Spit in the Ocean Poker is a game that combines community card (Hold’em) poker with draw poker. It is suitable for 3-8 players.
Before play begins, each player has to place an ante, a small sum of money, in the pot. This guarantees that there will be a winner, and that the winner will have a prize. After players have anted up, the dealer gives each player four cards.
The dealer then takes one more card and places it, face up, in the middle of the table. This card is called the spit card. Each player examines his or her own cards, and then there is a round of betting. Betting begins with the player to the dealer’s left. In turn, each player chooses from three options:
After all players have either matched the highest bet or folded, those still in the game participate in the draw. Each player can return up to three cards to the dealer, and receive an equal number of cards, drawn from the top of the deck. When all the players have returned the cards they choose to return, and the dealer has given them new cards, there is another round of betting.
After this round of betting, there is a showdown. Each player uses the card in the center plus the four cards in his or her own hand to make a hand. The best hand wins the pot.