Poker Variants

So as not to hijack the SHFL Focus Group thread, I wanted to start this thread to ask:

At what point is the poker variant run over for new games? When are the needs of poker variant carnival game players satisfied with the game options currently available and installed around the country?

With the exception of Let It Ride/Carribean Stud (which are both long in the tooth and a new 5 Card Stud replacement is warranted....dare I say Miss Stud/Hi-Lo Stud Poker/Bad Beat Stud Poker?), we have Three Card Poker, Crazy Four/Four Card Poker & UTH/Texas Bonus. I guess there is room for an Omaha variant, but are players really craving for a new way to play poker whether its 3,4,5 or 7 card?

I have personally seen properties put in one variant only to see their players from a previously installed poker game all migrate to the new game...to the point where they took the old poker game off the floor due to lack of play! That doesn't seem like incremental table game pti revenue to me, but maybe I am missing something.

The beauty of Casino War (and other truly new game concepts) is that they can attract new players to the table game pit. And new table game pit players does sound like incremental revenue.

At some point I think there has got to be room for a game like Twist'em (dominos) or a 31 game like "Money$uit 31" precisely because it is something new to play. With the proliferation of regional gaming and more and more properties becoming local casino markets, aren't even regular table game players going to be looking for something new at some point? Not just another way to play poker?

Yes, I am biased as my new game concepts are in the novel/brand new game category and I am not saying Poker variants are done, but at what point do casino properties say "we already have four ways to play poker in our pit plus PGP...how is this new poker game going to incremental increase our revenue?"

In many case the demographics of table game patrons drive the issue towards poker and blackjack variants.
Not saying you can not teach an old dog new tricks, but players already know poker and blackjack.
I think a table game based on a popular video game might attract a younger market.

Biggest problem I see is a kid can not reasonably sit down with $20 or $40 at any table game. Not just talking
about the weekends with $25 minimums. Even during the week. On more than once occasion I have seen a
guy sit down at BJ table, with a buddy or girlfriend watching, buy in for $20. Get something to split, double on a split
and bye bye $15. Next hand gets a 20 and you know the dealers flips over A BJ.

He can take that $20 to a penny slot and maybe even hit a jackpot there. Highest payoff is 3 to 2 at bj. OOPS, that
$5 BY was probably 6 to 5. LOL

Seriously, at most casino's he can buy into a 2/4 game or a tournament for $40. There is a reason that table games have
gone from 70% of a casino's revenue stream to less than 30% over the decades. Slots have fancy chairs now, TITO,
cocktail waitresses, way better comps, etc. Plus my daughter sewed it all up in Cripple Creek Colorado years ago.
She was 18 at the time, could not enter the casino, but looked in a window and said " Wow Dad, Video games for
adults "

Hopefully the run Will continue until I publish Cameltoe Poker that :)

I am also a talent agent. If you need a spokeswoman for your game, I represent Pussy Galore !

These are the top 12 games in the industry, ranked by the amount of royalties they generate. Tell me what they all--OK, what 10 of them--have in common.

Three Card Poker
Ultimate Texas Hold'em
Caribbean Stud
Mississippi Stud
Four Card Poker
Let it Ride
Fortune Pai Gow Poker
Spanish 21
EZ Baccarat
Texas Hold'em Bonus
Crazy 4 Poker
Casino War (aka "One Card Poker")

Saying too many proprietary table games are based on poker is like saying too many operas are sung in Italian or too many computer programs are written in C++. Poker is a language, a way to articulate--mathematically and psychologically--a construct of gambling. Poker also happens to be a vibrant and pliable language, one that you can contort into almost anything you like (stud, draw, hold'em, etc.). Why try to create a new language when one so perfect already exists?

Blackjack is OK, but what's the point there? Geoff Hall already has all the good ideas.

At least, as Remo Gaggi said in Casino, that's the way I feel about it.


Roger

" Blackjack is OK, but what's the point there? Geoff Hall already has all the good ideas."

Be that as it may, I still intend to show up . LOL

I get it and agree that Poker is where it is, has been and will continue to be for the games that are out there now doing well.....most of which are SHFL properties and job well done there.

My question is really are we at a point with poker similar to what Roger indicated about BJ & Geoff (i.e. SHFL already owns all the good ideas and most of them, if not all are out, there in some form of an existing game)?

Quote: Pacman

These are the top 12 games in the industry, ranked by the amount of royalties they generate. Tell me what they all--OK, what 10 of them--have in common.

