Manilla Poker

Can anyone Scoop me into the basic rule structure, and for that matter, any nuances or whathaveyou in the primarily Australian game of Manilla Poker?


Does anyone know of a website? I can't find any...

Pokernetwork has some limited information on Manilla. Look through the archives for strategic details.


The game itself is played with a 32 card deck 7s up. Each player is dealt 2 (or 3) cards, and then a single community card is dealt to the centre. A betting round ensues and then another community card is dealt. This continues until there is 5 community cards, where we have a final betting round and a showdown.


The game uses a single small blind to generate action. There are several betting structures used.

Assume the blind = 1 unit. Common structures are 22224 22228 22448. It is also played with Pot limit or No limit betting.


If you cant find strategy advice on that site, ask me here.

Thanks for the Basic Info, but I can't find any archive material anywhere... Any extra info would be great, strategy or otherwise...

Will give you some when i wake up. Just got back from dealing a $500 or $1,000 blind game. One guy won a $40K, a $27K pot, and a $18K pot in consecutive hands, and stiffed the dealer (ME) every fucking time. Complemented me on doing a great job, and said he would sling me at the end. Bit of a bastard that I changed shifts and he lost $160K in that time and gave me nothing.


Anyone got any idea of what a standard tip is in a game with a single $1000 blind, and $2k, $2k, $2k, $2k, $4k betting?

i hope you dont take this wrong as you feel slighted. but shouldnt tips be the same regardless of the size of the game. you can make a case to earn more as you have more responsibility, but that argument really doesnt hold water. what hurts is to see all that money go one way and you dont get any. but do you really believe that much more than a normal toke is in order. and after he lost 160k back toking was probably the last thing on his mind.

Ok Lance here we go.


3 card Manilla is the ultimate rocks game. Draw only to the big fulls and big flushes. Do not draw to straights (especially non nut straights), unless you accidentally back into them aiming for another hand. Never play an underpair to the board, and never play with trips in the hand unless you are "in the hole" meaning you have trips paired with the first upcard. (eg. AAA with A up is still a damn good hand, 777 with 7 up is crap). In this game if you don't have the full someone else does, and if you do have it it better be big.


2 card manilla is a much better game. The nuts is out far less often (in a 6 handed game maybe 20% vs 90% in 3 card manilla). I prefer to play it shorthanded as any more than 7 means you just look at monster hands all too often.


Here you want to be very careful to play draws multiway and made hands heads up (unless you are very strong like in the hole on Aces, Kings, or Queens).


Many players make the mistake of raising on the first card if they are suited with that card. Flushes don't actually get there very often, so keep it cheap and let people in.


A hand like AA or KK on a 7 or 8 is strong but you must either raise and reraise to get it heads up, or if that is unlikely to be possible see what happens and draw to your Aces or Kings full (many players get involved on about 70-80% of hands regardless of raises ((best percentage would be about 10% or maybe 15% if you are winning and they fear you)).


A common misconception is that JT is a great hand. Sure it makes an obscene amount of straights in this game (especially if 9 or Q is first board card), but straights either split the pot, or they lose to flushes. They really do need a perfect drop for JT to be the nuts, although J picture or T picture is frequently good for a 3 way split.


I still haven't slept so i'm sure i've missed plenty of stuff. Ask me some specific questions, and i'll do my best.

Well $5 would have been nice. He was laughing about it all the whole time anyway, he's got zillions.

That's some really solid all around, "here's how not to get killed, and maybe even make a buck, in a game you've never seen before", advice...


Until I think of any more specific questions, I am planning a trip to Aus in May and June, can you recommend a few of the places to go.. I'm making the effort to Syd, Mel, and Perth, with some extra room in the middle for whereever... I know Syd doesn't have games, but Mel I know does, and Perth has Stud, Draw, Manilla, and they tell me are looking into holdem and Omaha as we speak...


Do you deal in Aus, or NZ?


Oh, and how come I have to come to a forum like this to get advice, which I thank you for plenty by the way. There are 150 Holdem books out there, (Only so many good ones obviously), but not ONE Manilla book written by some Aussie or Kiwi somewhere??? I'm sure the Gamblersbookstore has books on how to Flip Coins if you look hard enough... Yet...

Lance the first thing to note is that the games are usually extremely good. Manilla attracts a lot of gamblers, and they seem to stay in a hand regardless of whether you play 30 hands or 2 hands an hour. The single small blind structure means you can play tight without penalty.


I play in New Zealand, and I only deal on rare occasions, i vastly prefer to play.


There has never been a book written on manilla, primarily as this game is played almost exclusively in New Zealand, Australia, China and Greece. It is on the list at Foxwoods though (as Asian Holdem i believe). Daryl Lanyon was going to write a book, but decided against it as it would have to be written in English, Chinese, and Greek.


I have some some magazine articles around that cover manilla. If i can get permission from the editor (he is a friend of mine and doesn't give a crap) i will go through the magazines and photocopy any info i can get and send it to you.


Email me at sbismark@hotmail.com if you want this stuff.