Hello !!

The whole thing started in 2007. I got an info from a polish poker forum friend that the card game I've created was mentioned in the polish edition of Card Player magazine. So I just went to the nearby casino to see if they have the magazine. They did. I walked outside with the Card Player in my hand and I opened it to see if that was true. It was, although this was just two or three sentences that contained the title of my poker-based card game "Source Of the Force". The same day when it got dark I went for a walk to enjoy my little success. I was really happy and at the same time I got that strange feeling that it was some kind of a sign for me as a game designer. So I thought "Hey, if poker players like my game maybe I could create a new game for them which would be as good as NLHE or PLO ...". I was aware how difficult this task can be and that it can take even 10 years or so. Well, today I know it was even more - it was a 15 year long challenge and everyday work. That's mostly because it's extremely hard to find necessary knowledge on the internet. I had to learn most of it all by myself, but I must mention that a lot of players have helped me with their knowledge, especially here on 2+2. I think it's time to show the final result of my challenge. It really looks like a very big poker variant for everyone. It hasn't been tested yet because you can't play poker in Poland. Although if you use the cards at home you should be able to see most of its potential.


"EUROPEAN DECK POKER"

The deck is 40 CARDS and you must have two 52 card decks to build it. All the Royal Flush cards will be needed from both decks (T,J,Q,K,A). The most important aspect of the game is that it uses the RED & BLACK colors of the cards. Each poker hand consists of "core cards" and "kickers". The core cards must be all black (or all red), while the kickers must be of opposite color - all red (or all black). For example: three of a kind black Kings with both kickers being red.

It's a NO LIMIT game which uses exactly the same mechanism as Texas Hold'em (2+311). Two hole cards + flop(3) + turn(1) + river(1). Best 5 card hand out of 7 cards plays. Maximum number of players at the table is 9.

The hand ranking was confirmed with manual method on a very large number of examples - for both 5 cards and 7 cards. Core cards can repeat or be suited, same thing with kickers, they can repeat or be suited. Ace can play as the lowest card "9" in a straight flush (As Ts Js Qs + Ad).

### HAND RANKING (from worst to best): ###

1. ZERO - [As Ac Ks Ks Qc] - any five cards that don't match any of the higher hand requirements. Zero only plays when all 7 cards are black (or all red) and there is no straight.

2. HIGH CARD - [Kh Ac Kc Qs Qc] - one card with four kickers.

3. FLUSH - [Ac Jc Ah Qh Jd] - two suited cards with three kickers.

4. THREE OF A KIND - [Qs Qs Qc Kd Qh] - three cards of the same rank with two kickers.

5. STRAIGHT FLUSH - [Jh Qh Kh Ah Kc] - four suited and connected cards with one kicker.

6. STRAIGHT - [Tc Js Qs Kc As] - five connected cards, no kickers.


Author: Grzegorz Jakubowicz

Phil Ivey wasn't as famous back in 2007 as he is now. I remember that the Card Player magazine I mentioned had his photo inside, just a few pages back. At first, I thought "Ok, so he's one of those pro poker players". Now, after seeing him playing both online and live and witnessing his career I know he's a true legend. I also remember the cover of that magazine. There was a big Jerry Yang and 8 million USD in cash photo on it. It was really a special feeling to know that the first card game I created was a small part of this WSOP Main Event edition CP.

You may wonder how can I feel being connected to poker if I don't play it at all ... Well, I played once or twice in 2008-2009 online when it was legal. I didn't win any money, but what I did win - was the connection to the game for the rest of my life. I think in poker, in general, you have to be a believer. Whether you play or design poker games you constantly have to be aware of the fact that even the craziest dreams might come true one day. If you're a non-believer you may never be successful.

I'm really happy to bring you the rules of European Deck Poker here. It's a very special game. Sometimes it even scares me how good, deep and consistent it is. Combining this with the fact that it's my own creation, it's a really tilting feeling. The first impression you might have will probably be - it's hard to improve to a better hand on the turn and river. After a deeper analysis, you'll eventually notice that it's because only hands like red pocket pairs (or black pocket pairs), suited connectors or AXs are the only ones playable. Rest of the starting hands is mostly garbage. With those better starting cards the hands you'll make will often be better, like 3 of a kind, straight flush or straight. Especially when playing 6 - 9 handed.

