Sweet Chariot Rules

Sweet Chariot is a lowball variation of Swingo, the game invented by Steve Albini and developed by the Alliance-X poker group in Chicago, as published on pagat.com.

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck with no jokers and no wild cards, and works best with five to eight players.

The lowest five-card hand at the showdown wins the whole pot.

The source does not specify which low ranking is used. The dealer shall announce before the deal whether hands rank ace-to-five (aces low, straights and flushes ignored) or deuce-to-seven (aces high, straights and flushes count against the hand).

All procedure follows Swingo: blinds are posted, five cards are dealt face down to each player, and a first betting round begins with the player left of the big blind.

Each remaining player then keeps two cards as hidden hole cards and lays the other three face up as their board cards. A second betting round follows.

One river card is dealt face up in the centre, and a third betting round follows.

The sources describe the order of action only for Swingo, where the highest-ranking board acts first on the second and third rounds. The dealer shall announce whether this order is kept in Sweet Chariot.

As in Swingo, a player may fold only when facing a bet or raise, and a folded player's board cards cannot be borrowed.

Each remaining player makes the lowest five-card hand from their two hole cards, their three board cards, the river, and any one board card belonging to another player still in the hand.

The lowest hand wins the pot. Identical hands split the pot equally.