How to Play Take it or Leave It Poker

Take It Or Leave It Poker is one of those poker variations that is great to play at the beginning of your poker night. You can play it while waiting for the last one or two players to arrive. There is some thinking, but with four face up cards the bluffing is limited. In general the pot in Take It Or Leave It Poker tends to be on the lower side of most home poker variations for your home poker night.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Playing cards
• Poker table, poker tabletop, or standard table
• Chairs
• Opponents
• Poker chips

How To Play Take It Or Leave It Poker

1. Gather your friends around the poker table to start playing Take It Or Leave It Poker. This is a game you can play with as few as three players. That is why Take It Or Leave It Poker is a great game to play while you wait for your final few players to arrive for your home poker night.

2. Deal one face down card to each player. This will be the only card in each player's hand that their opponents will not know the value of.

3. Deal the second card to each player. To do this the dealer flips up the top card off the deck and offers it to the player to his left. That player can accept the card or take decide to blindly take the next card from the deck. Whichever card the player chooses, it is placed face up in front of them on the table. Each player has the same decision in order. If the face up card was "passed" by the player before them, they must decide on the same face up card as the previous player. If the player before them took the face up card, they are offered a new face up card to pass or keep.

4. Conduct a betting round after each player has two cards. One will be face up and the first card they received will be face down. The player with the highest face up card starts the betting round.

5. Deal three more cards to each player, one at a time in the same way they received their second card. After each round where all the players get one card a betting round is conducted. The player with the best face up hand starts the betting round.

6. Show your cards and determine the winner of the pot. Any player who has not folded after the final betting round reveals their entire hand. The player with the best poker hand wins the pot.

Tips & Warnings

• Playing for a straight or flush in this game can be very tough, considering you only get five cards and only have one chance to turn a card down each round.
• On the fifth card if the player behind you has three face up cards of one suit and the card you are offered as the face up card is that same suit, claim it. You might not need it, but you might be keeping them from getting a flush which is a very strong hand in Take It Or Leave It Poker.