Undoubtedly, poker is the most popular card game in the world, owing to the many variants of poker that make the game more fun, entertaining, and challenging. While you may have played Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker variants, you probably may have never played the anaconda poker variant.
Anaconda Poker is a fun draw variant that is also closely related to 7 card stud. The game is also known by many other names such as Pass the Trash, 3,2,1 left, and Screw Your Neighbour. In this fun poker variant, the goal is to destroy your opponent’s hands while improving yours. While the game is related to 7 Stud poker, the only similarity that anaconda poker shares with 7 card stud poker is that the players receive 7 cards. Whereas the difference is that all the players are dealt seven cards face-down in anaconda poker as opposed to some cards dealt face-up in 7 stud.
So, here’s everything you need to learn this amazing poker variant in no time. Anaconda poker is played between two to five or more players with a standard deck of 52 cards and sometimes in addition with one or two jokers.
Anaconda Poker Card Game Rules
Objective
Your goal in the anaconda poker game is to win the pot of any one deal that is made up of the bets of all players. Each player makes the best hand or bluffs in the hopes of winning the pot. To make the best hand, a player must make the top combination of poker hands.
Dealing
The dealer deals seven cards, face-down, to each player. The betting rounds commence after each player receives the cards.
Gameplay
The betting round begins with the player seated at the dealer’s left. Each player takes a look at the cards in hand, and then the first player passes any three cards to the player on their left. The other players take turns to pass any three cards to the player on their left. After each player has passed three cards to another player, there is a betting round.
After the betting round, a second pass takes place, followed by a third pass. Each player passes only one card to the player on the left in the third pass. After the third pass, a third betting round takes place, followed by a showdown. The player with the best five-card high hand in the showdown wins the pot.
Anaconda Poker Hands
To win at anaconda poker, you must learn the poker hands and their rankings in this game. If you are a poker player and already know the many hands of poker, it is still essential to the hand rankings of anaconda poker to win this game. There are 10 hand rankings used in this poker variant, with Five of a Kind as the highest poker hand and no pair as the lowest.
Also Read: Know what Texas Hold’em Hands to Play in Poker!
Five of a Kind
Five of a kind is the highest-ranking hand in anaconda poker. The hand occurs only when at least one card is wild. For instance, 10♠️ 10♥️ 10♣️ 10♦️ Joker (joker being a wild card) or K♦️ K♣️ 9♥️ 9♦️ 9♣️ (9 being a wild card) are five of a kind hands.
Straight Flush
When playing with a standard pack of 52 cards without the jokers and no other wild cards, the highest-ranking hand is a straight flush. A straight flush is created with five cards in a sequence but of the same suit. For instance, J♥️ 10♠️ 9♥️ 8♣️ 7♦️ will make a straight flush.
Four of a Kind
The next highest hand in the poker hand rankings chart is the four of a kind hand. A four-of-a-kind hand consists of four cards of the same rank but different suits. For instance, A♥️ A♦️ A♣️ A♠️ or 4♣️ 4♠️ 4♦️ 4♥️ make a four of a kind.
Full House
The full house hand consists of five cards – three cards of the same rank and two cards of a different rank. For instance, 10♣️ 10♦️ 10♥️ 6♠️ 6♣️ make a full house.
Flush
A flush is made with five cards of the same suit but not arranged in sequence. For instance, K♣️ J♣️ 9♣️ 4♣️ 3♣️ make a flush.
Straight
A straight is made with five cards of different suits but arranged in a sequence. For instance, Q♠️ J ♣️10♦️ 9♠️ 8♦️ make a straight.
Three of a Kind
Three of a kind consists of five cards – three cards of the same rank and two cards each of a different rank. For instance, 10♠️ 10♥️ 10♣️ 7♦️ 5♠️ make a three of a kind.
Two Pairs
Two pairs consists of two pairs of different ranks and the fifth card of another rank. For instance, 10♥️ 10♣️ 7♠️ 7♥️ 5♦️ make two pairs hand.
One Pair
One pair consists of one pair of the same rank and three cards of different rank each. For instance, Q♥️ Q♣️ 10♠️ 5♦️ 3♠️ make one pair.
No Pair
A no pair or a high card is a hand that contains random cards that don’t pair up or are of the same suit or consecutive rank. For instance, K♣️ 10♠️ 7♥️ 4♦️ 2♣️ make a no pair. If more than one player has a no pair hand, their hands are rated based on the highest card of the hand. For instance, in the above example, K♣️ is the highest card. Therefore, if another player has an Ace as the highest card, it will beat the King-high hand.
Also Read: A Beginner’s Guide to Get Started in Cardistry
Variations of Anaconda Poker Game
To make the anaconda poker game more interesting, players add a few variations to the game. Here are a few variations you can add to your game as well:
- Make changes to the number of starting cards. For instance, deal six cards to each player instead of seven.
- You can make alterations in the number of cards that each player passes to the player on the left. For instance, you can start by passing four cards instead of three.
- You can also make an alteration to the direction in which cards are passed. For instance, the players can pass cards to the player on the right or seated diagonally instead of passing cards on the left.
- After all the passing rounds end, you can change the betting rounds to only one betting round and showdown.
- Anaconda poker can also be played in a high-low variation where the pot is divided between two players – the player with the best high hand and the player with the worst hand.
- When playing a game with wild cards, you can designation some cards as wild cards.
- You can also remove all betting rounds and play to make the game more fun.
