Do you play flip hands in your game? What are your favorites?

Do you play them at the beginning of the session, the end, or both?

Our standard flip game is to even out the stacks to make cashing out easier.

Usually someone will say something like, "I have $2.50."

Someone else says, "I only have .50."

So .50 becomes the first pot and everyone usually joins it. The $2 might become the next pot, unless someone has less to put into it. There might be another pot or two, depending how people want to bet.

After all of that is done, which goes pretty quickly, we deal every cards around, every card face up. Any odd cards become board cards for everyone to use.

Then we figure out who won which pots.

Last night we played a great flip game at the end of the night.

Everyone puts in $20. Then we deal an Omaha hand to everyone, and then run out 4 boards. $5 from each bet is paid for each board. For example, with eight players, each board is worth $40.

Our home game is .50/1.00, so there are random dollars and .50 usually. Those are mostly just tossed to the host. At the end of the game for sometimes 20-30 min, we will deal out Omaha hands for $5 or $10 for 3 or 4 players.

Here are my flip games from my home games:

Weekly $2/5 cash game. Lots of gamblers - a few of them would rather play blackjack than poker and seemingly they enjoy the end of the night flip more than the strategic game play. We generally all start with ponying up $60 each and the gambler degens create a side pool because $60 is NOT nearly enough to risk on luck only They sometimes put as much as $200 extra out. We always play 7 card stud which in my opinion creates the most excitement since every card is turned up. If there are more than 7 players at the end of the night, we might only deal out 5 or 6 cards face up to each person with 1 or 2 community cards to end it. Couple of us partner and split the pot if one of us hits, so we usually have rooting interests in more than our own hand.

In this game, it's also common for people to play the red-black game. Usually $5 goes to whoever has the color of cards the come out most on the flop through river. One caveat is that if all 5 cards come out black or red, the loser has to pay the winner $50. Changes the dynamics of the hands sometimes if one of these 2 is involved. Let's say the guy with red is in the hand and the first 3 cards are black, he is incented to end the hand before the turn and river are dealt so he may overbet/bluff to avoid having to pay $50. Gets silly sometimes with someone overbetting $100+ into monsters to avoid an unlikely $50 payment.

In my low stakes tourney league, we aren't nearly as balla. Occasionally after our .25/.5 cash games we'll toss out $5 or $10 at the end of the night. Last time, I suggested stud like my weekly game and it was met with..."what - we've been playing hold em all night and now we're flipping stud??" I'm like yea... hold em flips are super boring and you could even have ties... Silliness!

That is one hell of a 2/5 game you play in.

We used to play "piles', a silly simple strategy game that takes a long time to win, at the end of some nights.

No real flips, although if there is a short stack, occasionally they will flip to double or nothing.


With multiple 'odd' amounts... how many flips do you normally run?

Normally just once, with multiple side pots. Sometimes it doesn't simplify cash outs. Sometimes we draw cards for additional odd chips.

What is piles?

Does anyone else not understand in the least how any of these could be fun?

As said, we don't do the flip thing. I can see how it would be a nice way to end the night, randomly evening out stacks (for much lower amounts than most pots).

We are usually up against a clock, and would have to call 'last hand' much earlier to flip much.


Piles, aka chase the ace.

All players put 3 equal piles of chips in front of them. Last one with chips wins.
Dealer deals a single card to each player, they look, but keep it hidden.
Left of dealer can keep their card, or swap it with the player on their left.
Options continue through the dealer, who can swap with the top of the deck.
Aces are low.
Kings are stoppers, if you have a King and a player wants to pass, flip the bird, flip your king, the other player keeps their card (probably not a good one).
At the end of the round, everyone who hasn't flipped (kings only), shows their cards. Lowest card(s) put a pile into the pot.
Deal passes to the left, everyone still with a pile gets a new card.
Shuffle the deck when the stub <= #players +2
If all remaining players tie, they all put their piles in the pot.
Each player then puts up one more pile. I suppose if someone doesn't want to, they don't have to. I can't think of a reason other than being completely busted that they wouldn't,
No deals/chops, WTA, all players must play to win (avoiding HU players playing not to tie).


Basic strategy.
7 is the middle card. Rare to pass a 7 or higher.
Always pass the Ace.
If you get passed a higher card then you passed. STAY, you can't lose.
If you see someone get passed a card and stay, keep the low end of your passing range (4,5,6).
Same if you see someone get stopped with a King.
If you get the same rank card, consider if you would rather take the other person down one, while maybe going down one yourself. Ex. Get passed a 4 for your 4. Passing might get you lower. Keeping might lose you both a pile (OK if you have 2+ and they are down to their last).



Old favorite, going way back, include Night baseball (everyone gets 7 down cards at once, no peeking). 3s and 9s are wild, a 4 gets you another card. Left of dealer exposes one card, then left of them exposes one at a time until they beat the prior player.

Guess you have to be a gambler, anything that has $$ on it should be fun in some way!!

7 card no peek
(2-7 player game)

Everyone agrees on how much $ to play for and antes up.
Each player is dealt 7 cards face down, you are not allowed to look at them.
Player to the left of dealer button flips over 1 card, next player continues to flip over cards until he beats the player to his rights hand. This continues until there is a winner.

*Optional "buy a 4" addition to game:
If you are dealt a 4 you can buy another card for an agreed amount (usually for about 20% of what you paid to play the hand)

^We used to play this when we played a lot of crazy games as dealer's choice. At each "better hand," there was a round of betting. We've never played it as an end of the night flip game, but it sounds perfect.

Standard Luke Ivory flip:

Deal everyone an Omaha (hi) hand face down. Deal the board face up. Each player takes it in turn to turn up one of their cards... so the person 'ahead' changes many times in the hand.

I've not seen a flipping method better, tbh. One hand, many cards to sweat. This is how many many single-table satellites to the Irish open were played back in the day (and possibly now).

I like it!

This is what we do too. 4-5 flips almost every time we end our session. Always lots of fun at the end of the night.

Favorite flip game is a homemade game called Triple Double Dramaha

(aka: DoubleDoubleDoubleDramaha)

(aka: Double Deck Double Flop Double Draw Dramaha)

We came up with this extra-crazy version of Dramaha and everyone loves it. The PL version is awesome - but we use it most often for random flips.

Mix Two decks together
Everyone gets 5 Cards, and a flop is dealt before action starts.
Round of Betting
First Draw
Second flop is dealt, place underneath 1st flop.
Round of Betting
Second Draw
Round of Betting
Turn Card
Round of Betting
River Card
Round of Betting
Showdown: Best 5 Card Omaha hand (using only 1 flop or the other) = 1/2 Pot, Best 5 Card Draw hand = other 1/2 pot.
Watch as everyone tries to figure out what they have. LOL

(Skip betting rounds for flips, obviously)