Screw Your Neighbor

Anyone here familiar with the game Screw Your Neighbor? It tends to be called sometimes during "dealer's choice" home poker games, especially when everyone is getting tired and/or drunk. I've noticed that females tend to like the game more than males. The game is referred to as Ranter-Go-Round at Wikipedia, and Le Her in the book The Doctrine of Chances by Steward N. Ethier. There is a good description of the rules at http://www.cahillfamily.com/Poker/ScrewYourNeighbor.html.

I'm working on a mathematical analysis of the game. My question for the forum is, if you are familiar with the game, what specific rules do you follow. In particular:

1. Do you play where the king is a blocker?
2. If the king is a blocker, is it turned over immediately, or can you wait until another player wants to switch with you before turning it over?
3. If the king is a blocker and the last player to act switches with the deck, and gets a king, can he keep it, or is he stuck with his original card, because the blocker rule applies to the dummy as well?
4. What happens in the event of a tie?

Here is how we played it in Seal Beach, CA:

1. Yes.
2. Immediately.
3. He can keep it.
4. All tying players must throw a unit into the pot.

Wow. Those rules are completely different than the way I've played it. I'm used to playing it like a 5 card stud game, where you're trying to make the best poker hand. Here's the rules as I remember them:

Every player is dealt one card face down.

There's a round of betting.

A card is offered to the first player, face up. He can accept it or pass. If he passes, it is offered to the next player. He can accept it or pass. If he passes, the next player must take it.

There's a round of betting after each card is dealt (i.e. after one of those three players get the card). Fold if you want to.

The "Screw your Neighbor" part means that if you're the second one to look at the card, and you see that it will hurt the third person, and not help you, you pass it. But it also means that if you're the first to see it, and you don't need it, and the second person probably doesn't need it, but the third person does, you can pass it and see how much of a team player the second person is.

Once a player gets 5 cards (or folds), duh, he is not offered the card. This makes it interesting when there are only two players left with less than 5 cards. You can pass a card, and have it passed right back to you!

After everyone has 5 cards or folds, whoever has the best poker hand takes the pot.

Quote:

...especially when everyone is getting tired and/or drunk.

Or when they're not drunk enough, or don't have balls enough, to suggest strip poker...

For poker nights, we usually do a tournament, then dealers-choice cash game afterwards. Screw Thy Neighbor is pretty popular in the cash game.

1.) Yes
2.) Wait until another player wants to switch before turning it over
3.) He can keep it.
4.) Both players throw into the pot.

In St. Louis, we play:

1. Yes, King blocks.
2. Your choice - turn it over immediately or increase the drama and flip it when your neighbor tries to switch for it.
3. Last player gets to keep a King off the deck.
4. All tying players lose.

I've also seen two variants:

One called Black Mariah - the player dealt the Queen of Spades flips it over immediately and everyone else loses that round automatically. I forget the name of the other one, but it lets you buy in one extra stack of chips/coins if you get the designated card. (Usually one-eyed Jacks.)

first we call it fuck your neighbor

1. Ace is blocker

2. When a player wants your ace you shoot them the bird and then show the ace

3. Keep it

4. Tying players put money in pot

deleted

Thanks for the answers. For those with the interest, here is a draft of my new page on Screw Your Neighbor. I welcome all comments.

When I play:

1. yes
2. after player tries to switch (always provides a laugh for the table)
3. switch is allowed
4. all who tie for the low pay

Quote: Wizard

Thanks for the answers. For those with the interest, here is a draft of my new page on Screw Your Neighbor. I welcome all comments.

You have a couple of typos:

Quote:

player 1 switches with 6 or less, and player 7 switches

should be

Quote:

player 1 switches with 6 or less, and player 2 switches

Its repeated a few times
"swtiches" is also in there somewhere. "mathematicis" should be "mathematics" . "Stwart" is also near the bottom.

Quote: miplet

Quote: Wizard

Thanks for the answers. For those with the interest, here is a draft of my new page on Screw Your Neighbor. I welcome all comments.

You have a couple of typos:

Quote:

player 1 switches with 6 or less, and player 7 switches

should be

Quote:

player 1 switches with 6 or less, and player 2 switches

Its repeated a few times
"swtiches" is also in there somewhere. "mathematicis" should be "mathematics" . "Stwart" is also near the bottom.

yes, you are correct

Thanks for the corrections :-).

All of the bullets on the 2 player game list

Quote:

player 2 switches with 8 or less

but 2 of them should be 7 or less

Thanks! Copy and paste error.