Freak of Nature Rules

Freak of Nature is Five Card Draw with a sliding wild card. Sixes are wild, but if none of the players in the showdown holds a six, fives become wild instead. If no one has a five either, fours are wild, and so on down the ranks.

Type: Draw
Wild cards: Sixes, or the next rank down held at showdown
Draws: 1
Pot: High only

Article 1Players, deck and wild cards

1.1

Freak of Nature is a variant of Five Card Draw contributed to pagat.com by Doble J. Except for the wild cards, the rules of Five Card Draw apply.

1.2

The game uses a standard 52-card deck. The best five-card high hand wins, ranked by the standard poker hand rankings.

1.3

Sixes are the wild rank, subject to the sliding rule in article 3.

1.4

With four wild cards of one rank in play, five of a kind is possible. The source does not rank it; the usual practice is that five of a kind beats a straight flush, and the group shall confirm this before play.

Article 2The deal, the draw and betting

2.1

Antes, the deal of five cards each, the first betting round, the draw and the second betting round all follow the rules of Five Card Draw.

2.2

During the betting, no player knows for certain which rank will be wild, because that depends on the hands still in play at the showdown.

Article 3The sliding wild card at showdown

3.1

After the final betting round, the wild rank is fixed by looking at the hands of all players who stayed in:

3.1(a) If any of them holds a six, sixes are wild.

3.1(b) If none of them holds a six, fives are wild.

3.1(c) If none of them holds a five either, fours are wild, and so on down through the ranks.

3.2

The same wild rank applies to every hand in the showdown. The best hand, counting that rank as wild, wins.

3.3

The source does not say what happens if no player in the showdown holds any card from six down to two, or whether aces count as the rank below two. The group shall agree this before play.

Example

Fives become wild

Two players reach the showdown. A holds 5♥5♦9♣9♠K♥. B holds Q♠Q♦Q♣4♥7♦.

Neither player holds a six, so fives become wild. A's two fives join the pair of nines to make four nines with a king. B has no five and plays three queens. A wins.

Had B held a six in place of the 7♦, sixes would have been wild instead. A would have had only two pair, and B would have had four queens.

Article 4Strategy notes

A six is valuable not only as a wild card for its holder but because it fixes the wild rank for everyone.
Holding low pairs such as fives or fours can pay off if no six reaches the showdown.
Opponents' draws give only limited clues, since the wild rank is not settled until the hands are shown.

Article 5Frequently asked questions

What is wild in Freak of Nature?

Sixes are wild. If no player in the showdown has a six, fives are wild; if no one has a five either, fours are wild, and so on down.

When is the wild card decided in Freak of Nature?

At the showdown, after all betting and the draw. It depends on the cards held by every player who stayed in.

Final authority

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.

Freak of Nature Rules · OPR-604 · officialpokerrules.com/freak-of-nature/

OPR-604Uncontrolled when printed