding the stipulation that players must call "in" or "out" before the draw and betting round. Those players calling "in" are allowed a draw but risk matching the pot.

Variations:

• Kitty: This game needs a kitty...two-card guts needs to be spruced up as much as possible.

• Everybody Ante: Like the kitty, this variation can be added to any Guts game. This rule stipulates that at the end of each round, every player except the player who won the last round must re-ante into the pot on top of those players who had to match the pot from the round before. If ante is a knickle and there are six players, then the five players who did win the previous round (whether or not they called "in") raise the amount in the pot by a quarter each round. This is especially useful in basic two-card guts, a game that often needs to be spiced up with stipulations whenever possible.

Basic concept:

One card Guts. Each player puts the card on their forehead, seeing everybody's card but their own. Highest card wins.

Description:

This is not the game for everybody, due to its simplicity and lack of any relation to actual poker. It almost found its way into the Non-Poker Games section but it is typically played as a Guts game. Even the name of the game is politically incorrect. The game involves each player putting a card on their forehead, a la feather on the Native Indian headdress.

The dealer deals a single card to each player. At the same time, each player raises the card to their forehead, but not so they can see it. The card is placed face-out on their forehead so that each player can see everybody else's card but their own. There is a declare round, where each player calls "in" or "out" on the strength of everybody else's cards. Everybody who calls "in" throws their cards down. Whoever has the highest card collects the pot. Everybody else who called "in" matches the pot and the game continues.

Variations:

• Kitty: The best way to spice up this game is to add a kitty, although it also adds an even more senseless angle. To add a kitty, the dealer simply deals an extra card face-down. After the declare round, the kitty is flipped over. Players that called "in" must also have a better card than the kitty, who is automatically "in".

Basic concept:

Four cards dealt, plus a fifth community card in everyone's hand. Guts Poker with a draw. Jacks are always wild, plus the card turned up after the deal.

Description:

The dealer deals four cards to every player at the table, after which the top card on the deck is flipped over. That card, the "piss card" is not only wild, but it is also the fifth card in everyone's hand. If a 3 is flipped, then it is wild, in everyone's hand, as well as all other 3's. Jacks are always wild. If a jack gets flipped up, then only Jacks are wild and hands will not be as good. In the following hand for example, The Ten of Hearts was flipped over as the piss card. In my hand, I have been dealt the Ten of Diamonds and the Jack of Spades. With a Ten as the Piss Card, the Ten in my hand is wild, as well as the Jack, which is always wild. Considering that the Piss Card is to be considered the fifth card in my hand, I have a hand of three wild cards. Put them together with the Ace of Clubs, and I am holding four Aces. If this seems like a high hand, the amount of wild cards in this game (not to mention that the Piss Card guarantees you have a wild card in your hand right away) guarantees high hands at the table most of the time.

After the deal, players decide if they want to stay in the game and risk matching the pot. Players "declare" in or out starting at the left of the dealer and going in clockwise order with the dealer calling last. Those players that call out are out until the next round of cards are dealt.

Those players that stay in are allowed a draw of as many cards as they want. After the draw, there is a betting round with all players who stayed in the game. After the betting round, the player with the best hand collects the pot. All other players who stayed in throw into the new pot however much money was in the pot when they declared in.

If there is any money in the pot (in other words, if at least two people went in on the previous round) then the player to the left of the dealer deals the next hand and the same sequence continues. The game is dealt round after round until only one player goes in. That player collects the pot and the game is over.

Variations:

The dealer can change the draw as to limit the amount of cards that players can draw when they declare in. The dealer can also choose to deal a "kitty" as described above.

Basic concept:

Three card guts, players able to put together flushes and straights in determining their hand. A declare round following the deal, followed by all players "in" showing their hand. Best hand collects the pot, all others match the pot.

