Crazy 3-5-7 Rules

Crazy 3-5-7 was invented by Zac Pells, as published on pagat.com. It is a variant of Three Five Seven, and all the rules of that game apply except where this page says otherwise.

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck. Hands are ranked according to the standard poker hand rankings, with the wild cards set out in article 2.

The object is to collect four legs, points won by being the only player to stay in at a stage. The first player to collect four legs wins the pot and the game ends.

At stage one, only threes are wild. As in Three Five Seven as described on pagat.com, the three-card hand is ranked as three of a kind, then a pair, then unmatched cards, and straights and flushes do not count.

At stage two, threes and fives are wild. At stage three, threes, fives and sevens are wild.

A wild card may stand for any card its holder chooses. With several wild ranks, five of a kind is possible at stages two and three. By the usual convention it ranks above a straight flush.

Each player pays an agreed ante to the pot and is dealt three cards face down.

Players then declare in or out. The group shall agree before play whether declarations are made in turn or all at once.

Every player, including those who declared out, is then dealt two more cards face down, making five, and declares again. The same happens once more, making seven.

A player who declares out at one stage keeps their cards and may declare in at a later stage.

If no player has four legs after the seven-card stage, the cards are thrown in, every player antes again, and the next dealer starts a new cycle with three cards.

If exactly one player declares in at a stage, that player wins a leg, usually marked with a token.

If two or more players declare in, their hands are compared and the best hand wins. Each player who stayed in and lost pays the winner an amount equal to the pot, as in Three Five Seven. The group shall agree in advance if it plays a different payment rule for Three Five Seven.

If no player declares in, nothing happens and play moves on to the next stage.

When a player collects a fourth leg, at any stage, that player takes the whole pot and the game ends.