Spots Rules

Spots was contributed by Scott Pangle, as published on pagat.com. It is best for six to nine players and uses a standard 52-card deck with no wild cards.

The pot is divided into three equal parts:

1.2(a) one third to the best high hand;

1.2(b) one third to the best low hand;

1.2(c) one third to the best spots hand (article 4).

The source does not say how low hands are ranked or whether a low must qualify. The dealer shall announce this before the deal. See hand rankings.

Each player antes as agreed and is dealt four hole cards face down. Nine community cards are laid face down in three rows of three, like a noughts-and-crosses (tic-tac-toe) grid.

After players have looked at their hole cards, there is a betting round.

Players then take turns, starting with the player to the dealer's left and going clockwise, to turn one community card face up. The player chooses which face-down card to turn.

There is a betting round after each card is turned up. With nine community cards, there are ten betting rounds in all.

The source does not say whether a player who has folded still turns a card. The usual practice is that only players still in the hand take a turn.

The grid contains eight lines of three cards: three rows, three columns and two diagonals.

Each five-card hand uses cards from the player's four hole cards and from one line only. A hand may be two hole cards with three line cards, three hole cards with two line cards, or four hole cards with one line card.

A player may use a different line and different hole cards for each of the three parts of the pot. One player may win all three parts.

A spots hand is scored by adding the values of the cards of one suit only within the five-card hand. Aces count one, picture cards (jack, queen, king) count nothing, and the two to ten count their face value. Cards of other suits do not score.

The spots third goes to the highest spots total.

The cards speak: there is no declaration. Each part of the pot goes to the best hand for that part.

If players tie for any part, that part is shared between them.