Ricochet Poker
Ricochet Poker Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Summary of Play
All players ante, and receive a portion of their poker hand. Going in order by the lowest hand, players may either buy more cards, or fold. At the end, the player with the best hand wins. Each hand takes about 5 minutes.
The name "Ricochet" comes from the speed of the game, as well as the way the action bounces to the lowest hand, rather than always moving to the left. This makes all table positions equally fair, so you can never be in a "bad spot" in relation to another player.
Setting Up
Ricochet Poker is a table game similar to any other variety of poker. Everyone starts with their own chips, and players try to win pots by getting the best poker hands. Ricochet just happens to be played entirely faceup.
Players: 2 to 8 Equipment: A poker deck and chips for betting
Just like poker, you can play one game or a hundred. If you're not playing for money (or even if you are), the goal is to finish with more than you started with!
The Role of Dealer: In the basic game, it doesn't matter if one player deals all the time, or if the role of dealer passes around the table. The order of play is random, so it doesn't matter where anyone sits.
The Value of a Chip: The rules below talk about bets in terms of "chips," not money. You can assign any value you like to the basic betting unit of the game, even zero. We'll leave that up to you!
Basic Rules
The Deal: To begin, each player makes an ante of one chip. This forms the "pot." Then the dealer deals one card to each player, faceup.
The lowest card will act first, with ties being broken by suit. (Suits are ranked in alphabetical order, with Clubs lowest, then Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades.)
After every turn, the action moves to the lowest hand.
On Your Turn: You may either fold or buy cards.
Folding: If you fold, you're out. Throw away your cards and wait for the next hand.
Buying Cards: To buy cards, first declare how many cards you are asking for, and then put that many chips into the pot. Note that you won't always get all the cards you paid for, and your hand can never be more than five cards.
The dealer will give you cards faceup, stopping when your hand is no longer the lowest hand. Even if you paid for more cards than you got, you don't get any chips back.
If you get all the cards you paid for, and your hand is still beaten, then you're out.
Breaking Ties: When deciding whose hand is best, a hand with a kicker beats the same hand without a kicker (so for example an Ace-8 is higher than Ace alone), and suit is used to break ties between identical hands until the end, at which point identical winning hands split the pot.
The action always passes to the lowest hand, until there is only one player left (or more than one if there is a tie for best hand). Note that the action might return to the same player several times, as shown in the example on page 2.
Variations: You can play with or without Jokers, or you can play with hand limits of six or seven cards.
In a seven-card game, it is best to start with a hand of two, to reduce the length of play and the size of the pots.
If you play with Jokers, use them as bugs, which can only be Aces, or to complete a straight or flush. If you use the Joker as a pure wild card, it becomes way too strong.
An Example of Play
There are four players. Their starting hands are K♦, J♣, 8♥, and 7♠. The pot starts with 4 ante chips.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | K♦ | J♣ | 8♥ | 7♠ | 4 |
Player 4 is lowest with the 7♠, and he buys three cards. He pays three chips into the pot, and receives a 2♥ and a 9♣, at which point the dealer stops, because Player 4's hand is no longer the lowest. The action moves to Player 3.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | K♦ | J♣ | 8♥ | 9♣ 7♠ 2♥ | 7 |
Player 3 is now lowest with the 8♥. She folds. This puts the action back on Player 4, who must now beat a J♣. He buys two cards (the maximum, because he already has three). The first card is a 2♦, which gives him a pair.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 4 | Pot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | K♦ | J♣ | 2♥ 2♦ 9♣ 7♠ | 9 |
The action moves to Player 2, whose J♣ is now the low hand. He may buy up to four cards, or fold. He buys two cards, receiving the 9♥ and Q♦. This is not enough to beat the next-lowest hand, the K♦, so Player 2 is out.
Player 1 is up, and buys four cards trying to beat the pair of 2s. She gets three cards, drawing 5♥, 8♦, and 8♠.
| Player | 1 | 4 | Pot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | 8♠ 8♦ K♦ 5♥ | 2♥ 2♦ 9♣ 7♠ | 15 |
It is Player 4's turn once again, and he can now buy one more card, trying to catch either a 2, 9, or 7. But even if he does, the hand is not quite over....
Casino Rules
Ricochet Poker can be played as a traditional casino game, with the dealer acting as the "house" and banking all bets. There is still a shared pot, contested by everyone including the dealer, but the dealer plays by different rules, and players can win bonus payouts with high hands.
The casino version is played without Jokers.
Deal: Everyone, including the dealer, antes one chip. Players get two cards faceup, and the dealer gets five.
Dealer Kickout: If the dealer's hand is too high, she folds. This is strictly good for the players; the dealer's ante stays in the pot. The dealer's minimum "kickout" hand varies depending on the number of players:
| Players | Kickout hand | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Player | KKQ | A pair of Kings with a Q |
| 2 Players | AAQ | A pair of Aces with a Q |
| 3 Players | TTxx | Two pair, tens up |
| 4 Players | AAxx | Two pair, Aces up |
| 5 Players | 222 | Any three of a kind |
| 6 Players | QQQ | Three Queens |
| 7 Players | A2345 | Any straight |
The Play: Action begins on the lowest player hand.
Players do not buy individual cards. Instead, they have just one chance to act, and they may either fold or spend one chip to receive exactly three more cards.
When a five-card hand is losing to another five-card hand, the lower hand is out. Play continues until just one hand remains, and that hand takes the pot.
Bonus Hands: If a player's five-card hand is high enough, the dealer pays a bonus to that player, whether or not they win the pot. These bonuses are as follows:
| Hand | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Straight | 2 chips |
| Flush | 5 |
| Full House | 10 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 |
| Straight Flush | 100 |
| Royal Flush | 1000 |
Note: If all other hands have folded, a player who wins with two cards automatically receives the rest of her cards, to see if she qualifies for a Bonus Hand payout.