Please give this game a chance and use the decks you have at home. It'll be worth it, plus you might theoretically even become part of the history of poker, too. Who knows, right ...? You gotta be a believer though, it's a must. Trying to display this game in your mind without cards is probably a thing only a genius can do. That's my perspective.

Fifteen years is a lot. Life was passing me by when I was working. I wasn't really living my life at all. I really had to sink deep into math and numbers, and at the bottom of that ocean was a big shark where I had to pull this game out of his mouth. That's a pretty accurate comparison. Sinking into math and poker is a really one way ticket. You take one breath and go all the way down with your eyes closed. Pure insanity. It was worth it though. I always thought that if I succeed I will put the cards aside. Nope, the cards are still stuck to my hands and I analyze EDP all the time now. It's truly mesmerizing. Things like analytical confirmation of hand ranking and odds calculator still have to be done, but I'm already happy.

I remember that my first ideas were ridiculous and so simple at the same time. One day, in 2010, I got so excited with this "poker job" that I went outside for a walk. It was clear sunshine that day. My mind was totally focused on cards and math. When I was crossing the road, I saw some guy driving an old and loud BMW 3 series and he took a fast turn in front of me. I noticed he had a sticker above the wheel with the spade logo. I don't know what it was, but I just knew that it was like a sign to me that said "keep going, keep going". So I did - and today we have a new game.

I knew that I could possibly never be successful with my work. It was all about winning or losing it. No draws and no mid-scenarios - you're in or you're out. I guess I'm in, but it's all up to you now. If you're asking yourself a question now: "What was the real reason this guy never stopped and just kept going everyday for 15 years shuffling cards and making notes ??". Well, the answer is very ... uncommon actually. It was all thanks to the energy of a woman. A woman I could never meet in person or even see her face. But I had her photo from the school-times because she's a person who most of the world has heard about. I know that it will sound touchy and all that, but her name is Elisabeth Fritzl. She lives somewhere in Austria now. Yep, it's all about her and her will to win. Elisabeth taught me how to never give up and keep fighting even if it seems to be impossible. And I'm officially dedicating European Deck Poker to her.

Watching poker on TV and Youtube and analyzing it was my only connection I got with the game. Seeing how it slowly evolves from one level to another was very inspiring. Trying to pick those interesting and really spectacular plays and wins was my method. It was a bit like looking through a window to see how the real world looks. I was always sure that the players may not speak about it, but deep inside they all have that need and hunger for new poker games. It was very well seen when Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey started promoting Short Deck Poker. They were really happy and excited to bring this game to the rest of the poker world.

Now, instead of those two great poker players you have me in front of you who's the online messenger. I know it's hard to trust me because I'm unknown in the community and I'm the greatest fish of all time, but ... if you somehow DO trust me and my knowledge, my message is - handle this game carefully because it's a big one. If you see it in the cards too, it means that the game chose you to be a member of a new community. Yes, building a new community is a hard thing to do. Not as difficult as designing new poker, but still very demanding. Trying to find the right spots for the continuous chain reaction is like hunting with a sniper rifle in the dark.

European Deck Poker gives me this strange sense of duality. From one perspective it's an undeniable proof that there is an infinite number of poker games out there and they just need to be found by someone. From the other side, considering how difficult it was to make those rules it may also mean that it's the last big poker variant and there's no more to be found. I just don't know which of the two is true. Who knows, maybe a special designing software will be required to find more variants.

This also reminded me here of a very important sentence: "If something is completely impossible, it's a proof that it's actually POSSIBLE, because it means you can endlessly try to achieve it. And if you try something endlessly you must eventually come across that point where it is possible."

Where does a qualifying two pair hand sit in the ranking?
Where does a qualifying quads hand sit in the ranking?

Hey, I think I'm going to move this to the Other Poker Games subforum for you. Hopefully it can gain some traction there. This just doesn't seem to really be a blog, right? If you intend to transition to some kind of a blog from this and don't want it moved, that's fine, but I think, as is, it probably fits there more than here.

Hello, I know it's a "poker designer blog" instead of a "player blog", but I'm doing my best so that it can still be a (poker) blog. In the Other Poker Games sub-forum the traffic is very low while here many people see it. Of course decision is up to you, but I would be happy if this could stay here. It's really a very good game and it's great that many people can read it. I really feel doing a blog although I know there are going to be some theory questions too. Please do what you think will be the best for the game. This content doesn't precisely fit to any of the sub-forums, that's why I decided to make it a blog (+ more views). Posting this online is the only way for me to promote the game, that's why number of views is so important. Once again, it's a great game, please take this to consideration when making a decision.

