Bored now. Invent a novel poker variant.

[monroe]

Here is one from my never-been-play-tested (except for dealing hands to myself) file. Its novelty lies in the ranking system (much like badugi).

Vienna: It's a triple-draw game where each player is dealt five cards to start. The goal is to make the worst flush possible (aces are low). If no player has a flush, the worst four-flush wins, and so on. Offsuit cards don't play. I believe (but haven't bothered to confirm) that it has a "reverse bunching" trait.

In holdem, if it is folded to you on the SB, there is a "reasonable" strategy that your opponents could be following that would make it slighty more likely than random that the BB is holding an ace. In Vienna, when it is folded to you on the SB, I believe there is a "reasonable" strategy that your opponents could be following that would make it less likely that the BB has a playable hand. This is interesting if the BB knows you know this.

Here's another one: At the end of our Chinese Poker sessions, we sometimes play a few hands of some variant. One we have been playing lately is CP high, with the front being won by the highest point total there. So, AAA in front (33) is the nuts, but junk like KJT or QJT is actually solid. Usually 30 points in front will give you a shot, sometimes 29.