Anaconda Rules

Anaconda is played with a standard 52-card deck with no jokers and no wild cards, by up to seven players.

Each player tries to finish with the best five-card hand, ranked by the standard poker hand rankings. In the high-low version, players may instead play for the lowest hand, or both.

The name Pass the Trash is also sometimes used for a different game, Selection / Rejection.

Each player places an ante. The dealer then deals seven cards face down to each player, one at a time.

Players look at their cards. There is then a first betting round, begun by the player to the dealer's left.

After the first betting round, each active player chooses three cards they do not want and places them face down in front of them.

When every active player is ready, each set of three cards is passed at the same time to the next active player to the left. Players shall not look at the cards they receive until they have put down their own three.

Players pick up and look at the cards they received. There is then a second betting round, begun by the player to the dealer's left.

Each player then discards two cards face down, out of play, leaving five cards.

Each player arranges their five cards in any order they choose and places them in a face-down stack. The order cannot be changed after this.

All players turn over the top card of their stack at the same time. There is then a betting round, begun by the player with the highest hand showing.

This is repeated three more times, until each player has four cards face up and one face down. Every betting round is begun by the player with the best hand showing.

High only. After the final betting round, the remaining players reveal their last card and the best five-card hand wins the pot.

High-low. When the game is played high-low, each remaining player declares before the showdown whether they are going for high, low or both. The best high hand among those declaring high and the best low hand among those declaring low split the pot.

The method of declaring and the ranking of low hands shall be agreed before play. Declarations are usually made simultaneously, for example with chips held in a closed hand. Low hands are usually ranked ace-to-five, in which aces are low, straights and flushes do not count, and 5-4-3-2-A is the best low.

A player who declares both usually must win, or tie, both halves. A player who fails wins nothing, and the pot is divided between the other winners.

Three passes. Players pass three cards to the left, then two cards to the player two seats to the left, then one card to the player three seats to the left. There is a betting round after each pass. Players then discard down to five, stack their cards and roll them as in Article 4.

Dealer's patterns. In a dealer's choice game, the dealer may announce any other pattern of passing before the deal.

Sharing with the passer. Because cards are passed to the left, some groups split the pot between the high hand and the next active player to that player's right, the one who passed cards to the winner.

Passing without rolling. Another version described online uses passes of two cards, then one, then two, all to the left, with a betting round after each pass. Hands are then turned over, and the best hand and the lowest hand split the pot.

Wild cards. Howdy Doody is Anaconda played high-low with threes wild for high hands and kings wild for low hands.