I'm cool with leaving it here if you intend to continue posting and use this as a blog. Good luck!

Working with the deck of cards was like working with a hive full of bees - you think you have control over them, but they still go their own way all the time. During first few years it was mostly fun experience. When I started to realize how many possibilities and ideas in my head they create, I started to categorize all the knowledge that was continuously pouring into my mind. This is how it started to become a work instead of a hobby only.

At first my ideas and thoughts were chaotic. Month after month all those designing thoughts started to create patterns, just like poker strategy knowledge does. When I realized that, my will to achieve my goal was 10 times stronger. The more I worked, the more fun I started having with each of the variants. This is how it all went crazy. I couldn't recognize if it was hard work or pure fun. I just couldn't stop or even take one long break. If it was possible to see the statistics of those 15 years, it would definitely be a strong broadcast of big numbers. Something only I would believe. Let's just try to not estimate those.

It's definitely possible to create a poker design software, I was always dreaming of having one. This would save so much time, but who knows - maybe then it wouldn't be as exciting as it was. Finding all the knowledge by yourself can bring great satisfaction. It's like realizing that all those things you heard or read in the interviews of famous people was actually truth and it really makes sense to follow their thoughts.

Maybe the fact that I'm writing a blog is some sort of a substitute for playing EDP, which I can't do unfortunately. Play money isn't an option. It would be like trying to walk on the moon surface. The problem with the country I live in is that they see poker as something evil. Many other countries go the same direction, I could never understand that. Forbidding poker is like saying: "If you like games - play football then or buy a lottery ticket, we won't support you in this chaotic mayhem with chips and cards." What about the poker dealers then, would they also be considered to do something evil by dealing the cards ? That's a pure comedy to me. Anyway, if you can play poker where you live - appreciate this and be happy with it. It's a real privilege. Fortunately, I have my poker dreams fulfilled both as a poker player and a poker designer. It's not about the money, it's about the numbers. Numbers and their language.

There obviously was one day I could call a real mental breakthrough. It was somewhere around 2011, autumn or winter. When closely analyzing Texas Hold'em I found a correlation between numbers and energy. I call this "the author's signature". I noticed that the total number of combination of hole cards that always have some value and represent some sort of strength (hole cards that are suited, or connected, or paired, or ace high) is 666. It's one of the most popular numbers in the world, also called the number of the beast. Mathematically it means absolutely nothing, but when you consider symbolism, energy and religious content it really becomes something quite special. It definitely added more spicy flavor and mysterious aura to my work. That day, I immediately called a taxi and took a ride to other part of the city (Krakow) to take some photos. It was the best way to make this day memorable.

Constantly learning something leads to positive results and the right state of mind, but when does this stop ? That was the question I tried to answer myself. When I noticed that my poker variants are based on the knowledge that's getting bigger everyday, I was really curious if there is a quiet oasis in this desert trip. I mean, there's got to be some point of achieving the mastery of a craft, right ? Some people say that mastery is about being a student all the time, but I was afraid of that. I saw an infinite spiral mathematical vortex there. Well, I guess I missed that point or never achieved it. Maybe I was just lucky and had the correct instinct to find the rules of EDP.

For the last couple of months of my work I was concentrating on looking back into my previous ideas and searching for a point where I could miss something. The structure that EDP hand ranking is based on (0-1-2-3-4-5) is actually an extended version of an idea that I had a few years ago. I just didn't have the right knowledge at that moment, although I was on the right track obviously. It just came back to my mind as a consequential thinking backwards in time. It was a good method to look back. I recommend it to everyone who feels lost with his work.

The only thing that could stop EDP could be an error in the hand ranking. Everything else is on the right place, literally everything. Fortunately, according to my non-analytical method of making the confirmation statistics, it's all good. To find an error there would have to be an official math analysis done. Until that happens, you have to trust my calculations. I'm really good at estimating what is statistically possible and what is not.

If I didn't trust my hand ranking measure method I would had to stop with my work somewhere around 2016. I have two notebooks full of those. Sometimes I was using the card randomizing software and sometimes I was shuffling the cards myself and making notes. I think I was too greedy and excited for the final victory to measure the hand ranking for each of my variants. I've lost tons of energy on that, but everything that ends good is good, right ?

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'll keep blogging.

