Craziest home game ever: Am I evil? Yes I am!

I made up the most sinister, fear-inspiring, and downright evil poker game ever. See if you agree...


The game is appropriately titled "666."


Rules:


1. dealt and played like 7 card stud no-peek. All cards dealt face down to all players. The first player turns up a single card and bets. The next player must now keep turning until he can beat what the last player is showing, then he bets. (If the last player's card is wild, it is assumed to be an ace, or whatever is needed to make his hand the highest it can be). Everyone must call all bets to stay in, even if they haven't seen any cards yet.


2. sixes are wild. nothing else is ever wild, no matter what.


3. when you get a one-eyed jack (Js + Jh) or suicide king (Kh), you must match the pot to stay in, or fold, those are your only two choices. BUT – if you match the pot, you get a "free" card (all free cards are face down). You then continue with either turning cards to try to beat the last player who had the high board, or if your board is highest, you bet. If you choose NOT to bet, the rest of the table DOES NOT have the option to bet, thus you can force the next player to turn his cards to try and beat you.


4. When you get any combination of cards that adds up to six, you start getting extra cards. This could be a six, a four and a two, two threes, or a five and an ace. The first time, you just get a truly "free" card. The next time your cards add up to six, you have to start paying. Each time you again get a combination that adds up to six, you get another "free" card, but it starts costing you, and the price doubles each time after that. We used to play that the price for your second "free" card (the one where you started to have to pay) was 25 cents, then the next was 50 cents, the next a dollar, etc. Now here's the thing – you have to add up EVERY POSSIBLE COMBINATION of ways your cards can add up to six (similar to cribbage, where they are adding up to fifteen). So if your board is 4 2 2, you have gotten one free card, and had to pay 25 cents for another free card. if you get another 2, now you have TWO MORE ways, so you would have to pay 50 cents plus a dollar, to get two more free cards. If you get another 4, you are in trouble, as that's THREE more ways to add up to six, therefore you get three more downcards, but it costs you $2 + $4 + $8! Just imagine what would then happen if you got the case deuce! This is perhaps the most important rule of all: you CANNOT TURN DOWN ANY OF YOUR FREE CARDS, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THEM ALL, AND PAY FOR THEM ALL. THERE IS NO TABLE STAKES HERE, YOU MUST GET THE MONEY AND PUT IT IN THE POT RIGHT THEN, OR FOLD, NO EXCEPTIONS. THUS, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO BE IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY PAY WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO CONTINUE, THEREFORE YOU MUST FOLD. I have played this game thousands of times with two different home poker groups. One time, I saw someone with a board of 4 4 2 2 2 2. He had paid for the first seven "free" cards, which was as follows: free, 25c, 50c, $1, $2, $4, $8, for a total of $15.75. When he got the case deuce, it made FIVE more ways to add up to six, so that's 16+32+64+128+256, for a total of $496 more dollars, just to stay in the hand and get FIVE more free cards! He was forced to fold, of course. Funny thing is, he didn't have the best hand, as someone else had a straight flush, with three out of four sixes! The limiting factor is that when you run out of cards in the deck, there are no more free cards, but you don't have to pay when your board adds up to six either.


5. Just in case this wasn't evil enough so far… heh heh heh… There's one more little thing I forgot to mention so far. The Bitch. The Dark Queen. The Queen of spades. Is the KILL card. If you turn up the Queen of Spades, that's it for you, you're done. Out. Dead hand. You LOSE. No saves, nothing you can do about it, you are dead, turn over your upcards and place your hand deftly into the muck. Ask someone to please pass the preparation-H. Grab some towels for crying in. Begin weeping and gnashing teeth. It matters not whether you've matched the pot, paid a bzillion dollars to get fifteen free cards, turn over the bitch and you're finished.


The most harshest thing I ever saw in this game was when this guy matched a 30$ pot (huge for a nickel ante game!) and then got his "free" card. He saved the free card for last. It was the Queen of Spades. The room exploded with joy, hooting and hollering like you never heard. This ain't a game about who wins, it's a game about who gets screwed most badly. Amazing, isn't it? I made a TON of money playing this and other games in college... There's basically NO home poker game too crazy for me to play.


So am I evil?


Dave in Cali (aka the evil one)

This ain't a game about who wins, it's a game about who gets screwed most badly


That's the best thing about home games, lifelong friends are permitted, no, encouraged to grind each others faces in the dirt for a few hours each week.


There's a certain art involved in getting an invitation to a long-established home game, and it's vital to follow the rigid tribal etiquette once there if you hope to be asked back.


I got invited to a U.S. soldiers' game in Seoul once. I brought a bottle, some snacks, and $1500. I bought in like everybody else for $50. It took me one round to realise I was the best player there.

The games they played would put Dave in Cali to shame (I printed out your 666 game Dave, thanks). Aces wild with the option to buy a card any time you paid the amount in the pot was one of the variations I remember. (Aces wild?)


Anyway, the night flowed on, they mostly got drunk and traded their chips around the table. I was playing what I call my loose-tight home game style. Making a big deal of throwing chips around early in select hands, raising, reraising then folding quickly if I wasn't hit big on the next card. I was down a bit that night until somebody suggested we play pot limit.


They all agreed but just to clarify things I wanted to know if it was table stakes or not. They didn't really understand my question. I explained, if you raise the pot can I go all in or do I have to reach into my pocket for more cash? Ahh, they said, into your wallet you go, son. Kaching. These aresoldiers remember, making probably $400 a month at the time.


Second hand of PL, think we were playing stud, the biggest winner, a bit of a loud mouth, raises the pot on fourth street. I reraise, he raises back. I pull another couple of $50s out and raise again. He calls. 5th street he pulls some more cash out of his wallet and bets, but not the whole pot amount. To my relief I saw his wallet was now empty. (I'd been gambling on that, not my hand). I don't recall exactly how much was in the pot at that time, maybe $400. I reached into my pocket, pulled out my bankroll and raised the pot again. He swallowed deeply and said, "Somebody lend me some cash for a minute." The answer came back in a resounding chorus of gleeful "No way. You're screwed....Hahaha."


I let him suffer for a minute then smiled and said, "Hell, you might have me beat anyway. Let's chop."


I played in that game every Thursday night for over two years. My book says I made $6300. I love home games.

These games are definitely the best. At times I made more money playing poker in college than I did going to work delivering pizzas! I hadn't even discovered 2+2 yet, all I had to go on was the simple concept of expected value.


666 wasn't the only home game that was based more on who got screwed than who won... Next time I'll post "Supa-Cheex."


Dave in Cali