Guts

By Josh Zach

The game is called Guts for one reason and one reason only: You have to have them to stay on your hand. This is a game that requires little or no skill. Youπre dealt three cards, face down. There is no discard and no other cards are coming that will help your hand. Youπve got three cards and one chance at the pot. Do you have the guts?

The game of Guts is similar to three-card poker, which you may find at select casino locations. However, when played in a private setting, such as a regular weekend game, Guts can prove to be the game that can make or break your night.

The rules of Guts may vary subtly, depending on where you might have already learned the game. I will discuss the rules and elements of risk that encompass three-card Guts.

The hands you have to look for in Guts are basic poker hands. A decent hand is a high pair, but many times any pair will stand up and take the pot. The next best hand is a flush, then a straight. You will notice that in three-card Guts, a flush is weaker than a straight. Thatπs a reversal of contemporary five-carded poker. The reason for the switch is, in Guts, a straight is more difficult to make with three cards as opposed to a three-card flush. The next best hand following the straight is a straight flush, and finally, three of a kind is the best possible hand in a three-card game.

The game begins with each player anteing a fixed amount. There are no raises or bets after the ante. Guts is an easy game if youπve been dealt a solid hand, but most times youπre dealt three mismatched cards, known as rags. The following example is non-scientific, but for the sake of this article, I sat down and dealt a five-handed game 20 times and made notes. Of the 20 times I dealt three cards out to five positions, 10 pairs were made (2-6 [3], 7-10 [2], J-A [5]), six straights, and five flushes. Thatπs 21 ≥made≤ hands out of 100 combined. Ace high was dealt 16 times, but was only the best dealt hand once. The statistics of this non-scientific example is 4.2 percent of the time you will get a hand in Guts that is playable without question; the rest of the time youπll have to either bluff or fold.

The game begins once the cards are dealt and the players have had a moment to study their hand. Then each player picks up their cards and holds them, face down, with an outstretched arm over the main pot in the center of the table. The dealer will then count down aloud, ≥threeä twoä one.≤ On the ≥one≤ count, all players must make a simultaneous action: If they want to make a play for the pot, they continue to hold their cards. If they wish to fold, they must drop their cards into the center of the table. Hypothetically, letπs say thereπs a five-handed game in action. Of the five hands, two are folded and three make a play for the pot. The next step is for the three players to turn their hands over and reveal who has the best hand. The best hand will rake the pot, and the two losers will pay the amount of the pot raked. In a situation like this, the pot will double from its original amount (because two people lost), thus no ante is required, and the game continues. The game continues until the pot has been liquidated. Again, in a situation like this, the amount of the pot is now doubled and players must buckle their game down; a loss will force them to pay a raised pot. In some cases a raised pot can reach large proportions. Other times, a pot may remain idle (everyone folding continually). When this happens, the deal will make its way around the table, and each time a pot is not contested, each player must ante to the pot again. The game concludes when one single player makes a play for the pot. When a single player enters uncontested, the pot will be theirs and the game is over.

There are some subtleties to watch for in Guts. Sometimes, players will make a momentary hesitation of dropping their cards. Hesitation to drop your hand (if intending to fold) is not an option in Guts; hesitation may be construed as cheating. People who hesitate to discard may be penalized a percentage of the pot (forced to add another ante). Theyπre looking to see if everyone will fold. If everyone folds and a procrastinator sees this action, they can easily pick up a pot that would have been carried over to the next deal. To safeguard against this type of dirty play, there is a version of Guts called ≥off the top.≤ If only one player makes a play for the pot, they must play against, and beat, the top four cards from the deck. This further adds to the excitement of Guts because the deck, with four cards, has a 25 percent chance of beating the lone hand.

Guts is an outstanding house game to play with friends. Iπll never forget when I was about 14, a friend of mine won a $70 Guts pot and ran out of the house yelling, ≥I need to buy new shoesä see ya later!≤ I guess he didnπt have the ≥guts≤ to continue. Do you?