Three Card Poker
Ultimate Texas Hold'em
Caribbean Stud
Mississippi Stud
Four Card Poker
Let it Ride
Fortune Pai Gow Poker
Spanish 21
EZ Baccarat
Texas Hold'em Bonus
Crazy 4 Poker
Casino War (aka "One Card Poker")

Saying too many proprietary table games are based on poker is like saying too many operas are sung in Italian or too many computer programs are written in C++. Poker is a language, a way to articulate--mathematically and psychologically--a construct of gambling. Poker also happens to be a vibrant and pliable language, one that you can contort into almost anything you like (stud, draw, hold'em, etc.). Why try to create a new language when one so perfect already exists?

Blackjack is OK, but what's the point there? Geoff Hall already has all the good ideas.

At least, as Remo Gaggi said in Casino, that's the way I feel about it.


Roger

Roger -

It seems, based upon your commentary, that the answer you're looking for is "Poker".

I'm sure you are aware, but I'd like to point out, there is a second answer to this question.

Ten of the games listed are ShuffleMaster products.

The next question is more complex. Is it a coincidence that it happens to be the same ten games?

In 1899 Charles H. Duell, the Commissioner at U.S. Office of Patents, was quoted as saying, “everything that can be invented has been invented.”

I do not believe we are at that point in Blackjack. Not saying i have the answer, but where are the BJ games with jackpot payoffs? Ever been stuck at BJ,
about to leave, almost tapped out, and had to get up and play Let It Ride or slots as your only reasonable chance to go home even or a winner?
Where is the BJ game that is protected against counters ? I know , I know any BJ game can be counted against, but where is a BJ game where the ratio of small bets to large bets would be so large as impossible to go unnoticed?
Where is the BJ game where the HE would increase as bets were increased without any rule change? Where is the BJ game with liberal rules, yet a HE that would allow such a game to compete with 6/5 BJ from the house's perspective? Where is the BJ game that allows dd on any number of cards ?

When you can answer those questions, and not before, then and only then can you say there are no possible good ideas left for a BJ game developer. And I will be shocked if Switch agrees that all BJ variants are already in play or his intellectual property.

Damn, need to get of my soap box . Sorry !

I think there is a market for a poker variant that lets the player try to improve his own hand with discards. Since I developed it, I'm kinda partial to Cameltoe Poker. Player bets, hits 5 cards. Player bets again and can then discard up to two cards for replacements. Player then has an optional last bet after evaluating his hand.

Dealer makes his best hand out of seven cards.

If the player's hand is higher the player wins all bets.

If the dealer's hand is higher then player loses all bets except the ante.

If the player's hand is less than ace-king high the the ante is a push.

Quote: s2dbaker

I think there is a market for a poker variant that lets the player try to improve his own hand with discards.

Not saying it can't be done, but the physical mechanics of a discard would make such a game ripe for sleight-of-hand cheaters. You want to avoid having the player pass their hands over their wagers if you can.

Hope you are open to constructive criticism. You have got to change that name. I thought you were kidding. You don't need to be a student of The Elements of a Successful Carnival Game ( which I am ) to know that name adds nothing to your game.

Agree.... Disagre .... ?

I'm sure I've seen, essentially five card draw poker. If I recall the dealer had strict rules (e.g. four cards to the best hand possible...) and qualified with a pair of fours.

Quote: MathExtremist

Not saying it can't be done, but the physical mechanics of a discard would make such a game ripe for sleight-of-hand cheaters. You want to avoid having the player pass their hands over their wagers if you can.

What if instead of discarding you simply give the player the option of drawing additional cards?

For sintance, in 3CP you still would have to make a three-card hand, but could draw two more in addition to the three you're dealt. Or you could stand pat.

of coruse it depends on the game.

Quote: Nareed

What if instead of discarding you simply give the player the option of drawing additional cards?

For sintance, in 3CP you still would have to make a three-card hand, but could draw two more in addition to the three you're dealt. Or you could stand pat.

of coruse it depends on the game.

Sure, lots of games allow drawing of extra cards. Like blackjack... :)

Quote: buzzpaff

Hope you are open to constructive criticism. You have got to change that name. I thought you were kidding. You don't need to be a student of The Elements of a Successful Carnival Game ( which I am ) to know that name adds nothing to your game.

Agree.... Disagre .... ?

I have a name in mind. One that reflects the nature of the game. But Cameltoe Poker is a good working name because it's hilarious :)

It may be hilarious but women might find it offensive. You could call it Pussy Poker for that matter, if you do not care about your game being taken serious. Just my opinion, but it's the only one I have.

Quote: buzzpaff

It may be hilarious but women might find it offensive. You could call it Pussy Poker for that matter, if you do not care about your game being taken serious. Just my opinion, but it's the only one I have.

