POCH

Hey there! So, let’s talk about Poch, a really cool gambling game that’s got a history dating all the way back to 1441. It’s pretty different from other games like Newmarket or Pope Joan because it’s played in three phases, and it’s got some poker elements that let you bluff your way to victory.

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

Now, when you’re playing with just three or four people, you’ll need a special deck of 32 cards. It’s got all the cards from 7 up to the Aces. But, if you’ve got a bigger group of five or six players, then you’ll need a full deck of 52 cards to get the game going.

Oh, and don’t forget! You’re gonna need a special Poch board for this game. Don’t worry, it’s easy to make. Just grab yourself nine bowls or cups, any kind will do. Then, label each one of them with the following names: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Marriage, Sequence, Poch. And the ninth bowl, well, that’s called the Pinke.

Finally, make sure you’ve got a bunch of chips or tokens. You’re gonna need ’em to keep score and make things interesting.

To figure out who goes first as the dealer and banker, you and the other players should each pick a card from the deck. The person with the lowest card becomes the banker and gets to deal first. As the banker, it’s your job to give out chips and set up the Poch board. Everyone should start with ten chips.

Next, it’s time to prepare the Poch board for the round. As the banker, place one chip into each bowl on the board. Leave the Pinke bowl empty for now.

Now it’s the dealer’s turn. Shuffle the cards really well and deal five cards to each player, one at a time. Take the top card from the remaining deck and flip it over to determine the trump suit for the round. Set the rest of the deck aside with the trump card facing up.

Now that everything is set up, it’s time to start playing! A game of Poch consists of three phases: melding, poker, and shedding.

During the melding phase, you can start winning chips from the Poch board. Good luck!

When I’m holding the trump suited Ace, I need to make an announcement. I reveal the card and take the chips from that bowl. The same goes for the trump suited King, Queen, Jack, and Ten.

If I happen to have both the King and the Queen, I get the chips from the Marriage bowl too.

To win the chips from the Sequence bowl, I need to have the highest run of three same suited cards. If my run is in the trump suit, it beats a normal suited run. And if there’s a tie between two normal suited runs, the player closest to the left of the dealer wins the Sequence chips.

If a bowl hasn’t been emptied because the required cards are still in the draw pile, the chips in that bowl stay there for the next round.

During this phase, I get to keep all of my cards.

In the Poker phase, we get to have some fun with betting and bluffing. This is when we bet on who has the best set of cards. A set needs to have 2, 3, or 4 cards of the same rank. If there’s a tie, the player with the trump suited card in their set wins. And if no one has a set, then the player with the highest card takes the win. If there’s a tie between high cards, we break it by looking at the next highest card in each player’s hand.

The dealer starts this phase by asking, “Who’s betting?”

Starting with the player on the left of the dealer, that player can either add chips to the Pinke or say pass. When we say “pass,” it’s the same as folding. But even if we fold, we get to keep our cards.

When we have chips at stake and put them in the Pinke, the next person has a few options. You can check, raise, or fold. To check, just add the same amount of chips to the Pinke. If you want to raise, you have to match the previous bet and add even more chips. And if you don’t want to play anymore, simply say “pass” and fold. We continue going around the table in this Poker phase until no one else wants to raise.

If there are still two or more players left in the Poker phase, it’s time to reveal the sets. Each player shows their cards, and the person with the highest ranked set wins all the chips from the Pinke and the Poch bowl. But if everyone else has folded and there’s only one player left, that person automatically wins without having to show their hand.

Make sure to hold onto your cards during this phase – they’re important!

Let me explain how the final phase of the game works. At this point, everyone is trying to get rid of their cards. I’ll start with the player to the left of the dealer, and then we’ll go clockwise from there. Each player will choose one card from their hand and play it in the middle of the table. The goal is to play a card of the same suit that is higher than the previous card played.

We keep going in this manner until either the Ace of that suit is played or no one can add to the pile. Once the run of cards has stopped, the last player to lay down a card gets to begin a new run. They can choose any card from their hand and play it. And we continue this process until one player has emptied their hand.

The player who is able to get rid of all of their cards first is the winner! As for the other players, they will have to pay the winner one chip for each card they have left in their hand. So, it’s important to try and get rid of your cards as quickly as possible.

When the Shedding phase is done, we collect the cards and hand over the deal to the next player. The banker needs to refill the bowls with chips. If a bowl wasn’t emptied, it will have more chips than the others.

If you run out of chips, you’re out of the game.

WINNING

The game is won by the last player with any chips.

For a shorter game, play one round per player. For instance, if there are four players, play four rounds. At the end of the final round, the player with the most chips wins.

For a shorter game, play one round per player. For instance, if there are four players, play four rounds. At the end of the final round, the player with the most chips wins.