Anaconda strategy

[chocaholic]

I play in a dealer's choice home game where a version of Anaconda is called. The rules are as follows: pass three cards, betting round, pass two cards, betting round, pass one card, betting round, showdown. Are there any reasonable ways to look at this game strategically? I can't figure out what to do.

Thanks,

Dan

[kodonnell]

Forget straights and flushes. Only draw to full houses or quads, especially with a lot of players. In our game, the winning hand was usually a boat or better. Also, if you don't improve on your first draw, fold.

[27offsuit]

I pass along high cards and collect low ones from my right.

Just make sure you only pass one of each high card.

I've collected quad 2s, 3s & 4's many times while starting with just one.

[chocaholic]

Sorry, forgot to mention we play hi-lo. thanks for all the advice so far.

[stupoman44]

We play the same game often, and I love it. As you know the betting can get pretty intense when you got one or two high raisers and one or two low raisers mixing it up.

I agree with a previous poster that if you go high you must have at least a full house with at least jacks full. You can get in trouble with a boat such as 9's over 8's, so play those carefully. If you try to get aces full you will be disappointed unless you are dealt the three aces. Rarely have I noticed people passing aces, so be wary of this when you need an ace.

You will see a total of 13 cards in the game if you stay till the end. With that many cards all winning hands will be very strong.

Ultimately, you would prefer to go for a wheel that is all of one suit so you could scoop the pot. Unless you guys play that a 64 is the best low, but if possible a low straight flush will be best.

Much depends on the cards you are first dealt as to whether you go high or low, but I would say you should pay close attention to the all of the other players and their tendencies (especially the person on your right). Since the person on your right will pass you three cards after the first round of betting if you are unsure which way to go the opposite of his normal tendency may be best.

I have found that inexperienced players will tend to go high first, then after losing poorly once or twice they will then go low at times.

Hopefully, these ideas have helped. It is good to see a thread on Anaconda once in a while, it really is a blast to play.

Good Luck, Stupo

[OrigamiSensei]

The way we play Anaconda is with only one pass of three cards where the passing scheme is declared by the dealer. We then pick our five cards, arrange them in the order we want to show them and then it plays like baseball. We play it as a declared hi-lo split game.

For a good player it's easy to profit. Just play solid hands and squeeze hard when you have a lock hand with multiple players fighting for the other direction.

[stupoman44]

Oh yes, I forgot to add it is important that you don't show a tendency yourself to go one way or the other.
Always think about how the other players see your play.

Since cards tend to be random allow the deal to dictate which way is best to go (high or low). This way you will be less predictable. Some players force it one way or the other and over time can be pegged pretty easily (but never 100%)when they start to raise it up towards the end.

Deal on, Stupo

[MrBrightside]

Yeah. This is the way we play it when it's played (we usually have a dealers choice game for the bustees at our bigger tournies). Personally, I love this game (but I tend to like hilo games). This has a lot of strategy in it, so it's the "crazy" game I usually call.

There is a lot more strategy when you flip them one at a time. It also makes monster pots. We usually don't do betting rounds between each pass (sometimes we call a betting round before the 1 card pass). Also, we usually do it that if you call the bet to see the last card flipped, you're due a "burn" (pot match with a limit, usually $2) if you don't get a piece, thus the game only ends when someone gets everyone to fold and takes it all.

Strategy: As another poster said, forgegt straights & flushes. Hi you draw for a FH. Drawing for low: have an ace! people almost never pass aces, since they are gold for hi or low. Mostly you will get passed middle cards. I disobey my don't draw at straights and flushes to draw at a middle straight flush. A middle two pair is a great starting hand, because a boat is likely with 6 draws at it.

I have made money with a hand like A3469 flush (busted low draw) because you can rep. a good low hand a get a crappy two pair hi to stay thinking he's guarantted 1/2 the pot, then surpise him at the end (hi battle ofren comes to battle of wills as 2 players have 2 pair showing and they raise rep. the boat even if neither of them have it.

anyway, that's my rambling.