Russian Poker Rules

Russian Poker is a house-banked stud game. Each player plays only against the dealer, and the object is to hold a better five-card hand than a qualifying dealer.

The game is played with a single standard 52-card deck with no jokers, at a table of up to six player positions (boxes). Hands are ranked according to the standard poker hand rankings.

The game appeared in Russian casinos in the early 1990s. It is a relative of Caribbean Stud, with the added options of buying and exchanging cards.

The name Russian Poker is also sometimes given to a different, thirteen-card game in which players arrange three hands, much like Chinese Poker. This page covers the casino game.

Each player places an ante on each box they play, within the table limits.

The dealer deals five cards face down to each box and five cards to the dealer. The dealer's last card is turned face up.

A player may choose only one of buying a sixth card or exchanging cards on a hand, and may exchange only once. Some casinos allow a player who exchanged a single card to pay again and exchange again.

The fee for buying or exchanging cards is kept by the house whatever the result of the hand.

A player holding six cards plays their best five-card hand against the dealer (see 5.4 for a second combination).

A player who plays three or more boxes may be required by the house to play the extra boxes without buying or exchanging cards.

When all players have acted, the dealer reveals the dealer's hand. The dealer qualifies with an ace and a king or any better hand.

If the dealer does not qualify, each remaining player's ante is paid 1 to 1 and the bet is returned.

Buying a game. Instead of taking the ante payment, a player may pay a further ante to make the dealer replace the dealer's highest card. The dealer draws until the hand changes. If the dealer's new hand qualifies, the box is settled as in Article 5; if not, the ante is paid 1 to 1. The fee is kept by the house in either case.

Insurance. A player holding three of a kind or better may insure against the dealer failing to qualify, for up to half of the amount the hand would win from the pay table. Insurance pays 1 to 1 if the dealer does not qualify and loses if the dealer qualifies.

If the player's hand beats a qualifying dealer, the ante pays 1 to 1 and the bet pays at the odds in the pay table (Article 6).

If the player paid to buy or exchange cards, the ante is returned rather than paid when the player wins; only the bet is paid.

If the dealer's hand is better, the player loses the ante and the bet. If the hands are equal, the ante and bet are returned.

A player with six cards whose best hand beats the dealer is also paid for a second, different combination contained in the six cards, even if that combination alone would not beat the dealer.

Some casinos add an optional bonus bet on the player's first five cards, with its own pay table.