Acey Deucey
How to Play Acey Deucey
If you've never played acey deucey before, your missing out on
one of the great poker night side betting game. There really isn't a
limit on the number of people who can play and the rules are very simple.
One person goes at a time. Everyone puts a set amount of money into the pot, say between $1 and $5 depending on how people are feeling. Each person in turn will have two cards flipped over. He will then bet against the pot whether the third card falls numerically between the first two.
Traditionally, only when deck is used but that can be augmented to make the game a little more unpredictable. The cards are dealt until the deck is through. If there are not enough cards to play a hand, the cards available are used in the hand and the rest of the deck is shuffled.
The person has the ability to pass and not bet or bet all the way up to the size of the pot. If the third card is in-between the first two, he wins the bet. If this card is higher or lower than either of the first two cards, he must pay the amount he bet.
Rules on this can vary, but if someone doesn't bet then the third is not dealt but is the first card of the two flipped for the next player. If the two cards are of consecutive rank (3,4) then the person gets two more cards flipped over and gets to go again.
But if the third card matches one of the first two, that person must pay double what he bet. This hurts the worst when someone bets pot on A-2 and gets another ace or 2, the only two losing cards. In acey deucey, matching the third card is called Post.
If the first two cards match each other, another card will be flipped on top of one of the two cards. This will now set the limits.
If the entire pot is ever won, one of two things can happen. Either everyone pitches in some money into the pot or the game is over.
Role of Aces in Acey Deucey
The Ace is special in acey deucey. If the ace is the first card dealt, the player can elect to call High or Low and make the ace the highest or lowest card in the deck. If an ace is dealt with the second card, it is automatically ranked high.
In some playing circles, the Ace can also be pretty bad. I've played before where matching an ace with the third card means you have to pay 4 times your bet. Also, I've seen acey deucey played where if the first two cards match, you will automatically lose if the next card is an ace. These are variations and don't have to be included.
