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Casinos> Gambling Articles > How to Play Knock Poker
How to Play Knock Poker
Combining aspects of the card games poker and rummy, Knock
Poker can be played with as few as two and as many as six players, though the
ideal Knock Poker game is usually limited to between three and five
players. Although somewhat similar to
Knock Rummy, the hands are ranked in the same order as in poker.
Play begins with a single chip ante and then each player
receives five cards, just as if a regular game of draw poker was being
played. The remaining undealt cards are
then placed in the center of the table as a stock. The opening player draws the card lying atop
the stock, which he can then decide either to keep or to discard. The other players then in turn can either
draw from the stock or the discard pile.
This is how the game invokes Rummy.
After drawing a card, but before discarding it, a player can
knock. What is meant by a knock is
basically that the player is calling for a showdown. A showdown in turn means that the other
players only get one more chance for a draw.
After that the cards are revealed and the high hand wins the pot. If the player who called the knock wins, he
gets to take two chips from each of the players who stayed. Those who felt they couldn’t win and decided
not to stay “escaped” meaning that they had previously paid the player who
called the knock a single chip in order to get out of play. One advantage for calling the knock is that
the player who calls the knock gets to keep these escape chips even if his hand
ultimately doesn’t win. However, if this
occurs and he the player who called the knock doesn’t win, he must pay the the
winner an extra two chips.
The rules of Knock Poker are not exactly fluid; sometimes
the game is played for bonuses depending on the hand. For instance, if the player who calls the
knock wins with certain hands he gets awarded certain extra bonuses. Typically, a royal flush would earn the
winning knocker an additional four chips from each player. A straight flush would earn him two
chips. Sometimes the game is even played
for such bonuses as an extra chip or two if the knocker didn’t draw any cards. |
