Manila/Seven Up Poker

Manila/Seven Up Poker Overview

Manila Poker is a Hold’em Poker game played in a similar manner to Texas Hold’em, but it is played with a stripped deck. The deck is stripped of all numbers 2-6. It is also called Seven Up, because the deck only contains cards numbered seven and up. Like Texas Hold’em, Manila Poker is suitable for 2-8 players. Manila has more betting rounds, and the hand rankings are slightly different from standard poker rankings.

Manila Poker Rules

Once the deck has been stripped of the lower numbers, the small blind is placed by the player to the dealer’s left, and the big blind is placed by the player left of the small blind. The big blind is typically the lower value in a fixed-limit game, while the small blind is usually half of that.

After the blinds are placed, the dealer gives each player their two hole cards. The first round of betting begins with the player left of the big blind. Players can choose to match the current bet value, raise the current bet value (up to three times in a fixed-limit game), or fold. When all players have either matched the highest bet or folded, then the first community card is dealt. Unlike Texas Hold’em, the community cards are dealt one at a time. There is another round of betting after each card is dealt. A total of five community cards are dealt before the showdown. Hands must be composed of both hole cards and exactly three community cards. In some places, Manila is played with three hole cards. In this case, the hand must still be composed of exactly two hole cards and three community cards.

Hand rankings are the same as standard poker with one exception: A flush is a higher hand than a full house, since there are fewer cards of each suit in the deck. Additionally, aces may only be played as high. A-7-8-9-10 is not a straight, while 10-J-Q-K-A is a straight.