Spanish Poker Rules

Spanish Poker, also called synthetic poker, is a variant of Texas Hold'em that shares Omaha's rule on the use of hole cards. The object is to win the pot with the best five-card hand at showdown, or by making a bet no one calls.

The game is played with a 28-card deck consisting of the eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king and ace of each of the four suits. All twos to sevens are removed.

The ace may be played high, above the king, or low, as if it were a seven, below the eight. The lowest straight is therefore ace-eight-nine-ten-jack, and the highest is ten-jack-queen-king-ace.

Because the deck is so small, the number of players is limited. With two hole cards each, five board cards and three burn cards, a 28-card deck can serve at most ten players.

Hands rank as in Texas Hold'em, except that a flush beats a full house. The full order, from highest to lowest, is:

2.1(a) Straight flush.

2.1(b) Four of a kind.

2.1(c) Flush.

2.1(d) Full house.

2.1(e) Straight.

2.1(f) Three of a kind.

2.1(g) Two pair.

2.1(h) One pair.

2.1(i) High card.

The flush is promoted because, with only seven cards in each suit, it is harder to make than a full house. Other rankings are unchanged from the standard poker hand rankings.

Suits have no rank. Hands of the same type are compared card by card in the usual way, and exactly equal hands split the pot.

Each player posts an ante before the deal. The game is usually played no-limit.

Each player is dealt two cards face down. The board is then dealt as in Hold'em, with a betting round after each stage:

The order of action, bet sizes and the settlement of all-ins and side pots follow the Texas Hold'em rules, unless the house announces otherwise.

At showdown, each player's hand shall be made from both of their hole cards and exactly three of the five community cards. A player may not play the board, nor use only one hole card.

The best hand under the Spanish Poker rankings (article 2) wins the pot. Exactly equal hands split it.