Poker Game Rules

Home

Games:

5½-25½
Best Western
Burn Man
Burn The Cross
Pass The Trash
Screw Your Neighbor

Screw Your Neighbor

Introduction

Screw Your Neighbor is a very basic game that takes a good amount of time with little going for you other than chance and time. We frequently play it as a calm-down game after a more hairy large-pot guts game.

Players

The game can be played with 3 or more players.

Object of the Game

To not have the lowest card at the end of each round.

Ante

Each player places 3 stacks of the same amount in front of them (typically 3 stacks of one or two dollars).

Deal

Each player is dealt one card face down. On successive rounds, the starting player shifs one person for each round (so the player to the left of the dealer is first on the first round, the 2nd player to the left of the dealer is first on the second round).

Play

Each player looks at their card (without showing the other players). If the card is a King, they turn the card over immediately (they can't loose this round). If it's not a king, they place the card back on the table face down.

Starting with the first player for the round, each player considers whether to stick with their hand or to exchange their card with the next player. The choice is made based upon whether they think the card they have will be the lowest at the end of the round (note that they do not need to win the round -- they just need to not have the lowest card). Aces are always high in this game and beat any card other than a dealt king.

If a player chooses to pass their card, they swap cards with the player to their left. That player now has the same choice. Sometimes the receiving player of such a swap will keep their card, even if it is very low (if the card they had which the previous player took is lower, the player now knows that they won't be the lowest and should stick with what they have).

If a player chooses to stick with their card, the next player now has the same choice (keep their card, or exchange it with the next player on the left).

When you get to the last player (which will be the dealer on the first round), that player has the choice of keeping their card or taking the next card from the top of the deck. They are stuck with the card off the deck unless it matches their card in which case it counts as a pair and beats any hand other than a dealt King. A King drawn from the deck at this point is just a normal King and can loose to the Ace -- although I have never seen this happen.

After everyone has hand a chance to stick or pass, the players turn up their chards and the player with the lowest card takes one of their stacks and places it into the pot.

If multiple players have the same low card, they each lose a stack.

When a player has lost all 3 stacks, they are out for the rest of the game and are no longer dealt cards.

Betting

There is no betting other than the 3 stacks anted at the begining of the game.

Winning

The last player with one or more stacks in front of them is declared the winner. Of special note, if it gets down to just two players and they each have one stack and they tie, they both lose and place their existing stacks in to the pot and all players re-ante and start the round over again.

Variations

Some people play that a dealt King is a blocker (that the player to the right of the King cannot exchange with the player to the left of the player with the King nor can they choose a card from the deck.