Home game · Stud
Murder with the 2's is seven-card stud with deuces wild. A player who is dealt a deuce face up, or a face-up card that pairs their board, must immediately match the pot or fold. Each player matches the pot at most once, and having paid, may bet more than the normal limit. The best high hand wins.
Also known as Murder with the Twos
Murder with the 2's is a variant of seven-card stud from Arthur Buderick's book Dealer's Choice Poker, as published on pagat.com. It resembles Horn-A-Vika, but with deuces wild and no shared spit card.
The game uses a standard 52-card deck. All four deuces are wild and may stand for any card.
Five of a kind is possible. By the usual convention it ranks above a straight flush. See hand rankings.
The dealer antes one unit ($1 in the published game). Players do not ante.
The game is fixed limit. In the first four betting rounds a bet or raise is 2 units, with at most three raises. In the final round a bet or raise is 5 units, again with at most three raises.
| Street | Cards dealt | Bet size |
|---|---|---|
| Third street | 2 face down, 1 face up | 2 units |
| Fourth street | 1 face up | 2 units |
| Fifth street | 1 face up | 2 units |
| Sixth street | 1 face up | 2 units |
| Seventh street | 1 face down | 5 units |
Betting is opened as in Buderick's related game Horn-A-Vika: by the highest card showing on the first round and by the best hand showing on later rounds.
A player must match the pot or fold, immediately, when they are dealt a face-up card that is either:
3.1(a) a deuce; or
3.1(b) of the same rank as another of their own face-up cards, so that it makes a pair (or better) on their board.
To match the pot, the player adds to the pot an amount equal to everything it contains at that moment. A player who will not or cannot pay must fold.
Each player matches the pot only once. After a player has matched, further face-up deuces or pairing cards cost them nothing.
Face-down cards never trigger a payment, even if they are deuces or pair a card on the board.
Raised limit. From the time a player has matched the pot, they may bet or raise up to half of the amount they paid to match it, if that is more than the fixed bet for the round. Other players' limits do not change.
Paying to stay in
On fourth street the pot holds 20 units. Player B's board becomes 9♣2♥. The deuce is wild, so B must pay 20 units or fold.
B pays. The pot is now 40 units. For the rest of the hand, B may bet or raise up to 10 units (half of 20), rather than the normal 2 or 5.
On fifth street B is dealt the 9♦, pairing the nine on the board. Since B has already matched the pot once, this costs nothing.
If more than one player remains after the final betting round, the best five-card high hand wins the whole pot.
You pay into the pot an amount equal to what it already holds. If you are dealt a face-up deuce or a face-up card that pairs your board, you must do this at once or fold.
No. Each player matches the pot at most once. Later deuces or pairs on your board are free.
Yes, all four deuces are wild, face up or face down. Only a face-up deuce forces you to match the pot.
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.
Murder with the 2's Rules · OPR-695 · officialpokerrules.com/murder-with-the-2s/