What-beats-what:

Monte Carlo is the fancy name for three-card Guts. It is as simple as two card Guts with the exception of more possible hands made out of three cards. Unlike two card Guts, there are more possible hands than simply a High Card or Pair, but unlike genuine Poker games, there are not as many possible hands. Obviously with three cards, a player cannot put together Two Pairs, a Full House, or a Four-of-a-Kind. A player can, however, put together the obvious High Card and Pair, as well as a Straight, a Flush, a Straight Flush, or a Three of a Kind. A Straight in Monte Carlo is simply three cards in sequence, for example, a 9-10-Jack. A Flush is simply three cards of the same suit, for example, a player who is dealt three Diamond-suited cards. A Straight Flush is three cards in sequence that are of the same suit. Obviously, Monte Carlo follows its own 'what beats what' table, that works as follows:

1. High Card: Nothing matches up or amounts to anything in the player's hand. The highest card in the player's hand is the High Card. For example, if the highest card is a King, the player has what is called a King-high.
2. Pair: Self-explanatory, the player has two cards that match. For example, a pair of Queens.
3. Straight: Three cards in sequence, regardless of suit.
4. Flush: Three cards of the same suit, regardless of sequence.
5. Three-of-a-Kind: Self-explanatory, the player has three cards that match. For example, three Sevens.
6. Straight Flush: Three cards that are in sequence and that are all of the same suit. For example, a 4-5-6 and all of them Spades.

Mathematically speaking, the poker hand statistically harder to get should be the better hand. Based on this logic, not only should the Straight Flush beat the Three-of-a-Kind, but a regular Straight should beat a Flush (again, this based on the mathematical probability of three-card hands). In this case, the sequence would be: High Card => Pair => Flush => Straight => Three-of-a-kind => Straight Flush

It is tantamount that the dealer clarify before it is dealt.

Description:

Three cards are dealt to each player. Beginning in sequence after the dealer, players call in or out. Those players that call in, without any kind of draw or betting round, throw down their three-card hands. The player who called in with the best hand at the table wins the pot, the others who called in match the pot. The game is re-dealt a la Guts theme, where it ends when one player calls in.

Variations:

• Two and One: This one is an expensive game where players, for the most part, do not know what they are betting on. Two and One is the same as Monte Carlo, except players are only dealt two cards. To get his third card, a player must call "in". Those players who call "out" do not get the third card dealt to them as they are out of the game. Those players who called "in" flip over their two card hands. The dealer then flips a card from the deck face-up to those two-card hands that called "in", making a three card hand that follows the Monte Carlo what-beats-what table. When this game is dealt with a kitty, the kitty is always dealt its third card.

Basic concept:

Five card Guts, with only three cards initially dealt to each player. Players receive their fourth and fifth cards only if they call "in".

Description:

The dealer deals three cards to each player. Either by clockwise declare or chip declare, each player decides if they are in or out of the game. Those players that remain in the game are each dealt two extra cards to make their five card poker hand.

A round of betting is opened by the player to the dealer's left for all players who are "in". After the betting round, showdown: best five card hand wins the pot, all other players that went "in" match the pot.

Variations:

• Wild cards: A typical stipulation in this game.
• Kitty: If a kitty is dealt, it is always dealt its fourth and fifth cards after the declare round.
• Thirty Eight: Played the same as Three to Five, except for two variations:

  i) Threes and Eights are wild, and

  ii) Instead of betting, the player to the left of the dealer is the first to decide if he or she will call "single", "double", or "triple". Single the pot is already what each player is due to pay if they do not win the hand, but in clockwise order as in a betting round, each player can decide that to stay in the game now means risking double or triple what is in the pot. Once double or triple is called, subsequent players decide if they will remain in the game with that potential loss, or fold and simply pay single.

• Dummy hand: On a $1 pot, players 1, 2, 5, and 6 go "in". After the fourth and fifth cards are dealt to each player, Player 1 calls single, Player 2 calls double (now, the potential loss is $2), Player 5 folds and gets his $1 ready, Player 6 accepts the double, Player 1 calls triple (now, the potential loss is $3), Player 2 accepts the triple, and Player 6 folds and gets his $2 ready (since he earlier accepted the double). With each player having either seen or folded, Players 1 and 2 proceed to showdown.