How to Play Manila Hold ’em

Objective

Win the pot, either by holding the best hand at the showdown or by betting so that everyone else folds. Your hand is always exactly five cards: both of your hole cards plus three of the five community cards. That one rule, borrowed from Omaha, is what separates Manila from Texas Hold ’em, where you may use any five of your seven cards.

Setup

Remove all the twos, threes, fours, fives and sixes from the deck, leaving 32 cards: seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king and ace in each suit. Agree on the betting structure. Card rooms that spread the game use fixed limits with a single blind, posted by the player on the dealer’s left; at home, an equal ante from everyone works just as well.

The dealer deals two cards face down to each player, one at a time, then turns one community card face up in the middle of the table.

How to play

The first betting round comes right after the deal, with your two hole cards and one community card to look at. Betting starts with the player on the left of the blind, or on the dealer’s left if you play with antes.

After each betting round, the dealer turns one more community card face up, and another betting round follows. With five community cards that makes five betting rounds in all. In a fixed-limit game the bets usually step up as the hand goes on, with the biggest bet saved for the last round.

If two or more players are still in after the fifth round, they show their hands. Each player makes the best five-card hand using both hole cards and exactly three community cards.

1. 1Post the blind or ante and take two hole cards
2. 2Turn the first community card and bet
3. 3Turn one more community card, then bet, until five are out
4. 4Show down using both hole cards and three from the board

Scoring

The best hand at the showdown takes the pot. Hands rank in the usual poker order with one change: a flush ranks above a full house. With only eight cards in each suit, five of one suit is harder to collect than three of one rank and two of another.

Suits never break ties. If two hands are exactly equal, the pot is split.

Variations

Three hole cards: some games deal three hole cards instead of two. You still play exactly two of them with three from the board.

Spanish poker uses the same stripped deck and must-use-both rule, but is usually played no-limit rather than fixed-limit.

Short Deck (also called Six-Plus) Hold ’em keeps the sixes for a 36-card deck, deals the board in the usual flop, turn and river, and lets you use any five of your seven cards. It also ranks a flush above a full house.

Tips from the table

Read the board through the must-use-two rule. Four hearts on the board do not give you a flush unless both of your hole cards are hearts. The same goes for four cards to a straight.

Expect big hands. With 32 cards, pairs and straights come together far more easily than in a full deck, so one pair rarely wins a contested pot.

Suited hole cards are worth more than usual, since a flush now beats a full house. Two connected, suited cards are a strong start.

Pay attention to straight draws. There are only eight ranks, so most boards leave a straight possible for someone.

Frequently asked