Tips for Playing Wild Card Poker Games

Wild Card poker games are really no different than any other form of dealer’s choice poker except for a few variables. The wild cards allow you to complete your hands and in most cases win the pot. This is why they can be the killer in anyone’s hand. There are a few variables players should understand when playing wild card poker games.

First and most importantly you need to be able to read your hands correctly as well as the other players at the table. Often a player will lose a hand based on two common factors – they misjudged their hand in a particular game or the misjudged the strength of their hand. Both of these issues has to be taken into consideration when calling bets or making bets, otherwise you will find you may pick up small pots here and there, but the number of large pots you lose will add up quickly.

Determining the Strength of Your Hand

This depends on the game that has been called. If for example you are playing a game of pregnant three’s (all 3’s, 6’s and 9’s are wild) then you will have more players receiving wild cards then the average game. In this game alone 23% of the deck is wild cards which means that a hand such as a full house will not cut it. You will need something much stronger and often the winning hand in pregnant three’s is five of a kind. Whenever a game takes place that has been called with wild cards, keep an eye on how many cards are shown, the betting of your opponents and how many wild cards are in the deck. This can give you a relatively good idea as to how strong your hand really needs to be.

Reading Your Hands Correctly

This is the second most common error made and a costly one at that. Often when there is a wild card game such as Follow the Queen , the wild cards can change constantly. I’ve seen people bet right off the hop and continue raising others, then had the card changed on them because another Q came out. You need to realize that the strength of your hand can change immediately by one card.

Although some poker players like to refer to these types of games as "kiddie poker", you can still use the basic skills like counting your outs and odds to determine whether your hand is any good.