I would risk a statement that the complexity of poker design knowledge is close to the complexity of poker strategy. It just needs more proofs and more games to be created. So many spectacular things have already been made with NLHE that I doubt it could go endlessly. Texas Hold'em became quite stale I think, unless you're very deep into the game and will appreciate some plays that just don't look spectacular to a casual spectator. I mean, the overall level of poker is very high, but it's quite rare to see "super crazy play" on TV. Plus, how many hands can you play without overloading your brain with the same game, 10 or 15 years ? It's pretty obvious that people like options. Variety is always good.

In poker design, every variant has ... variants. Being able to create variants of the core idea is the main skill. Choosing the right one is another. Although the first serious thing I had to learn was to answer a question: "Why this isn't a good poker game ?". It's the first thing you need to do in 99% cases of new games created. I had to learn how to find a key flaw as quickly as possible. Month after month, year after year I was really making progress with that. So the time I've lost with each variant was quickly descending and the frequency of new games appearing was rising at the same time. There are so many things a poker game might be missing when being compared to NLHE.

Texas Hold'em is so popular because it's mechanics are at the most basic level: 2+311 and that's it. It's like - you can progress from this point but you can't go back. You can't make a 4 round poker game more simple than that. That's why so many of my variants had the same structure. It's the best formula that allows complex strategy to appear in the game. It also attracts newcomers very quickly. And I wanted my game to have all this.

I know one thing for sure, if poker games can be created and there might be some new big games out there, this mission has found the right person. I'm the best when it comes to making something out of nothing + enjoying little things. These two are my two pocket aces I hold. Other skills are just like community cards for those aces. Although it's still up to the players. I'm just a messenger. A truck driver that delivered you the package with the final product which is EDP in this case.

The advantage of successfully doing something creative, measurable and countable over other things like making films or music, is enormous. Of course the core pattern and its value first must attract people as a confirmation, but math has such an advantage here. Poker is based on interfaces and layers the same way as a software. Sometimes I visualize those interfaces as a 3D structure, but that might be because of multiple 2D layers existing. These interfaces refer to the game structure, strategy and design. That's why there are so many possibilities when it comes to changing the rules. Theoretically you can change everything in NLHE, but in real life you can't change a single thing. This would be like trying to tune up a Ferrari. It's already tuned and fast enough. So making a NLHE game with only slight adjustments was definitely an option here, but I had to give up with it at some point. I wanted to have a game with a new deck, new hand ranking and new unique rule if possible. Speaking of interfaces, life does have those too, that's what I've learned with my work.

I tried literally everything I could. Sometimes I even tried to make a new betting system. I had so many new ideas here, but none of them worked and those that worked were not poker anymore. Classic No Limit betting structure is like a Chinese Wall, it stands firmly and always will. The question isn't "what did I try ?" but "what didn't I try ?". I didn't try all those things that other people would come up with. Though as long as I'm considered and my potential, I definitely tried everything possible. EDP was at the end of the list.

15 years of my work is a lot, but when you compare this to the number of years the card deck was evolving or even poker itself and the creation and understanding of Texas Hold'em, it's not that long eventually. All those things evolve really slowly, but they bring great effect. I don't know if my game will too, but I know that it definitely satisfies me as a game designer. Goodness gracious, how much I want to play this game now, it's unbelievable. At least I have a new purpose in life - to play my own game with real money. It's interface is a little bit slower than the one NLHE has, because of it's complexity, but that's probably a thing you can master pretty quickly. Today's life is based on interfaces, isn't it ? People are prepared for using complex things, so that's good for me and I'm not worried about it. Maybe it's a matter of switching to the next gear.

Majority of poker players think that creating something as good as NLHE is a delusion, that it's not possible. And they are almost right. It's very close to the edge of that thin line between "delusion" and "possible". I was balancing on that line for the whole time. I didn't know if a final loss would be because it's not possible or because of the wrong direction I took with my work. Although I would bet on the first option. From the time perspective, when looking back I'm starting to think that for the whole time I was 51% sure that it is possible. If it comes to the definite key spots, 51% is not a coin flip anymore. Besides, if you win you can always say "Hey, I had an advantage here, that could be the reason of my win". I really see it's a number that has significant advantage over 49, but this might be a matter of how much will you zoom in into this.

I'm the worst poker player of all time. At the same time I know that proving to yourself you're the best is much easier than proving to yourself you're the worst. The paradox here is that my confidence of successful work was so constant that it completely neglected that. Although it was being somehow reflected in the number 51. It was constant but low at the same time.

