John returned to Card Night after missing 41 sessions in a row. It’s the longest time he’s been away from our game. (His previous record for missed Card Nights was 16 in a row.) It wasn’t the best return, though, as he ended the night as the big loser.
On a hand of Four-Three, Jeff declared he would play and turned over 5♦-6♦-7♦-8♦. Some other player had the 4♦, reducing the chance that Jeff would draw to a straight flush, but still, he had a great starting hand for Four-Three. When the remaining cards were dealt, BOOM, Jeff drew the 9♦ for the 9-high straight flush! Obviously he won the high half of the pot, but he also won the low half. And he won a $46.75 jackpot payout.
We celebrated Paul’s birthday (which is tomorrow, December 8) with some cupcakes… and we learned that Lyndon has the same birthday as Paul! Happy birthday to both of them!
Each December, Mark DeVol calls games we don’t typically play.
First up was Poppyha. It plays like Omaha Hi-Lo, with the following exceptions:
- There are only two cards on the flop (meaning there are only four cards on the board at the end)
- The qualifying low hand is 10-high or lower
Just like Omaha, players have to use exactly two of their hole cards to make their hands.
Next up was Pigs in a Blanket. It isn’t technically poker. Instead, the player with the most middle pips in his hand splits the pot with the player with the fewest.
A middle pip on a card is defined as a pip (suit icon) that appears down the middle of a card as opposed to the sides. For example, look at the 8 of spades. There are three spades on the left of the card, three spades on the right, and two down the middle. So all 8s have two middle pips. The rest of the cards break down as follows:
Ace - 1 middle pip
2 - 2 middle pips
3 - 3 middle pips
4 - 0 middle pip
5 - 1 middle pip
6 - 0 middle pips
7 - 1 middle pip
8 - 2 middle pips
9 - 1 middle pip
10 - 2 middle pips
Jack - 0 middle pips
Queen- 0 middle pips
King - 0 middle pips
The game is dealt like Seven-Card stud, and players declare whether they’re going high or low. The middle pips for all seven cards are counted, not just five.
Finally, Mark called Anaconda, a traditional home game that we haven’t played in years. We played it high-low declare.
Each player is dealt seven cards down. There is a betting round, after which each player passes three of his cards to the player to his left. Another betting round, and each player passes two cards to his left. Another betting round, and each player passes one card to his left.
After another betting round, players discard two of their cards and arrange their remaining five cards the way they want to reveal them one by one. The cards are revealed one at a time by each player, with a betting round in between. After four cards have been revealed, there’s a final betting round, and players declare which way they’re going.
Before the game was dealt, it was decided that jackpot could not be won, due to the high number of cards that each player would see. It was a good decision, because John ended up with a 9-high diamond straight flush (the same one Jeff hit earlier!).
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