Suicide Swiss Hold'em Rules

Suicide Swiss Hold'em is a variation of Swiss Hold'em, a game contributed by Xavier Petit and published on pagat.com. It follows all the rules of Swiss Hold'em except where this page states otherwise.

Between two and ten players may take part, using a standard 52-card deck with no jokers.

The king of hearts, sometimes called the suicide king, is a wild card. It may stand for any card its user chooses.

Hands rank according to the standard poker hand rankings. Because there is a wild card, five of a kind is possible (four natural cards of one rank plus the king of hearts). Sources do not rank it; the usual practice is that five of a kind beats a straight flush, and the dealer shall announce the ranking before the deal.

The blinds, the deal of two hole cards each, the flop, turn and river, and the four betting rounds are the same as in Texas Hold'em.

On their turn, a player may exchange both hole cards for two new ones, as in Swiss Hold'em. The first exchange of the hand costs one big blind, and each later exchange costs one big blind more than the one before. Fees go into the pot and are not bets.

After exchanging, the player takes their normal turn or exchanges again. A player shall always exchange both cards together.

A player who holds the king of hearts and exchanges discards it with their other hole card. It is then out of play for the rest of the hand.

If the king of hearts is one of a player's hole cards, only that player may use it.

If the king of hearts is one of the community cards, every player may use it, each choosing whatever card best completes their own hand.

Each player makes the best five-card hand from their two hole cards and the five community cards. The best high hand wins; tied hands split the pot.