[MeridianFC]

I saw that a European based player had his club listed as "Poker and Brag" and was wondering if there were any other Brag players around. I prefer to play only the standard Casino games but have been thinking about adding a Brag night for the sheer gambling debauchery that is the card world's version of "chicken". So anyone ever given this a go at their home club?

[99%evil]

What's Brag? A version of Guts?

[Dimes]

Brag is a very old vying game. It's normally played with three cards.

http://www.pagat.com/vying/brag.html

Brag appears as a central element in Guy Richie's film "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrells".

The combinations are (best to worst):

Prial (pair royal) - poker: 3 of a kind
Running flush - poker: straight flush
Run - poker: Straight
Flush
Pair
High card

The straight ranks above the flush due to fact that the probabilities are different.

The betting structure is completely different.

TT

[Harlequin011]

Odds on 3 card are paid at 30:1 for 3 of a kind, and 40:1 for a straight flush in the casino.

Are you certain this is the rank of hands?

[MeridianFC]

That's the correct rank.

Prial = 333, AAA, KKK......222
Running Flush = 32A, AKQ, KQJ.....432 suited
Run = 32A, AKQ, KQJ.....432 unsuited
Flush = obvious
Pair = obvious
High Card = obvious

I forget how but this right for the corrected odds with three cards.

The magic of Brag though is the betting structure. You keep betting till there are only two players and one of them balks and calls the bet by posting double (playing blind being the spanner in the works). The page linked above is probably the best available. There are some changes I'd make to have it work they way I think it should (buy in and table stakes requirements, betting limits, and shuffling between hands). It seems to be a hell of a game. Even though it usually has a limit like structure (I think it might be played Pot Limit too) and there's no real information (a la Draw) the how long can you stand the heat element really appeals. A bit of what I enjoy about NL Deuce-7 when I'm in degenerate mode.

[Jambine]

I don’t play carnival games, but it sure does sounds like 3-Card Poker.

[tmpa2001]

tree to get a straight flush.
start with 5 of suit, need 3,4,6 or 7 to be able to make straight flush, and then you need 4,6 or 7, see tree below.

        4
      /
   /3 /6
  //4\7
5/\   /4
   \ \6\7
    \7
      \
       6

1/51 * 1/50 + 1/51 * 2/50 + 1/51 * 2/50 + 1/51 * 1/50 = 0.2353%

to get 3 of a kind

start with a card: 3/51 * 2/50 = 0.2353%

So its essentially the same.

although 3 of a kind is actually easier because if you start with A,2 or K you have less outs for the straight flush.

makes sense?
maybe i'm wrong?

[luckychick]

Originally Posted by Dimes

Brag appears as a central element in Guy Richie's film "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrells".
.....
The betting structure is completely different.

TT

Phew, I'm glad that you said that, b/c when I went to the website I thought "Crap! What was the name of that movie?" Fortunately I only had to come back here and finish reading your post.

Regarding that...

Do they call it brag in the movie? I thought it might have been called some other game, but that could be my crappy memory. I just remember that the game tehy played matched the website description, specifically the three 3's thing and the weird-ass betting.

At the beginning of the movie, the hero ends up loosing his fathers bar, b/c he doesn't have enough $$ to see the last bet. I wasn't sure if this was the classic movie poker error "Oh, you don't have enough, so you lose" myth, or if this was something weird to do with the game they were playing. It sounds like (from teh website) that they do have an "all-in" equilivent, though.

[luckychick]

Forgot to add:

The non-shuffling thing described on the website dimes linked to seems pretty relevent to me - can be pretty useful. Do they really do this in the casino? Seems like a good place to get an edge.

[smoore]

Brag is for limeys. Us 'mericunz play Booray.

Best played with plenty of Wild Turkey and a hound dog under the table.