Poker is best known for its strategic play and well-defined rules. Some variants of poker bend those rules to shake up the game. This is especially true with wild cards, which can usually take any rank or suit. By allowing certain cards to represent any card in the deck, wild card poker variants shake up the entire game.
What Is A Wild Card?
A wild card is a designated card that can stand in for any other card needed to make the best possible poker hand. For example, if you have three Kings and a wild, that wild can become a fourth King, giving you a powerful hand of four-of-a-kind.
Wilds must be agreed upon before a hand or game begins. A dealer may designate specific ranks, suits, or individual cards as wild. There are some cards more commonly chosen as wilds than others:
- Jokers - If there are any two in a pack of cards that are perfectly primed to be wild cards, it is the normally superfluous jokers.
- Twos (Deuces) - You may have heard “Deuces Wild” called out by croupiers in films and TV. Making cards with the rank two wild is a common home-game rule.
- One-Eyed Jacks - The illustrations for the Jack of Hearts and Jack of Spades in a pack depict these characters with one eye. They are sometimes treated as wild.
- A “Bug” - This is a term for cards that are only wild under certain conditions. For example, a wild card may only be wild to complete straights, flushes, or to act as an Ace.
The standard hand ranking for poker still remains the same in a game with wild cards. However, they can significantly affect the likelihood of certain hands and introduce new possibilities.
Four of a kind, full houses, and flushes become more frequent. Five of a Kind also becomes possible in wild card poker. This is the strongest hand you can achieve in wild-card games and beats even a royal flush.
Poker Games That Use Wild Cards
Poker Games That Use Wild Cards
Physical casinos rarely employ wild card rules at their poker tables. However, wild card variations of poker are much more common in online games and in casual settings, like at home or at the pub. Here are some of the most popular poker variants where wild cards are central to the gameplay:
- Baseball - In this poker variant, threes and nines act as wild cards. Any three dealt face-up is automatically wild, while a face-down three can be made wild if the player pays an agreed fee or matches the pot. Nines are always wild, regardless of how they are dealt.
- Follow The Queen - A version of seven-stud poker where every Queen becomes wild, and the card immediately after a Queen is dealt also becomes wild. If another Queen appears, wild status resets. This version involves fluctuating wild cards, which adds to the chaos.
- Deuces Wild - A common wild card poker variant where every two in the deck acts as a wild card. With four possible wilds, this version is more prone than any for producing extremely strong hands. It is a widely used online poker variant.
- Jokers Wild - One or two Jokers are added to the deck and made wild. This variant can vary depending on whether the Joker is fully wild or a restricted wild, known as a bug.
Tips for Playing With Wild Cards
You must adapt your strategic mindset to deal with the inflated hand strengths and shift of probabilities in wild card poker.
- Use Wild Cards To Bluff - With the presence of wild cards, it may be easier to bluff. Even if an opponent is keeping track of cards, for all they know, you might have a wild that is boosting your hand.
- Expect More Aggressive Betting - Players with wild cards may be more encouraged to push the action. Be prepared for bolder bluffs and more high-pressure betting.
- Be Aware Of The Relative Value Of Hands - In a no-wild game, a full house is usually an excellent hand. In a game with multiple wild cards, it may be only average. Don’t overestimate hands that are traditionally strong.
- Keep Track of Wilds - In some wild card variants, the wild can change mid-hand, such as in Follow The Queen versions. Make sure you are always aware which card is wild.
Conclusion
Wild cards can really shake up games of poker. They enable incredible hands that don’t appear in standard games and significantly alter the strategic landscape. Understanding how wild cards work is essential if you are joining games that use them. Wild cards can be both a strategic weapon and they can also really mess of your plans. Either way, if you're ready to mix things up, try a wild-card variant of poker.
