If playing poker is your cup of tea, you already know that getting together with a group of friends for Dealer’s Choice provides hours and hours of exciting entertainment. Dealer’s Choice Poker offers a plethora of interesting and exciting fast-paced games with nearly endless possibilities. One of those games, which happens to be one of my favorites, is called “Splits” or “Hit the Number”.
The rules and game of Splits are extremely easy to follow. To start the game, two target numbers are chosen at random, with the goal of obtaining a point total as close to or equal to one of the two chosen numbers. The most common target number options for Splits include 7 – 27, 5 1/2 – 21 1/2, or 13 – 33. In each of these examples, there is at least a 15-point difference, and one of the sets even works. with half numbers. This is for a couple of reasons. First, Splits is a split pot poker game, in which the winnings are almost always split between at least two players. For example, in 13 – 33, at the end of the game, the players closest to 13 points and closest to 33 points split the pot in half. Second, all face cards are worth half a point, while aces are worth 1 or 11 points. All numbered cards are worth their face value. So if you play from 5 1/2 to 21 1/2, it is possible to hit half numbers as well as whole numbers.
The divisions are dealt like 5-Card Stud with one big difference. The game isn’t even close to over after each player has five cards. A player can choose to draw as many cards as he wants, even if he has already chosen not to draw during a previous round. To explain, after the antes have been paid, the dealer deals each player two cards in a normal clockwise rotation, one face down and one face up. For the sake of betting after each round, the player with the highest point total displayed on the board starts with a stake check. After a round of betting, the dealer (once again clockwise) asks everyone if they would like another card. If at any point his point total matches the number of points required for that particular Splits game, then he draws no more cards, as he is guaranteed half the pot. A player can stop drawing a card at any time, then come back and draw on a later turn if he wishes. This is sometimes done by a player to increase the size of the pot if he is already insured for half the winnings, and increasing his point total by even 10 points will not matter.
After each round of drawing a card, a round of betting begins. When no one wants to draw any more cards, there is a final round of betting and then the hand is over. The two players closest to the two selected Splits numbers with their own point totals are the winners. So if you are playing 13 – 33 and you have 13 points on your nose, split the winnings with the closest to 33 points as those are your target numbers. Also, unless there are exceptions, a player can overshoot a number and still be closer to it to win (ie 33 1/2 points is still a winner over 32 points if playing 13 – 33). The only times a pot is not directly split in half is when a player can add both amounts together using aces (i.e. three aces will give the player 13 and 33 points, like The Wheel, giving the player the full pot) or if two players are equidistant from a target number (i.e. if one player has 12 points and the other has 14 points, they will each take a quarter of the pot, while the player closest to 33 points takes the other half). And since two people usually end up splitting the winnings, the pot sizes in Splits can get quite large, adding even more excitement to an already fun-filled Dealer’s Choice poker game.
Even if for some strange reason you get bored with Splits, the variations can be easily used. Some ideas include changing the dealer after each round of betting, using number combinations that are further apart (such as 21 – 51 or 9 1/2 – 44 1/2), simply counting the red cards and making the black cards count. zero points, or not being able to exceed your target number (as in Blackjack or 21). Whichever option you decide to choose will definitely increase the excitement level of the game. In fact, even without applying any variation, I’m sure you’ll find Splits very rewarding, constantly keeping you on the edge of your poker seat.
