Donk-a-Cross

G-Vegas, the undisputed hotbed of home poker games, is always innovating and inventing new ways to relieve the unwashed masses of their cash.  Sure you have “normal” poker being played on most nights, NL hold ‘em, Omaha, Stud8, and even Razz.  But when it comes to inventing games to play, G-Vegas has no equal.

Some of you may remember the donk-tastic G-Rob invention known as Py-nizzle.  There is another equally challenging game that we’ve affectionately called Donk-a-Cross.

In my forthcoming tome on poker strategy “Mediocre System,” I’ll layout the optimal strategy for the game; in the meantime, this post will simply document the rules.  G-Rob will be penning the Py-nizzle chapter for those who may be curious.

All players are dealt 4 cards.  There are 5 community cards placed face down in the form of a cross.  The betting is a single limit, for this example, let’s assume $3.  A maximum match figure is also required.  We’ll get to that later, but again for this instance, let’s use $30.

To start, one community card (not the center) is flipped up and the first round of betting commences.  The object of the game is to form your best 5-card poker hand using your 4 hole cards and any row of 3 community cards formed by the cross.  We play hi/lo, 8 or better.

The betting in each round begins with the “heavy” - the last person to initiate a round of betting or the last person to raise.  After each betting round, an additional card is flipped, saving the center card for last.

When the four perimeter cards are exposed, it’s decision time.  If you call a bet on the last round, see the middle card flipped, and lose – you have to match the pot.  The cap on the match is the aforementioned $30 as defined by the dealer.  If nobody bets the final round and it’s checked around, we do an “in or out” declare via chip-in-hand.  The game ends when there are no losers required to match the pot.

It was Donk-a-cross that salvaged my game last night.  Again, you will have to wait until “Mediocre System” hits the shelves for the optimal strategy to be published.  In the meantime, best of luck.