Hold 'Em

Hold 'Em is a family of poker games where each player has a certain number of private down cards, and there are common cards that are dealt down and turned over in a prescribed order. You typically bet on your down cards, then again after each set of common cards is turned over; the pot goes to whoever can make the best five card hand out of at least one of his down cards and up to four of the common cards.

Since you don't learn anything from betting round to betting round about other players hands (that doesn't apply to all players' hands), the bet rotates. That is, the player to the dealer's left starts the first betting round; the player to his left starts the second betting round; and so on.

The and variations have rules that group cards: you can't use cards from different groups.

'Classic' Hold 'em

Classic hold 'em games have names like Texas and Omaha, but the differences between them all come down to whether you get two or four cards down, whether there are five or seven common cards, and whether the common cards are turned over in two or three batches.

The Cross

In the most basic Cross game, each player has two cards down, and the five common cards are arranged like a plus sign. You can use the cards that go horizontally or the cards that go vertically, but you can't mix. (That is, you must use a 1 card, a 2 card, and a 3 card; you can't use two 1 cards or two 2 cards.) You bet on your down cards, then the 1 cards are turned over and you bet. The 2 cards are turned over and you bet, then finally the 3 (center) card is turned over and you bet.
 1 
 2 
 3 
 1 
 2 

The Cross is often played Common variations include four down cards, and/or a wild center card. The game is usually not played high/low with a wild center card.

New Haven

I invented this one; it's proved very popular. My hometown of New Haven, Connecticut was the first planned city in the country, built around Nine Squares in a three by three grid. The New Haven family of poker games, which also revolves around a three by three grid, is named in its honor.
 1 
 2 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 2 
 1 
 2 
 1 

In the most stripped down and brutal (or Puritan) game, Black New Haven you get two down cards; in the more libertine Red New Haven you get four down cards. In either game, you bet on your down cards; turn over the 'outside' (1) cards and bet; turn over the 'inside' (2) cards and bet; and then turn over the center (3) card and bet. You may use any three cards on a row, column, or diagonal. (That is, you may use the cards marked 1/2/1, 2/3/2, or 1/3/1, but you can never use three 1 or three two cards.)

Common variations include Gay New Haven, with and Secret Society (named after Yale's secret societies, home to the Old Boy network) with the center card wild. My then-ten year old son, Sam invented the High and Low Red Schlock variants of Secret Society, where in addition to the wild center card, the high (or low) card in your hole is wild for you.

• • • •

Jon Shemitz - jon@midnightbeach.com - September 29, 1999