Hand Rankings & Tie-Breaking Rules
The eleven House Rules hand ranks, the wild-card definitions, and how ties get settled.
If you don’t know the value of each poker hand, you’re going to have a hard time winning. We found a perverse pleasure in watching someone call a hand inferior to the one they actually held. So we created a few special rules for calling your hand.
The Cardinal Rule: A player’s hand is only as good as the one they call. Once another player calls their hand, it cannot be changed. Before anyone else calls, a player may correct an under-call; after that, the call stands. An over-call must be corrected to the best hand the player can actually show (or a lower hand they declare).
Hand Hierarchy (Highest to Lowest)
| Rank | Hand | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Five of a Kind | Five cards of the same rank — requires wild cards |
| 2 | Royal Flush | Ace-high straight flush (A K Q J 10, same suit) |
| 3 | Straight Flush | Five cards of the same suit in sequence |
| 4 | Four of a Kind | Four cards of the same rank |
| 5 | Full House | Three of one rank + two of another |
| 6 | Flush | Five cards of the same suit (any sequence) |
| 7 | Straight | Five cards in sequence (any suits) |
| 8 | Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same rank |
| 9 | Two Pair | Two cards of one rank + two of another |
| 10 | One Pair | Two cards of the same rank |
| 11 | High Card (Runt) | Highest single card — no hand made |
Aces play high or low in a straight: 10-J-Q-K-A and A-2-3-4-5 both count.
Breaking a Tie
Apply these tests in order. Stop at the first one that separates the hands.
Winning hand at left; losing hand at right.
1. Hand rank
The higher-ranking hand always wins, whatever it is made of.
Three of a Kind beats Two Pair
2. Rank within the hand
Same hand type? Compare the ranks that make it.
Pair of Kings beats Pair of Queens
3. Kicker
Same pair? Compare the cards left over, highest first.
Ace kicker beats Queen kicker
Breaking a Tie — Continued
Apply these tests in order. Stop at the first one that separates the hands.
Winning hand at left; losing hand at right.
4. More naturals
The hand using fewer wild cards wins.
Natural trip nines beat trips made with a wild
5. Wild card value
Higher face value of the wild card itself wins.
A 9 acting wild beats a 3 acting wild
6. Suit
Still tied after every test above — compare the suit of the highest-ranking card in each hand. If several cards share that rank, use the highest suit among them.
Spades > Hearts > Diamonds > Clubs
Wild Card Definitions
Wild Card: Can be any card, including duplicates already held (making five-of-a-kind and triple-ace-high flushes possible).
Wild Bug: Can only be a card you don’t already hold — five aces are impossible with a Wild Bug.
Wild Card — Five Aces Are Legal
Wild Bug — Five Aces Are Impossible
A Wild Card can duplicate a card in your hand; a Wild Bug cannot. The dealer must state which is in play when calling the game.