Rules of 'Have a Heart' Poker

Have a Heart poker is a variant and similar in game play to that of 7 Card Stud - it's generally played with between five or six players.

All players begin with an ante. As in seven card stud, each player is dealt two down cards followed by a round of betting (started by player left of the dealer). One further card is then dealt, face up, to each player. Here is where the rules differ from 7 Stud. Each time a player is dealt a heart (as the up card), they have the option to exchange any of their cards with any of their opponents up cards. The card they give does not have to be a heart, it can be any suit. The player taking the card does not have to give up a card, meaning that some players may end up with more cards than others.

A further up card is then dealt and this time the player with the best up card will begin the betting round. Before the betting round, players again have the option to take any of their opponents up cards if they are dealt a heart.

Players are then dealt a third up card, again making the exchange (only if they want to) - this is followed by a further round of betting, again started by the player with the best hand showing.

A final card is then dealt to all player face down. There are no exchanges of cards for down cards dealt. There is one final round of betting, started with the same player from the last round (as up cards have not changed) and then showdown. The player with the best five card hand wins the pot.

Whilst you won't find this particular game played online, you can play 7 Card Stud, a few of it's variations (sadly not this one!) as well as over 20 other games!. See which games are available and how rooms stack up against each game.