Everyone ante's. Then they are dealt 3 cards face down. 2s, 4s, and 10s are wild, best hand is trip aces. Players "drop" to see whos in(put coin/chip in hand, and if they have one in their hand they're in..if not..they're out), the player with the best hand takes the pot...the players who lose..match the pot. Before the player who wins can take the pot..he goes up against the "phantom hand' we call him herbie...feel free to rename him. just take the top 3 cards off the deck and if that beats the winner EVERYONE pays...game goes on until one person stays in by himself and beats the phantom hand. In the event of a tie between two players..you go to play off..just deal the next 6 off the top of the deck(dont reshuffle) and herbie doesnt play. If player ties herbie....herbie wins. Tis fun game with 6-7 people playing. pots can get ginormous off of just a .25 cent ante!
We play it as "3-card guts" and only slightly different from your version. No wilds, so any pair is a good hand to play. All players hold their cards, arms extended, over the center of the table and the dealer counts "1...2...3". On "3", any player who chooses not to play drops their cards. The remaining players have a showdown and the loser(s) match the pot. So, if you have 3 players remain in, the winner takes the pot and the other two pay what the pot was (so the pot for the next hand is double).
If only one player stays in, he has to beat the deck three hands in a row. You deal the top three cards for hand 1, next three cards as hand 2 and the next three cards as hand three. If he beats the deck on all three hands, he takes down the pot and the game is over. If he loses, he matches the pot and the game is re-dealt.
I've seen a lot of pain dealt out in this game. It's awesome.
Linear Mode
