This is played as per Texas Hold'em, but with the twist that any two or more number cards can be combined and used as if they are a single card of the combined value. The combined cards can be the player's hole cards, the community cards, or a mix of the two.

Combined cards can be used to represent court cards (J = 11, Q = 12, K = 13). However, since A = 1, you can't combine two cards to make an Ace.

Example: A 4 and a 5 could be combined to make a pair with a 9.

Example: An A and a 9 can be combined to make a pair with a T.

Example: A 9 and a 3 can be paired to make a Queen.

Example: A player holds 4c 5h. The community cards are 8d 7d Ts Js Ah. This player has made a straight using his hole cards as a 9.

Combined cards can also be used for flushes. Of course, you'd have a flush anyway, but it could give you a slightly higher flush.

Example: The cards on the board are 3h 4h 5h 8h Qs. One player has 7h Ks. The other player has 6h 3s. This player wins because his combined cards become a 9h giving him a higher-ranking flush.

This rule probably doesn't affect the odds *too* drastically. Low number cards are more useful than before, but high number cards like 9s and 10s also become more playable, as low flops might provide combo possibilities (e.g. a flop of 4h 5c 9d means a player with a hand of K9 has made trips). Aces are also handy for obvious reasons - a player with AQ doesn't need to worry about folding if the flop brings a K, since he can pair his AQ with the K.

This rule change should lead to more action, as players will be tempted to stay in to see the flop with low cards or Ax hands.

While there's slightly more luck in this version (since there are more ways for players to suck out, strong starting hands have less of an edge over weak hands), the fact that poor players are even more likely to overplay their weak hands in this version should compensate by giving skilled players more chances to take their money.

(edited to allow cards to combine into court cards)
-- imaginality, Feb 12 2008

Without doing any cocktail napkin calculations, I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that this will, in fact, too drastically affect the odds, worse I'll bet than wild cards do.
-- globaltourniquet, Feb 12 2008


You could easily have a winning hand and not know it. Would the sacrosanct poker rule of "The cards speak for themselves" apply to Texas Add-Em as well (e.g. if an expert notices that a novice could add his cards to make a winner, is he required to tell the novice that?)
-- phundug, Feb 13 2008


I would think not, which is partly why I said the odds get screwed up. And I think not based on my limited experience with Cribbage - it is up to the player to find all of his or her 15s.
-- globaltourniquet, Feb 13 2008


I'm with gt on this one. Looks like the odds are going to be changed dramatically. This might be a fun game to play on a drunken Saturday night at home, but can't imagine any casinos picking it up.

In Cribbage, if I remember right, not only is it up to pone to claim his/her 15s, if they miss one then I get to claim it myself. If you incorporate this into Texas Add 'em, then you've truly bastardized a perfectly good original.
-- Noexit, Feb 13 2008



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