1,2,3 GUTS!

Gut’s poker should make a comeback. It’s not very popular, not many have heard of it, but there is actually some places you can play it online.

In Guts, the players who has the worst hand, or all the players who don’t win the hand, have to match the pot. Any player who folded is back in for the next hand in the ’round’. A round ends when only one player stays in. All the players decide at once whether to stay in or not. The best and most dramatic way to do this is to have all the players hold their cards up face down and have the dealer says ‘1,2,3,Guts’! Whoever holds onto their card is in, whoever dropped their cards is out for this hand in the round. Sometimes it’s fun to also play with a dummy hand. Then if only one person stays in, that player also has to beat the dummy hand.

Any poker game could be played in the Guts format (although Texas Hold ‘Em might be tricky), but the most fun ones are either 2 card or 3 card Guts. You will have to make sure everyone knows how the hand ranking in these formats ahead of time. For example, 3 of a kind beats a straight or a flush in 3 card Guts (a straight flush is the best hand). In 2 card Guts we used to play no straights or flushes, but I believe that was only because we were too lazy or stupid to figure out the odds.

So, this a great idea for TV producers: Guts Poker would make a dramatic broadcast event! And to make it the most dramatic, let them play with their own money!