When my poker design knowledge was slowly expanding its horizon, my life was narrowing the main one. Of course I won't talk about it here, but it's just worth noticing. I think it was some kind of a balance - you can't have both. How could I ever stop ? How can you not be happy with a thought that you've just created another new poker game ? I had that feeling of joy about 70 times in my life. Every time it gave me a portion of necessary energy to continue. I needed that energy so much, it was like a fuel. Sometimes I was almost sure it wasn't a new big game, but I was still happy to have a few days of rest plus a thought "who knows, maybe it's this one this time ?". Yeah ... it was madness. The same madness I saw when visualizing the future right before I started to work on a new game.

Earlier I mentioned that having a special software for poker design would save me a lot of time. It's just theoretical, but if there was at least one poker book about it, I would be happy with it. What do we have instead ? A ton of poker games that are weird and often even use geometric shapes for placing the cards. Those games are mostly useless, maybe only for fun. I had a different aim, I was aiming at the top and I'm proud of it.

How does poker designer's work look like ? Well, it's very static when you look from the outside, but very dynamic when you look from the inside perspective. I was just sitting and looking at a few cards dealt, shuffling and re-arranging them from time to time. During the first few years I was mostly concentrating on playing with cards in different setups. The more knowledge I gained, the more static my work was becoming. Of course sometimes I had to measure the hand rankings and this required tons of shuffling or using the card randomizing software plus making tons of notes - these were exceptions. Mostly static work, though from the inside there were really a lot of things going on in my mind. Idea after idea, variant after variant and rule after rule, it was like that. Sometimes I got angry and mad when being stuck or uninspired, quite often actually. I got used to it though and my anger was under control.

Of course there is no creative work without inspiration. So during my work I had only one strict rule - never work without music, never do that. Music is based on patterns just the way that math is. So music was influencing my work and my work was influencing the music that I was choosing to listen, especially when completing a variant. It was a pretty well functioning double sided mechanism.

Resigning wasn't an options here. I had 1000 different reasons to give up, but like I mentioned earlier I just literally couldn't. Even a tiny progress is still a step forward and you have to learn to be happy with each every single one of those. During the first phase I was seeing my progress in the quantity of variants, while in the later stage I saw it in their quality. This progress wasn't constant though. I think that if I put together all the poker variants I created and looked at them, they would resemble true randomness. Some were stupid, some were absurd, some had a flaw and some had a lot of positive aspects. Realizing all this gave me hope and I was never sad when having to give up a certain variant. Randomness is beautiful - it looks chaotic, but there is a strict statistic pattern when you're analyzing it.

I also think that the rarity of my "job" was also inspiring me a lot. Who else designs poker games ? It's a totally unique thing, but I could never find the reason for that. I mean, is it because it's all so hidden ? If so, that might be one of those things that pushed me forward.

If knowledge didn't count, I could easily say that after 8, or 11, or 13 years I achieved absolutely nothing. If I had been concentrating only on the results, I would have stopped after 6 years or so. The NLHE "author's signature" was an exception here and definitely was a permanent achievement. Apart from this, there was only poker design knowledge to be found in my "achievement wallet". The only use for the poker variants I had to give up, was to remember as many of them as possible and maybe they would have become useful later on (as a hint or new game's ingredient). That's how the EDP was created, or perhaps I should say "discovered" - it must have been lying somewhere out there in the dark where nobody could see it. Friend of mine once said: "Making a sculpture is an easy thing to do, you just take a stone and get rid of the useless part.". Same thing here, but instead of the rejected stone parts, there was a ton of naive and simple thinking that was blinding me.

From time to time, I tried to do some other creative things just to ... stay creative. Yes, it was important because it might be the same force that keeps people moving in different areas of creativity. It's also good for the current situation, where I feel fulfilled but also ready to do some other stuff not connected to poker. Although I must admit I will somehow miss my poker hobby that has been torturing me for so long. It was fun. I think I've already analyzed EDP deeply enough as far as my strategy knowledge goes, so even that has already been done. Now it's time to play the game and test it, which I can't do. Comedy or tragedy, depends on how you look at this.

Several times I tried to change my main aim to a casino game, but these are mathematically too difficult, especially when it comes to counting the house edge. Maybe if I hadn't worked alone I would have concentrated more on that. But again, it really seems to be a positive thing that I was working alone. Everything ended the way it should have ended, just like some kind of fate.