With wild cards, of course.

Last night, I had three wild cards and two 3's. The way I saw it, that made 5 3's, which beat the other two guys that stayed in the hand. One had four 7's and one had four 9's (it was 7-card stud, low card in the hole was wild).

I figured I'd won the biggest pot of the night, but the dude with the four 9's said no - HE had won, because 5 of a kind is not a real poker hand. The highest poker hand is four of a kind.

I looked at my cards and said, "But I have 5 threes. See? Two 3's, one joker, and my low hole wild card is queen, and I have two of them. That makes 5 threes."

He would not budge. Neither would I.

We'd agreed on the rules before we started playing. The main rule was that aces could be high or low (which is a BS rule IMHO). There was no discussion about wild cards not being valid because you already had four of a kind.

Finally, logic prevailed and I was awarded the pot.

At least, I thought it was logical. What say you?

I say you got lucky. But I don't play that often or that well.

I had to ask the household expert ( hubby) who has a weekly poker game and he said depending on the house rules the standard poker highest hand is 4 of a kind. Nothing wild but the dealer, 4 aces wins everytime. That is why they don't play with wild cards.

I don't see how you could win... 5 of a kind is not a poker hand...

I agree you can say you had 5 3's there. but 4 of a kind is the highest hand... unless you explicitly changed the rules and said that there could be 5 of a kind.

And even if you agree that there's 5 of a kind in poker... you still need a rule to say that it is better than 4 of a kind...

The 5 3's can make up a full house... a 3 of a kind + a pair... but that's weaker than 4 of a kind.

EDIT:

sorry... after reading lazycrockett's post, I realize I was wrong.

[Edited 9/6/10 14:38pm]

Poker is usually played with a standard 4-suit 52-card deck. The ace normally plays high, but can sometimes play low. A joker or other wild cards may be added. Wild cards introduce an additional hand, five of a kind, which normally ranks above a straight flush. When a joker is in play, it usually can only be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush. It cannot be used as a true wild card.

http://www.pokerzone.com/rules

lazycrockett said:

Poker is usually played with a standard 4-suit 52-card deck. The ace normally plays high, but can sometimes play low. A joker or other wild cards may be added. Wild cards introduce an additional hand, five of a kind, which normally ranks above a straight flush. When a joker is in play, it usually can only be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush. It cannot be used as a true wild card.

http://www.pokerzone.com/rules

did not know that.

crazydoctor said:

lazycrockett said:

Poker is usually played with a standard 4-suit 52-card deck. The ace normally plays high, but can sometimes play low. A joker or other wild cards may be added. Wild cards introduce an additional hand, five of a kind, which normally ranks above a straight flush. When a joker is in play, it usually can only be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush. It cannot be used as a true wild card.

http://www.pokerzone.com/rules

did not know that.

But I tend to agree with you, its not real poker.

Aces are high/low in a majority of the poker games I know. A straight can be Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.

IMO, there are no wild cards in real poker. I've certainly never seen them played in a tournament or at a casino. Therefore four of a kind is the best multiple of one card hand possible.

However, as has already been mentioned, if y'all agreed to the possibility of these wild card combinations before you started playing it seems like your five of a kind would be the winning hand. Not sure about whether or not you'd need to have four of a kind and a wild card, or any combination of the cards and "wild cards" to reach the five of a kind, though. Probably something you should decide on before you start playing next time. It honestly sounds like y'all are makin' that mess too complicated, though. It's hard enough to play good poker with all the cards just being themselves.

RodeoSchro said:

With wild cards, of course.

Last night, I had three wild cards and two 3's. The way I saw it, that made 5 3's, which beat the other two guys that stayed in the hand. One had four 7's and one had four 9's (it was 7-card stud, low card in the hole was wild).

I figured I'd won the biggest pot of the night, but the dude with the four 9's said no - HE had won, because 5 of a kind is not a real poker hand. The highest poker hand is four of a kind.

I looked at my cards and said, "But I have 5 threes. See? Two 3's, one joker, and my low hole wild card is queen, and I have two of them. That makes 5 threes."

He would not budge. Neither would I.

