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Casinos> Gambling Articles > An Introduction to Deuces Wild
An introduction to Deuces Wild
Deuces Wild is an
increasingly popular card game, especially among gamblers. Deuces wild is a derivative of five card
draw, with the bonus that all deuces (2’s) are wild cards that can become anything
to give you the best possible hand. The
most common place to find this game is on a video poker machine in a casino,
but because of the high possibility for good hands and fast paced action,
deuces wild is also increasingly being played at home table games.
So you get invited to your
boss’s card game, or your weekly buddies just want to try something
different. What do you need to know if
deuces wild is the game of choice for that week? First off, ask whether jokers are being used
or not. Most poker games throw the
jokers out of the deck, but since deuces wild already uses wild cards, many
times players will just keep jokers in to have 6 total wild cards instead of
4. You need to know this to do the math! The second biggest thing you need to know is
the hand rankings. With wild cards you
can get odd hands like 4 wild cards, five of a kind, and then that great
question: does a wild royal flush match a natural royal flush? Here is the run down of the top hands:
Natural royal flush. That’s right, the normal royal flush of Ten
through Ace all of one suit is still the best hand. Odds wise it is still mathematically the
hardest hand to attain, and if you get that one in a million hand, bet heavy
because no number of wild cards can even tie you--much less beat you. Natural means just that: a royal flush with
no wild cards.
Four Deuces. Four 2’s, which are now four wildcards, is
the second strongest hand. This does not
count as a five of a kind, but is actually stronger. This will beat anything other than a natural
royal flush.
Wild Royal Flush. This is a royal flush that has at least one
wild card, or possibly more. With
deuces, suit doesn’t matter. If you have
the ten, jack, queen, and king of hearts and a two of spades, then that two of
spades becomes an ace of hearts.
Five of a kind. This is exactly as it sounds, and obviously
needs at least one wild card, though often it will have more. For example, four fives and a two would make
a five of a kind in fives. Three fives
and two deuces would also make a five of a kind in fives.
Straight flush. Same as a normal poker game. This is where there are five cards that make
up a straight, but they are also all the same suit. Once again, deuces can be made into any suit.
Four of a Kind. Just as it sounds. This is four of the same card, which can be
made with or without a wild card.
Full House. A full house is trips plus a pair. That means you have three of a kind of one
card and a pair of another. 5-5-5-A-A
would be a full house, or you can use wild cards, so 4-4-2(wild)-3-3 would also
be a full house.
Flush. This is where all the cards are of a matching
suit (all hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades).
Wild cards can be used to fill in the gaps.
Straight. This is when your five cards are in a
numerical sequence without any break.
3-4-5-6-7 is a straight, as is 10-J-Q-K-A. Aces can be used as either high or low card,
and multiple wild cards are allowed.
Usually very strong, but in deuces wild this simply becomes a good hand,
not a great one.
Three of a kind. Also known as trips. Exactly as it sounds. Three of one card. In a normal five card draw game this hand
would be pretty strong, but in deuces wild you should fold this 90% of the
time.
Pair. Two matching cards. In deuces wild it will be a 1 in a 1,000
occurrence to see this win a hand.
High Card. Not really an issue with this game.
Those
are the hand strengths. The basic
strategy for you should be this: this is a high action game, and everyone is
used to games where a pair of aces or three eights is a good hand. Don’t fall for it! Play conservative early on, especially before
anyone else catches on, and don’t get involved unless you have a straight or
higher. Pay attention to what everyone
is playing, and only bet on the really strong hands.
Also:
if your starting hand is awful, don’t be afraid to trade in all your
cards. With so many wild cards, throwing
away five could actually mean picking up an ace, a couple of 2’s and a
joker--in a game that is so heavily weighed towards giant hands, don’t settle
for less. If your starting hand doesn’t
match up, throw it all away!
A
home game of deuces wild will play like five card draw, only with a lot more
wild cards. At a casino you will only
find this game in video poker, in which case you need to look at the pay out
percentages and gauge it more as an electric game and not a real poker
game. At home, play strong, and don’t be
afraid to stay out while people with trips are losing their chips. Play smart, and impress the fellas, or your
boss, with just how smoothly you played the game like a pro--and they don’t
ever have to know it was your first one (unless you want to brag, of course)!
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