 |
Playing Tips for Turnpike Poker
| |
|
Turnpike Poker: Deal each player 5 hole cards. Four sets of 3 cards each are placed face down on the table. One entire set is revealed after each round of betting. Use 2 hole cards plus one entire 3 card set to make the best hand. May be played high-low split.
An alternative way to play Turnpike is to reveal 4 cards (1 from each of the four 3 card sets) at a time. This reduces the number of betting rounds, but tends to keep more players in the hand.
Turnpike poker is a variation of Omaha, since you must use 2 of your hole cards, plus one of the 4 three-card sets of board cards. The winning hands in each game are similar: you will often need the best or 2nd best possible hand to win. This is especially true for the low hand if played that way. A very important thing to keep in mind is that in a 8 handed game all 52 cards will be used. If a card is not on the board or in your hand, somebody else has it.
|
|
|
Starting Hands
| |
As with most games, you want to have a been dealt a hand that gives many possibilities for winning. Having one or two high pair is a good start. Obviously, for low 2A is the best start. A protected low like 32A is even better. 3A or 32 will give you a one card draw to the nuts. Several connected cards will be helpful for straights. Suited cards provide only a small addition value to your hand, since a set of the board cards will be all suited infrequently. Trips in your hand are nearly worthless, since you can only use 2 cards.
|
The Board Cards
| |
There are a high number of hand combinations available in this game. It can be very complicated and you need to pay very close attention. You must also be aware of all the board cards in order to help you in assessing the likely winning hands. A set of the board cards will only occasionally have all 3 cards suited, so flushes are not common. But, if one is possible, you will probably need the nut flush. Board cards with straight possibilities are very common, and if no flush or pair appears on the board it will be the likely winner. A set of trips on the board is about a 400:1 longshot, but, it bears mentioning this: A pair of aces in your hand will give you the best possible full house but it may not be enough. With 8 players, if the case card does not appear elsewhere on the board, someone has it in their hand.
|
Additional Thought
| |
Since Turnpike poker plays like Omaha, you can determine with certainty what the absolute best possible hands are.
|
4 Card Turnpike Poker
| |
As mentioned earlier, when Turnpike is played with 8 players, all 52 of the cards are in play. If you wish to introduce some uncertainty into the outcome, try playing by dealing only 4 hole cards to each player. This will result in some cards being left over.
|
|
|
|