We'd agreed on the rules before we started playing. The main rule was that aces could be high or low (which is a BS rule IMHO). There was no discussion about wild cards not being valid because you already had four of a kind.

Finally, logic prevailed and I was awarded the pot.

At least, I thought it was logical. What say you?

You totally won that hand.

One of the poker games my friends and I play is called "baseball." It's a seven card game, threes and nines are wild. People have won with five of a kind a lot. (I think we might even have had a six of a kind, at some point.)

Also, when we play "high-low," aces can be either high or low, depending on whether you're going high or low. The lowest hand in that game is A, 2, 3, 4, 6. (No 5 - because a straight would be a high hand.) And when we play "little Chicago" (in which low spade in the hole splits the pot), the ace is the lowest spade - though it would be a high card in any other hand.

^^ I hate complicated card games! I'm really good with numbers, too. But for some reason I just don't enjoy the more intricate and complicated card games. I get more out of working through the possibilities of the 52 cards available and reading the other players. Add anything to the deck and all that goes right out the window.

Cerebus said:

^^ I hate complicated card games! I'm really good with numbers, too. But for some reason I just don't enjoy the more intricate and complicated card games. I get more out of working through the possibilities of the 52 cards available and reading the other players. Add anything to the deck and all that goes right out the window.

Then don't ever play "Mexican sweat." It's a seven card blind game. If you peek at your cards before the game, you have to match the ante and are out. If you go past exactly what you need to beat the person before you (you turn cards one at a time), you have to match the pot and are out. And the queen of spades is the "death card." Turn that, and you're automatically out of the game. And if you forget it's the death card and go on to turn another card, you have to match the pot before going out.

Genesia said:

RodeoSchro said:

With wild cards, of course.

Last night, I had three wild cards and two 3's. The way I saw it, that made 5 3's, which beat the other two guys that stayed in the hand. One had four 7's and one had four 9's (it was 7-card stud, low card in the hole was wild).

I figured I'd won the biggest pot of the night, but the dude with the four 9's said no - HE had won, because 5 of a kind is not a real poker hand. The highest poker hand is four of a kind.

I looked at my cards and said, "But I have 5 threes. See? Two 3's, one joker, and my low hole wild card is queen, and I have two of them. That makes 5 threes."

He would not budge. Neither would I.

We'd agreed on the rules before we started playing. The main rule was that aces could be high or low (which is a BS rule IMHO). There was no discussion about wild cards not being valid because you already had four of a kind.

Finally, logic prevailed and I was awarded the pot.

At least, I thought it was logical. What say you?

You totally won that hand.

One of the poker games my friends and I play is called "baseball." It's a seven card game, threes and nines are wild. People have won with five of a kind a lot. (I think we might even have had a six of a kind, at some point.)

Also, when we play "high-low," aces can be either high or low, depending on whether you're going high or low. The lowest hand in that game is A, 2, 3, 4, 6. (No 5 - because a straight would be a high hand.) And when we play "little Chicago" (in which low spade in the hole splits the pot), the ace is the lowest spade - though it would be a high card in any other hand.

Ah, here's a question. We played a Low Chicago hand and a guy won both the high and low pots. He had a spade flush, which was the high hand, and he had the 2 of spades in it, which was the low spade.

But, he said that wasn't the only way to win coming and going. He said that the low spade is a separate card, so you could have, say, a diamond flush, and also the 2 of spades, and win both pots that way.

But isn't that using six cards? I've never thought about it, but it seems like you can only use five cards. However, others I've asked this question say the Low Chicago card can indeed be separate from the five-card high hand.

lazycrockett said:

Poker is usually played with a standard 4-suit 52-card deck. The ace normally plays high, but can sometimes play low. A joker or other wild cards may be added. Wild cards introduce an additional hand, five of a kind, which normally ranks above a straight flush. When a joker is in play, it usually can only be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush. It cannot be used as a true wild card.

http://www.pokerzone.com/rules

Yeah, that's the way I saw it too. Thanks for that link.

One thing we did make sure was that if the joker was only going to be good for aces, straights and flushes, the dealer had to say so before dealing the cards. In this hand, the joker was allowed to be any card you wanted, so that's how I got five 3's.

