Phoenix Burn Rules

Phoenix Burn was contributed to pagat.com by Tim Sharkey and Bob Conlon. It began with Tim Sharkey at The Phoenix apartments in Charlotte, North Carolina, and by 1999 it had been played for more than ten years.

It is a variation of Guts, played with a standard 52-card deck.

The object is to hold a better three-card hand than the pot's hand and every other player who is in.

The only hands are, from highest: three of a kind, pair and high card. Straights and flushes do not count. Aces are high.

The published rules do not say how the first pot is formed. As in other guts games, the usual practice is for each player to ante an agreed amount.

Each player receives three cards: two face down and one face up.

Before each card is dealt to them, a player says whether they want it up or down. Once a player has their face-up card, their remaining cards are dealt face down. A player who has asked for their first two cards down receives the third card face up.

The pot is dealt a three-card hand in turn with the players. All three of the pot's cards are dealt face down.

The player whose face-up card is highest, with aces high, is burned. The burned player must play against the pot's hand.

The published rules do not say what happens when two or more face-up cards tie for highest. The dealer shall announce the rule before the deal.

Starting with the player to the burned player's left and going round the table, each other player chooses whether to be in or out.

If no one else comes in, the burned player plays against the pot's hand alone.

The burned player, every player who came in, and the pot's hand are compared. The best three-card hand wins.

If a player has the best hand, they take the pot. Every other player who was in shall either match the pot or pay the limit agreed in advance into the pot.

If the pot's hand is best, no one takes the pot, and every player who was in shall match the pot or pay the agreed limit into it.

The published rules do not say how ties are settled, either between players or with the pot's hand. The dealer shall announce this before the deal.

Swapping with the pot. The burned player may exchange their hand for the pot's hand by paying a fee agreed in advance, usually $1.

Last card up. Every player's third card is dealt face up instead of letting players choose. This means the burned player did not choose the card that burned them.