Home game · Stud
In Weeping Willow each player is dealt five to seven cards, then players trade cards with each other, sight unseen, at the cost of one token per trade. Each player then chooses five cards and lays them face down in the order they will be revealed, and there is a betting round after each card is turned. The game was developed by the Monday Night Poker Club and contributed to pagat.com by Roger Shuman.
Weeping Willow was developed by the Monday Night Poker Club and contributed by Roger Shuman, as published on pagat.com. It uses a standard 52-card deck and no wild cards.
The object is to finish with the best five-card high hand, under the standard hand rankings, or to win the pot by betting.
The number of players depends on the size of the deal: up to seven players with seven cards each, and up to ten with five cards each.
There is no ante. Instead, each player places six trade tokens in front of them before the deal. The source uses six nickels; the group may choose any amount.
The dealer deals every player the same number of cards, between five and seven. The dealer shall announce the number before the deal.
Once the cards are dealt, trading is open. Any player may offer a trade by calling out only the number of cards they want to exchange, for example three.
A player offering a trade shall not give any information about the identity of the cards.
No player is obliged to accept a trade. A trade takes place when two players agree to exchange the same number of cards: one for one, two for two, and so on.
Each of the two players in a trade pays one trade token into the pot. That token is the only money in the pot before the betting starts.
A player may make at most six trades, one for each token. Any cards may be traded: single cards, pairs, sets or unrelated cards.
The source does not fix an order for trading. The dealer shall announce whether offers are made in turn around the table or freely, and when trading closes.
A two-card trade
Player A holds 8♠8♦K♣4♥2♠ in a five-card deal and calls out two. Player B agrees.
A passes 4♥2♠ face down to B, and B passes two cards face down to A: 8♥5♣. Each player puts one token in the pot.
A now holds three eights, 8♠8♦8♥K♣5♣, and has five tokens left for further trades.
When trading is over, each player chooses the five cards they will play and places them face down in a row, in the order they want to reveal them. Any cards beyond five are discarded face down.
Play then runs as in Roll Your Own:
| Round | Cards showing per player | Betting |
|---|---|---|
| First | 1 | Opened by the highest card showing |
| Second | 2 | Opened by the highest hand showing |
| Third | 3 | Opened by the highest hand showing |
| Fourth | 4 | Opened by the highest hand showing |
| Fifth | 5 | Opened by the highest hand showing |
Once the cards are laid out, their order cannot be changed.
After the fifth card is turned and the betting ends, the best five-card hand wins the pot. If all other players fold, the last player wins.
Some players use all six trades; others stop early to suggest a strong hand, or to avoid feeding their cards to an opponent.
Remember which cards you gave away. Other players will remember too, so cards they know you hold may be best revealed early.
Keeping the strongest part of your hand for the last cards makes it harder for opponents to read, and gives room for bluffing.
No. Each player sets aside six trade tokens instead, and the pot starts with the tokens paid for trades.
No. You may only say how many cards you want to trade. Giving any hint about the cards is not allowed.
Up to six, one for each token. Both players in a trade pay a token.
Where any doubt remains in the application of this document, Rob is right.
Hand rankings, high to low: royal flush · straight flush · four of a kind · full house · flush · straight · three of a kind · two pair · one pair · high card. Suits never break ties.
Weeping Willow Rules · OPR-729 · officialpokerrules.com/weeping-willow/