Objective
Finish with the best five-card poker hand you can make from the seven cards you end up holding, and win the pot. Part of every hand is built from cards your neighbors decided they did not want, so the game rewards attention: what a player passes you, and what they hang on to, tells you a lot about what they are building.
The standard game is high hand only. Many home games play it high-low and split the pot, which is covered under Variations.
Setup
Agree on the stakes and the ante before you start. Everyone antes, then the dealer shuffles and deals seven cards to each player, one at a time, face down. With seven players that uses 49 of the 52 cards, which is why the game stops at seven.
Look at your cards. Nothing changes hands yet. The first round of betting is on the hand you were dealt, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.
How to play
After the first betting round, everyone picks three cards and places them face down in front of the next player. Do not pick up the cards passed to you until every player has passed. Then pick them up, look them over, and bet again.
Next, everyone passes two cards the same way, and there is another round of betting. Then everyone passes one card, followed by another round of betting. If a player folds along the way, their cards are out of the hand and the passes go to the next player still in.
When the passing is done, each player still in chooses their best five cards and discards the other two face down. In the plain version, you bet one last time and show your hands. Many home games add a roll instead: everyone stacks their five cards face down in the order they want to reveal them, all players turn up one card at the same moment, and there is a round of betting after each card is shown. After the last card, the best hand wins the pot.
- 1Bet on the seven cards you were dealt
- 2Pass three cards, then bet
- 3Pass two cards, then bet
- 4Pass one card, then bet
- 5Keep your best five and show down, or roll them one at a time
Winning
There are no points. The pot goes to the player with the best five-card hand under standard poker rankings. If everyone else folds, the last player in takes the pot without showing a card.
| Hand | What it is |
|---|---|
| Straight flush | Five cards in sequence, all one suit; ace-high is a royal flush |
| Four of a kind | Four cards of one rank |
| Full house | Three of a kind plus a pair |
| Flush | Five cards of one suit |
| Straight | Five cards in sequence, mixed suits |
| Three of a kind | Three cards of one rank |
| Two pair | Two different pairs |
| One pair | Two cards of one rank |
| High card | None of the above; the highest card plays |
When two hands are the same type, the higher cards win, then the side cards. Hands that are exactly equal split the pot. Suits never break a tie.
Variations
High-low: the best hand and the lowest hand split the pot. With a roll, players usually declare high or low before the first card is turned. Agree first on how low hands are judged, since some tables count straights and flushes against a low hand and some do not.
Left and right: pass three to the left, two to the right and one to the left. Changing direction means the player who fed you on the first pass is not the one who feeds you on the second.
Wild cards: some home games add a joker or name a rank wild. With wild cards in play, five of a kind becomes possible and ranks above a straight flush.
Tips from the table
Think about who gets your cards. Three cards that are useless to you can still finish a flush for the player on your left. When you can, break up suits and ranks rather than handing over a ready-made draw.
Watch what comes back. The two cards and the one card you receive later show what your neighbor is willing to give up, which hints at what they are keeping.
In a rolled game, choose your order with care. Turning up small cards first hides a strong hand and keeps more players paying. Showing a pair early can push weaker hands out before the pot gets big.
Video Guides Are on the Way
We’re filming Game Guides that walk through full hands at the table, from the deal to the score.
Frequently asked
How many cards do you pass in Anaconda?
Six in all: three, then two, then one, with a round of betting after each pass.
Can I pass on a card that was just passed to me?
Yes. Once a card is in your hand it is yours to keep or pass along.
What happens to the two extra cards at the end?
You discard them face down. Only your best five cards play in the showdown.
How is Anaconda different from Seven-Card Stud?
In Seven-Card Stud your cards arrive over several rounds, some face up. In Anaconda all seven come at once, face down, and the hands change through passing instead of more dealing.
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