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Guts

Introduction

Guts is often played as an option in dealer's choice poker games,

although it is not strictly speaking a poker game. It is normally played with hands of

fewer than five cards, and it has a different betting mechanism from normal poker -

match pot betting. If the players are somewhat reckless the size of the pot can

escalate very rapidly, and the name presumably refers to the bravery required to

contest one of these large pots and risk losing an equally large amount.

Two-card

Guts

Players, Cards and Limits

This is the basic game. A standard 52-card pack without

jokers is used. In theory as many as 26 people could play, but the game probably works

best for around 5 to 10 players.

The players need to agree in advance on the ante that

all will pay at the beginning to start the pot, and it is wise also to agree on a

maximum amount that can be won from or lost to the pot in a single deal. This might for

example be set at 100 times the ante.

Deal and Declaration

If the pot is empty all

players pay the agreed ante to the pot. The cards are shuffled and cut and the dealer

deals the cards one at a time face down until every player has two cards. The players

look at their cards.

Starting with the player to dealer's left and continuing clockwise

around the table, ending with the dealer, each player in turn says either "in" or

"out".

Players who say "out" cannot win the pot, but do not lose any extra

money.

Showdown

If more than one player says "in", all those who are "in" show their

cards, and the player with the best cards wins the pot. When comparing hands, aces are

high and

any pair of equal cards beats any two unequal cards,

a higher pair beats a

lower pair,

between two non-pair hands, the hand with the highest card wins,

if two

hands have equal highest cards, the hand whose other card is higher wins.

Therefore the

highest hand is A-A, then K-K, Q-Q, etc. down to 2-2, then A-K, A-Q, A-J, ... , A-2,

K-Q, K-J, ... ,K-2, Q-J, ... down to the lowest hand 3-2.

Payments

Players who said

"in" but do not have the highest hand must each pay an amount equal to the whole pot,

and these payments form the pot for the next deal.

If two or more players tie for best

hand, they share the pot equally.

If just one player says "in" and all the others say

"out", the player who is "in" simply takes the whole pot and does not need to show any

cards. The pot will also be emptied if there is a tie between all the players who stay

in. This may end the game, if it is being played as an option in dealer's choice. If

the game is to continue, the players will need to place a new ante.

Note that if all

the players other than the dealer say "out", the dealer will automatically say "in" and

collect the pot, irrespective of how good or bad his or her cards may be.

If after the

losers have paid, the amount in the pot exceeds the agreed limit, the excess chips are

set aside in a reserve. The pot to be played for in subsequent deals will be equal to

the limit, and if it is won, chips are brought out of the reserve to form a new pot.

Example: there is 80 in the pot and the limit is 100. Four people stay in. The winner

takes the 80, the three losers each pay 80, and there is now 100 in the pot and 140 in

reserve. If this pot is won without a contest there will be 100 in the pot and 40 in

reserve. If this too is won without a contest there will be 40 in the pot and no

reserve.

Variations

Simultaneous Declare

Some play a version in which all players

declare simultaneously whether they are in or out. This is sometimes done by the

players holding their cards face down over the table, and the dealer calling "1 - 2 - 3

- DROP". On the word "DROP" all those who want to be out must drop their cards, and the

others are in.

The dropping method has the disadvantage that some players might be

tempted to try to delay for a split second to see what the others will do. Therefore it

is probably better to declare using chips. Each player holds out a closed fist, when

all are ready, everyone opens their fist, and those holding a chip are in while those

with empty hands are out.

If everyone is out, the pot stays for the next hand and some

play that all players must contribute another ante to it. Some play the wimp rule that

in this case the cards are shown and the player with the best hand must ante on behalf

of all players.

The game with simultaneous declare has less tactical scope than the

game declared in sequence. There is no point in bluffing - players simply stay in if

their cards are good and drop otherwise.

In the game with simultaneous declare, some

play that after the deal, before the declaratrions, each player may discard one or both

cards and is dealt replacements.

Compulsory First Round

Some play that on the first

deal of a session or when the pot was emptied on the previous deal, all players must

stay in. That almost guarantees that there will be some losers and helps build the pot

for subsequent deals.

Single Loser, Ante on all Deals

Some play that if more than one

person stays in, only the player with the worst hand must match the pot. If two or more

players tie for worst they must both or all match it. In this version, players ante on

every deal, adding their ante to the pot. Only a player who had to match the pot is

excused from placing an ante on the following deal.

No Split Pots

Some play that in

case of a tie between two or more players for best hand, the tied players neither

receive not pay anything. The pot remains for the next deal, augmented by the payments

of any losing players.

Kitty or Ghost

Some players find it unsatisfactory that when

only one player stays in, that player simply takes the pot without a contest. They play

a version in which an extra hand known as the kitty or ghost is dealt. This hand

belongs to no one, but is exposed in the final showdown. To win the pot you have to

beat the ghost as well as the other players. If the ghost wins, everyone who stayed in

must match the pot. In this version, sometimes everyone drops out, in which case all

must add an ante to the pot for the next deal.

