Wraparound Rules

Wraparound was invented and contributed to pagat.com by George Weissenberger. It is played as Texas Hold'em with the two changes set out in Articles 3 and 4. All other rules, including the blinds, the deal, the flop, turn and river and the showdown, are those of Texas Hold'em.

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

Each player makes the best five-card high hand from their two hole cards and the five community cards.

The small and big blinds are posted and two hole cards are dealt to each player, as in Texas Hold'em.

Community cards are dealt as a three-card flop, a turn and a river, with a betting round before the flop and after each stage.

The game is played pot-limit, with the maximum bet depending on the round:

The source gives the limit only for bets. For raises, the usual pot-limit method measures the pot as if the raiser had first called. How the doubling applies to raises on the turn and river shall be agreed before play; the natural reading is that the pot so measured is doubled.

Aces count as both high and low. A straight that includes an ace may take any of these forms:

4.1(a) 10-J-Q-K-A, the ordinary ace-high straight;

4.1(b) J-Q-K-A-2, a wraparound straight;

4.1(c) Q-K-A-2-3, a wraparound straight;

4.1(d) K-A-2-3-4, a wraparound straight;

4.1(e) A-2-3-4-5, the ordinary five-high straight.

A straight shall always pass through the ace in order to wrap. Sequences such as Q-K-2-3-4, which skip the ace, are not straights.

A wraparound straight in one suit is a straight flush.

The source does not say how wraparound straights rank against each other or against ordinary straights. Players shall agree this before play. All straights, including wraparound straights, rank above three of a kind and below a flush, as in the standard hand rankings.