Five and Two or Three Rules

Five and Two or Three was contributed to pagat.com by Phil Boschert. It is a guts game: anyone who stays in and loses must match the pot.

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck. There are no wild cards. Hands rank according to the standard poker hand rankings.

Each player who stays in makes the best five-card poker hand from all the cards they hold.

The source does not set a number of players. Each player may need seven cards, and the dealer eight, so the number of players shall be limited to what the deck can supply.

The game was designed as an answer to games in which the dealer collects the pot if nobody stays in against them. Here, a player who tries to take the pot alone must beat a dealer who gets an extra card.

The source does not describe how the pot is started. The usual practice in guts games is for every player to pay an agreed ante.

The dealer deals five cards face down to each player, including themselves.

Each player in turn, around the table, declares in or out on the strength of their five cards. The usual practice is to start at the dealer's left and end with the dealer.

Every player who declares in is dealt two more cards, giving seven.

If only one player other than the dealer declares in, the dealer plays against that player and is dealt three more cards, giving eight, while the player receives two. This is the rule that gives the game its name.

If two or more players other than the dealer declare in, the dealer gets no extra card. A dealer who chooses to be in receives two cards like everyone else.

The hands of all players who are in are shown, and the best five-card poker hand wins the pot.

Every player who stayed in and did not win must pay an amount equal to the pot.

The source does not say whether a dealer who loses to a lone player must also match the pot, what happens when nobody declares in, or how ties are settled. The dealer shall announce these rules before the deal.