I think the main lesson is that wild cards are fun but man do they open up some worm cans.

Cerebus said:

^^ I hate complicated card games! I'm really good with numbers, too. But for some reason I just don't enjoy the more intricate and complicated card games. I get more out of working through the possibilities of the 52 cards available and reading the other players. Add anything to the deck and all that goes right out the window.

I love to play gin rummy for exactly that reason.

Genesia said:

Cerebus said:

^^ I hate complicated card games! I'm really good with numbers, too. But for some reason I just don't enjoy the more intricate and complicated card games. I get more out of working through the possibilities of the 52 cards available and reading the other players. Add anything to the deck and all that goes right out the window.

Then don't ever play "Mexican sweat." It's a seven card blind game. If you peek at your cards before the game, you have to match the ante and are out. If you go past exactly what you need to beat the person before you (you turn cards one at a time), you have to match the pot and are out. And the queen of spades is the "death card." Turn that, and you're automatically out of the game. And if you forget it's the death card and go on to turn another card, you have to match the pot before going out.

That's not gambling! It's charity!

RodeoSchro said:

Genesia said:

You totally won that hand.

One of the poker games my friends and I play is called "baseball." It's a seven card game, threes and nines are wild. People have won with five of a kind a lot. (I think we might even have had a six of a kind, at some point.)

Also, when we play "high-low," aces can be either high or low, depending on whether you're going high or low. The lowest hand in that game is A, 2, 3, 4, 6. (No 5 - because a straight would be a high hand.) And when we play "little Chicago" (in which low spade in the hole splits the pot), the ace is the lowest spade - though it would be a high card in any other hand.

Ah, here's a question. We played a Low Chicago hand and a guy won both the high and low pots. He had a spade flush, which was the high hand, and he had the 2 of spades in it, which was the low spade.

But, he said that wasn't the only way to win coming and going. He said that the low spade is a separate card, so you could have, say, a diamond flush, and also the 2 of spades, and win both pots that way.

But isn't that using six cards? I've never thought about it, but it seems like you can only use five cards. However, others I've asked this question say the Low Chicago card can indeed be separate from the five-card high hand.

He's right. You do not have to use the low spade in your winning hand. Just holding it is enough, because the low spade part is considered a separate hand.

It goes without saying that this is a seven card game.

Cerebus said:

Genesia said:

Then don't ever play "Mexican sweat." It's a seven card blind game. If you peek at your cards before the game, you have to match the ante and are out. If you go past exactly what you need to beat the person before you (you turn cards one at a time), you have to match the pot and are out. And the queen of spades is the "death card." Turn that, and you're automatically out of the game. And if you forget it's the death card and go on to turn another card, you have to match the pot before going out.

That's not gambling! It's charity!

Oh, that ain't even the half of it. Imagine having six or seven people playing - and you're sitting to the right of the dealer. That means you have to keep betting through five or six hands before you get to see even one of your own cards.

I hate that game.

Genesia said:

Cerebus said:

That's not gambling! It's charity!

Oh, that ain't even the half of it. Imagine having six or seven people playing - and you're sitting to the right of the dealer. That means you have to keep betting through five or six hands before you get to see even one of your own cards.

I hate that game.

I hate it and I've never even played it. Just thinking about it is giving me table tightness.

Cerebus said:

Genesia said:

Oh, that ain't even the half of it. Imagine having six or seven people playing - and you're sitting to the right of the dealer. That means you have to keep betting through five or six hands before you get to see even one of your own cards.

I hate that game.

I hate it and I've never even played it. Just thinking about it is giving me table tightness.

It has become the norm among my friends to just check on the first hand or two - unless the person playing turns up something amazing.

They started checking because they know I'll just fold on the first hand, even if the bet is only a nickel.

with wild cards? Sure! Best hand you can get!

but I have usually used jokers as valid for "Aces, Straights, or Flushes" not completely wild like your low hole card.

But those things have to be established ahead of time.

lazycrockett said:

When a joker is in play, it usually can only be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush. It cannot be used as a true wild card.

http://www.pokerzone.com/rules

yes, this is how I played, and that actually means he would only have had 4 threes in this case. But again, whatever rules are agreed upon before the hand is okay.