Iron Cross (A Guts Game)
NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART! Iron Cross has been the game I have lost the most money in and given the way the pot increases with matching and penalties. It’s my favorite game to play with friends, but least favorite to lose.
Overview
Community Cards: 5 | Player Cards: 4 | Betting Rounds: 0
Each player is dealt 3 cards and 5 community cards are placed on the board in the shape of a cross (hence the name). The goal of this game is to make the best 3 card hand using a combination of community cards and player cards. This is a Guts style game, meaning players don’t wager bets, but rather “declare” whether they want to be eligible to win the pot based on their hand strength. Players that stay through the hand and lose are required to match the pot. As play progresses, the pot gets larger and larger, leading to large payouts and equally as large losses.
3 Card Scoring
We use an untraditional score ranking for 3 cards Iron Cross:
Step By Step Instructions:
All players ante. Deal each player 3 cards face down and 5 community cards in the form of a cross.
First declaration round. In person, players hold out cards over the table, dealer counts down from three, and players that want to “stay” hold their cards, and players that want to “drop” drop their cards. Dropped players are now out of the hand.
Each player is dealt a 4th card.
Second Declaration round. Players that drop at this stage are required to add 10% of the current pot to the total pot as a penalty for seeing a 4th card.
Players decide which community cards they would like to use, in combination with their cards, to make the best 3 card hand. Choices include:
Face Up Cards
Up/Down Cards
Across Cards
Face Down Cards
Showdown
Remaining players flip their cards and the player with the best 3 card hand wins the pot. Players that stayed are required to match the pot value.
Example:
Hand starts with 5 players, 10 chip ante. 1 player drops after the first declaration round, one player drops after the 2nd (pays 10% penalty). Winning player receives 55 chips (5 x 10 + (10% of 50)) and remaining two players match the pot. The nexthand begins and the pot is now 110 chips.
How the Game Ends
If only one player is remaining after either declaration round then the game ends. That player wins the current pot, there are no remaining players to match the pot, and the dealer button moves to the next player
If Everyone Drops
When all remaining players in a hand drop during a declaration round we have a reset. All cards are reshuffled. and all players at the table are dealt back into the hand. The pot does not change in the event that all players drop.
Phantom Hand
There are A TON of variations to Iron cross — however, the most common (and most fun) includes a phantom hand. If only one player is left after both declaration rounds, the 4 cards are dealt face up on the table and act as a “phantom hand” (or the house, however you prefer to refer to it). The players that are out decide which community cars the phantom hand should play off of, and, if the phantom hand wins, the final player matches the pot, effectively doubling it. It’s a fun way to keep the game going longer!
