Four-Two-Three Rules

Four-Two-Three was contributed to pagat.com by Brian Johnson as a version of his Four-Two-Two. It uses the match-pot betting of Guts rather than ordinary poker betting.

A standard 52-card deck without jokers is used. All twos are wild, including any twos among the table cards.

Because of the wild twos, five of a kind is possible. Unless the dealer announces otherwise, it ranks above a straight flush. See hand rankings.

The object is to hold the best five-card hand, from seven cards, among the players who stay in, or to be the only player who stays in.

Before play, the players shall agree the ante and a maximum amount that a losing player can be made to pay on a single deal.

To start the pot, every player pays the agreed ante.

The dealer deals four cards face down to each player, one at a time and clockwise. Each player looks at their own cards.

The players declare simultaneously. Each player holds a closed fist over the table, with a coin or chip inside if they are playing and empty if not, and all open their hands together.

If only one player is in, that player wins the whole pot and the game ends.

If two or more players are in, the dealer deals three cards face up to the centre of the table. These are shared by all the players who are in.

The players who are in show their hands. Each makes the best five-card poker hand from their four cards and the three table cards, and the best hand wins the pot.

Every other player who stayed in pays an amount equal to the pot, up to the agreed maximum. These payments form the pot for the next deal, and play continues until one player stays in alone.

The source does not say how ties are settled. The usual Guts practice is that tied winners share the pot; the dealer shall announce the rule before the deal.

Ante to drop. Players who drop out must pay a new ante, while losers who stayed in match the pot.

Nobody plays. If no one is in, the player with the best hand among all the non-players matches the pot, and so does every non-player who held a two.

Playing the deck. If only one player is in, their four cards play against the top four cards of the deck. If the player wins, they take the pot and the game ends; if the deck wins, the player matches the pot.