There is another version in which the

ghost only plays when just one person stays in. If two or more players stay in, they

play only against each other.

The presence of a ghost hand that always plays makes it

unprofitable to bluff, so players will stay in only with a better than average hand,

which makes the game tactically less interesting than the version with no

ghost.

Three-Card Guts

Each player is dealt three cards rather than two. The betting

procedure is the same as in two-card guts, but with three cards most people play that

3-card straights and 3-card flushes count. The ranking of hands from high to low is

usually:

three of a kind; straight flush; straight; flush; pair; nothing

but some

groups rank a straight flush above three of a kind or a flush above a straight so this

should be checked and agreed before playing.

Some play that after the deal and before

the declaration, all players pass one card face down to the left. Players must decide

what card to pass before seeing what they have received.

Any of the variants listed

above for two-card guts can also apply to the three-card game. For example players may

be allowed to discard one, two or all three cards and have them replaced before

declaring.

Games with a second deal after the declare

Two plus One

Each player is dealt

two cards, players declare in or out, and those who are in receive a third card. Hands

rank as in Three-card Guts.

Some require those who stay in for a third card to pay an

extra ante and take part in a second round of declaring in or out when they have three

cards. So players who stay in for a third card but drop out when they have seen it lose

this extra ante but do not risk having to match the pot.

Four-Two-Two

Brian Johnson

describes a variant in which players are initially dealt 4 cards face-down. Twos are

wild. Players declare simultaneously by holding a coin in their closed fist if they are

playing. Players who are in receive 2 more cards face up, so that each player has 6

cards, and whoever can make the best 5-card poker hand wins. All players who stay in

and lose match the pot. Usually a maximum loss per deal is agreed, sayR$5.00, and if

the pot contains more than this, losers only pay the maximum.

The game ends when one

person stays in by themselves, winning the whole pot.

Four-Two-Three

In this variant of

4-2-2,also contributed by Brian Johnson, after the declaration, instead of dealing two

cards face up to each player, the dealer deals three common cards face up, and players

form their best 5-cvard poker hand from the 7 available cards - the 4 that were dealt

to them and the 3 on the table.

Variants of 4-2-2 or 4-2-3

Players who dropped out must

pay a new ante while losers who stayed in match the pot. If no one “plays” (no coin in

hand), the holder of the best hand of all non-players matches the pot, as do all

non-players who held a 2 (twos being wild). If one person stays by themselves, their 4

cards play against the deck's top 4 cards. If the player wins, the game is over: if the

deck wins, the player matches the pot,

Three-Stage Games

In these games the deal is in

three stages. At each stage players declare in or out, but players who declare out keep

their cards and may still compete in subsequent stages.

Three Five Seven

This game is

played in three stages, with three-card, five-card and seven-card hands. At each stage,

if more than one player stays in the highest of them wins from the others, but if only

one player stays in, the player scores a point (sometimes known as a leg, and

represented by a token of some sort) towards winning the pot. The game continues until

someone collects three legs and wins the pot.

Stage One. All players ante and three

cards are dealt face down to each player. Players then declare whether they are in or

out. Declarations can be in sequence or simultaneous, as agreed in advance by the

players - or in dealer's choice as specified in advance by the dealer.

If no one stays

in, nothing happens and the game proceeds to stage two.

If just one player stays in

that player scores a point (takes a token) and play proceeds to the stage two.

If two

or more players stay in, those players look at each other's cards - passing them to

each other face down without showing them to the players who are out - and determine

who has the best hand. Triplets beat pairs, which beat unmatched cards; there are no

straights or flushes; threes are wild. Players who stayed in but did not have the best

hand must pay an amount equal to what is in the pot to the winner. If several hands tie

for best, then losers must pay this amount to all winners. No chips are added to or

paid out of the pot.

Stage Two. Now all players, including those who didn't stay in in

the first stage, are dealt two more cards face down. Everyone declares again. As before

if no one stayed in nothing happens, and if one player stayed in that player gets a

token. If two or more stayed in, the best five-card poker hand wins, using normal poker

ranking and with fives wild instead of threes. Players who stayed in look privately at

each others hand and the loser(s) pay the winner(s) as before.

Stage Three. All the

players are dealt two more cards face down, and there is a third round of declarations.

If no one stays in all cards are thrown and there is a new ante and deal. If just one

player stays in that player gets a token before the cards are thrown in. If two or more

stay in, they show their hands and the winner is the holder of the best five-card poker

hand (using any five cards of the seven), with sevens as the only wild cards. The

winner is paid by the losers who stayed in as before.

If no one has three tokens yet,

everyone keeps the tokens they have, all cards are thrown in, everyone adds another

ante to the pot, and the cards are shuffled and dealt by the next dealer, beginning

with three cards as before.

As soon as any player collects a third token, whether on a

three-card, a five-card or a seven-card hand, that player collects the whole pot and

the game is over.

Napalm

A similar game, know as Napalm or Whipsaw, in which the stages

are two cards played for high, five cards played for low, and seven cards played for

high, is described on a separate page.