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Faces of Death is Seven Card Stud played like Black Mariah, but with three killer cards instead of one. If the jack, queen or king of spades is dealt face up, the hand is killed. It suits a small table of four or five players.
Faces of Death was contributed to pagat.com by a reader credited as fran. It is a variation of Black Mariah for a small table of four or five players.
The game uses a standard 52-card deck and no wild cards. The best five-card hand at the showdown wins the pot.
The three spade picture cards, the J♠Q♠K♠, are the faces of death.
The cards are dealt and bet exactly as in Seven Card Stud: two cards down and one up, three more up and a last card down, with a betting round after each card from the first up card on.
| Street | Cards dealt | Betting |
|---|---|---|
| Third street | Two down, one up | 1st round |
| Fourth street | One up | 2nd round |
| Fifth street | One up | 3rd round |
| Sixth street | One up | 4th round |
| Seventh street | One down | 5th round, then showdown |
In Black Mariah, as described in the source, only the queen of spades has this effect. In Faces of Death, any of the three spade picture cards dealt face up kills the hand.
The source does not set out what 'killing the hand' involves. The usual rule in the queen-of-spades games from which it comes is:
3.2(a) the deal and betting stop at once;
3.2(b) all the cards are gathered and shuffled, and the chips already bet stay in the pot; and
3.2(c) the cards are dealt again to the players who had not folded when the card appeared.
Because Black Mariah is played in several different ways, the dealer shall announce before the deal how a killed hand is handled, including whether only the player who receives the card is out instead.
A spade picture card dealt face down has no special effect.
If the deal is completed without a face-up spade picture card, the highest five-card hand at the showdown wins the pot.
The hand is killed
Four players are in. On fourth street the up cards dealt are 9♦10♣K♠4♥.
The K♠ is a face of death, so the hand is killed. Under the usual rule (3.2), the cards are reshuffled and the players who had not folded are dealt a fresh hand, playing for the pot that has already built up.
The jack, queen and king of spades. If one is dealt face up, the hand is killed.
The game's contributor recommends a small table. With three killer cards in the deck, the more up cards are dealt, the more likely a deal is to be killed before it finishes.
No. Only a jack, queen or king of spades dealt face up kills the hand.
Where any doubt remains in the application of this document, Rob is right.
Hand rankings, high to low: royal flush · straight flush · four of a kind · full house · flush · straight · three of a kind · two pair · one pair · high card. Suits never break ties.
Faces of Death Rules · OPR-672 · officialpokerrules.com/faces-of-death/