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Spanish Poker Rules - (Synthetic Poker)

Spanish Poker is also known as 'Synthetic Poker' and is a variation of Texas Hold'em. The game is played with 28 cards (8 through Ace in all suits) and is also similar in game structure to Omaha Hold'em (as players are required to use both hole cards with a combination of the three board cards). The game is usually played as no-limit meaning there is no betting cap on what players can bet at any one time. Of course it can be played as limit or pot limit however this is significantly less popular. When learning this game is is perhaps an idea to introduce a betting cap whilst you learn the game (until you readjust your starting hands).

The only cards which are used in this variation are 8 through to Ace (all suits). The ace acts as a high and low card as a 8. The variation is commonly referred to as "Synthetic" although the origins of this name are not clear.

Here is an illustration of the order of play.

All players are dealt 2 Hole cards (pre flop) + Round of Betting

The Flop (1st Community Card Dealt) + Round of Betting

The Flop (2nd Community Card Dealt) + Round of Betting

The Flop (3rd Community Card Dealt) + Round of Betting

The Turn (4th community card Dealt) + Round of Betting

The River (5th community card Dealt) + Final Round of Betting

SHOWDOWN (Players show their cards)

The main difference between this card variation and Texas Hold'em is that the cards are dealt on the board one by one followed by a round of betting. The game is similar to Omaha (even though a holdem variation) in that you MUST use both hole cards with any three on the board to make the best possible hand.

The game uses an ante and adopts a slightly different hand ranking where a flush beats a full house - see the image to the right which shows you the ranking of hands that you would use. The game is very often played as no limit and relies a large part on luck.

There is a variation of this game called 'Shooter' which is very interesting. It works is like this. The ace still represents either a high or low card but when a player is dealt an ace, this gives the player the ability to choose any other card within their hand to can play that card as a card with a variance of one either way. This means that if you get dealt an ace you can vary the value of one other card in your hand. If you have a 9, you can count this as a 10 or 8. The only limitation here is that if you choose your 8 to act as a 7 or 9, it will retain its suit and as the game is only played Ace to 8 (no 7), you would go 2 up i.e. 9 or 10. So if you have a 8 clubs, you can play this either as a 8 clubs, 9 clubs or 10 clubs. Confused? I hope not as the game is fairly straight forward.

Pretty wild game and as you can imagine there are many big hands in this variant. Adding this addition where you can change the value of your card means that flushes and straights become marginal hands and you must take care as four of a kind and full house are very common!

Do remember to take the necessary cards out of the pack (2-7).

To date there is no online room that offers an online version of this game but it is a fun game and would be a great addition or alternative at any home game.

Alternatively - Check our Games section for listings of games played online.