The dealer has a slight edge over the players, but takes a significant risk because of the high hand bonuses. If you play at home, you can keep the game fair and low-risk by capping the bonuses at 10 chips and rotating the role of dealer.
Ricochet Poker Rules
Ricochet Poker is a fast-playing casino game for up to seven players. Players compete with the dealer for a central pot, as in live poker, but the dealer plays by house rules. The game is dealt face up, so it provides the analytical challenge of poker without the bluffing element.
The game has several unique features that distinguish it from any other casino game, including a well-concealed house edge and no "gotcha" rules. Yet it's so simple, players pick it up in the very first hand.
Equipment: Ricochet Poker uses a single poker deck without jokers.
Players: The game can accommodate up to seven players. (Stadium rules are also conceivable.)
Bet Limits: All players and the dealer make the same size initial bet. There are two optional side bets that can be any size.
The Deal: First, all players and the dealer make their main bet. Players may also make side bets. The dealer shuffles the deck and deals two cards to each player, and five cards to herself, all face up.
Side Bets: After the deal, side bets are resolved. The side bets are the Quickdraw Bet and the Cover Bet.
- Quickdraw Bet: This bet wins 5:1 if the player's two card hand is higher than the dealer's five card hand. (Ties are a win for the player.)
- Cover Bet: This bet wins based on the quality of the dealer's hand, using a paytable starting at 1:1 for a pair of fives or better, and progressing to a large jackpot for a Royal Flush.
The Pot: All players' initiating bets, as well as the dealer's bet, are collected into a central pot. This pot will be awarded to the high poker hand, whether player or dealer.
Kickout Hand: The dealer folds if her hand is sufficiently high. The threshold for the kickout hand varies with the number of players. For example, with four players, the dealer must fold two pair, tens up, or better. Her bet remains in the pot.
The Action: The turn passes to the player with the lowest two-card hand. That player has the option either to fold, or to play.
- Fold: The player's cards are removed and the player is out of the hand.
- Play: The player places a second bet and receives three more cards, face up.
- If the player's hand is a straight or higher, that player earns a bonus payout.
- Then, any five-card hand that is beaten by another five-card hand is folded.
- Ties: For order of play only, ties are broken by the suit of the higher card.
Winning: After all hands have acted, the pot goes to the highest hand. The dealer loses ties. If there is a tie between players, they split the pot, with any odd coin(s) going to the player(s) who acted last.
House Advantage: The return to player (RTP) of Ricochet Poker is fully adjustable. We offer a set of pay tables that returns approximately 95.97% to 96.91% RTP with perfect play, depending on the number of players. Weak players can expect returns closer to 90%.
Win and Fold Frequency: The fold frequency for a perfect strategy varies from 22.9% when playing solo, to just 10.94% when playing with a table of seven players. Players win very close to 1 game in N where N is the total number of hands (player plus dealer). For example, a given perfect player's win frequency is 25.79% with three perfect players and one dealer.
Mathematics: Our internal analysis was performed by a respected casino mathematician formerly of Bally's and GLI, and has been certified by analysts at BMM. White paper is available on approval.
Transcription note: the printed page closes with a repeated trademark and U.S. patent notice (Ricochet Poker is a registered trademark of James Ernest and Cheapass Games LLC, Seattle WA, for use under U.S. Patent 10,029,170). This is trademark and patent boilerplate, not rules, and is omitted here.
Ricochet Poker II: Table Game Rules
Ricochet Poker can be played at the poker table as well! In this version, there is no "house" player, and each player has the same odds. Unlike other forms of poker, there is no button and no advantage for any position, because the action always jumps to the lowest hand.
Ricochet is played entirely face up.
Players: 2 to 8
Equipment: A single poker deck without Jokers
Summary of Play: All players ante and receive a portion of their poker hand. Going in order by the lowest hand, players may either buy more cards, or fold. At the end, the best hand wins. Each hand takes about 5 minutes.
Note: The name "Ricochet" comes from the speed of the game, as well as the way the action bounces to the lowest hand, rather than always moving to the left. This makes all table positions equally fair, so you can never be in a "bad spot" in relation to another player.
The Value of a Chip: You can assign any value you wish to the basic betting unit of the game. All bets are made in multiples of that unit.
Starting: To begin, each player makes an ante bet of one chip. This forms the "pot." The dealer shuffles the deck and gives one card to each player, faceup.
The Action: The lowest hand will act first, with ties being broken by suit. (Suits are ranked in alphabetical order, with Clubs lowest, then Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades.) After every turn, the action moves to the new lowest hand.
On Your Turn: You may either fold or buy more cards.
Folding: If you fold, you're out. Throw away your cards and wait for the next hand.
Buying Cards: To buy cards, declare how many cards you are buying, and put that many chips into the pot. Note that you won't always get all the cards you paid for. Also, your hand can never have more than five cards.
Dealing: The dealer now gives you cards faceup, stopping immediately when your hand is no longer the lowest hand. Even if you paid for more cards, you don't get any chips back.
If you get all the cards you paid for, and your hand is still beaten, you're out.
Breaking Ties: When deciding whose hand is best, a hand with a kicker beats the same hand without a kicker (so for example an Ace-8 is higher than Ace alone), and suit is used to break ties between identical hands. (This changes at the end, when identical winning hands split the pot.)
Continuing: The action always passes to the lowest hand, until there is only one player left. Note that the action might return to the same player several times.
Winning: The last player remaining in the hand wins the pot. It's possible to have a perfect tie, in which case those players split the pot.
Transcription note: the printed page closes with the same trademark and U.S. patent notice as the casino page; it is omitted here as boilerplate.