How to Play Yahtzee Texas Hold'em

Yahtzee Texas Hold'em is played with different colored dice instead of cards.

For those partial to betting games like poker but not fond of playing with cards, the Yahtzee variation of Texas Hold'em presents an excellent alternative. The rules are close to those in Texas Hold'em, but scoring is simpler without royalty cards. The change to dice instead of cards adds a fun new twist without robbing the game of any of its subtle strategy and fun. Dealing Texas Hold'em is as easy as learning a couple of rules.

Things You'll Need

• Two to seven players
• 20 dice (in four colors) in a draw bag
• One cup for each player
• Poker chips

Instructions

1. Instruct each player to draw two dice from the bag, place them in her cup and shake. Based on the numbers shown on her dice, each player makes an appropriate bet into the pool. If any player doesn't want to match another player's bet, he must fold.

2. Draw three community dice from the bag and roll them on the table. This is called the "flop." Players consider how the dice affect their hands, and a second round of betting and folding ensues.

3. Draw one more community die and roll it on the table. This is the "turn." Players engage in a final round of betting and folding.

4. Draw and roll the final die. This is the "river." The player who can make the highest ranking combination of her pocket dice and three of the community dice on the table wins the pot. In ranking order, the possible combinations are two pair, three of a kind, full house (three of a kind plus two of a kind), straight (all dice in numerical order), four of a kind, flush (all dice in the same color), Yahtzee (five of a kind), straight flush (dice in the same color and in sequential numeric order), and Yahtzee flush (five of a kind in the same suit).

5. Repeat steps one through four until one player has all the chips or everyone has quit.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have any poker chips available, you can use coins or candies instead.

• For every two players you add to the game past the first seven, add one new die in each color.

References

• BoardGameGeek: Yahtzee Texas Hold'em