If it even comes to a point where I need to pitch the idea to someone who might take it seriously, then I'll use "Seven & Seven". It reflects that the player can get up to seven cards vs. the dealer's seven cards and Seven & Seven has the added bonus of sounding like a potent potable.

Had a friend named Three Finger Joe, his favorite drink was 7 & 7. good luck with your game.

Quote: s2dbaker

I think there is a market for a poker variant that lets the player try to improve his own hand with discards. Since I developed it, I'm kinda partial to Cameltoe Poker. Player bets, hits 5 cards. Player bets again and can then discard up to two cards for replacements. Player then has an optional last bet after evaluating his hand.

Dealer makes his best hand out of seven cards.

If the player's hand is higher the player wins all bets.

If the dealer's hand is higher then player loses all bets except the ante.

If the player's hand is less than ace-king high the the ante is a push.

Have you actually developed it or did you just come up with some general rules? What's the edge, hit frequency, and optimal player strategy? Are there any dealer cards showing at any point prior to the showdown? What happens to the ante bet if the player's hand >= AK but the dealer beats the player?

Wish I had paid more attention when asked similar questions by ME. Sure would be better prepared for May 2nd if I had.

Quote: MathExtremist

Have you actually developed it or did you just come up with some general rules? What's the edge, hit frequency, and optimal player strategy? Are there any dealer cards showing at any point prior to the showdown? What happens to the ante bet if the player's hand >= AK but the dealer beats the player?

I wasn't clear. If the player wins, all bets win. If the player loses, the all bets lose unless the player has less than an ace and king. In that case, the player does not qualify and the ante pushes, all other bets lose.

The house edge is built into the game because the house gets to make his best 5 card poker hand out of all of his seven cards. The player has to make an intermediate decision. With the player qualifying rule, the game is nearly break even, but the player has to know when to throw away his ace or king in order to not qualify and retain his ante. The calculation is tough.

No-flop Pineapple had a rule similar whereby the player had to discard a card on the 'Flop' and the dealer saw the 'turn' and 'river' before having to discard.

I also remember a game where the house edge was derived by the player having to discard and draw whereas the dealer was dealt the discard and just had to throw one away at the end. I can't remember what the game was though.

Quote: Pacman

These are the top 12 games in the industry, ranked by the amount of royalties they generate.

Three Card Poker
Ultimate Texas Hold'em
...

That is amazing that Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em is now the number two grossing proprietary game. My compliments on the game. I am a huge fan. I like the way it plays and also how you can tweak the strategy according to your style of play. I'm also seeing Rabbit Hunter Stud popping up in a few places outside of Ameristar. That's also a fine game.

One question: Why are you downgrading the Trips paytables in UTH? I was playing in Bally's when SMI came in and swapped out the felts for the more unfavorable paytable. Why make it worse for the player?

May I add some points?
1. The name is somewhat important, in the sense that it should initially draw and not repel players. A damaging name can kill a game like seeing blood and squalor and broken glass in front of a restaurant or boutique. Who would try such a thing? This is the lesson of WhoopAss Poker. Don't have a retarded name on a good game, but have a good game where the name is at least not a drawback.

2. Roger is right, Poker is an almost unlimited source of new games, as is apparently blackjack, and both are known like a language to the general gambling public. What a game has to be is better and more desirable than what is already out there, which is VERY tough to do, because games have been so examined and refined through this date.

3. Games are to combine elegance and interest. Some good current games have cumbersome aspects to them; removing the commission from Baccarat and pai Gow poker in an easy and elegant way did greatly help. There are current poker games with some awkward features, such as expense of play, awkward bet structure, difficult hand-reading and card draw and discarding methodolgy that may be cleaned up, so there is still some room to develop and offer the "next Three Card Poker," - which is about as elegant a ditty that could have been created for casino poker.

4. House edge has to be both present and reasonable. Both the players and the casinos sweat the money in the sense that it is a big consideration of operation, for play and USE of the game. If a game either kills (and gets no action), or dumps (and kills the house), - it is gone.

5. Your kid is not Miss America. Other people make that call. If she needs a makeover to get a date, - give her one.

Quote: teddys

That is amazing that Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em is now the number two grossing proprietary game. My compliments on the game. I am a huge fan.

I also find this surprising. I only gamble in Vegas and my home state of WA. I have not seen UTH in WA and in Vegas the casinos that do have it seem to have only one table. I enjoy the game a lot but don't play that much because I don't see it at low minimums. A $15 UTH table means I am risking over $60/hand on average even though I don't play the bonus. I would play frequently if I could find it for $5 because then it would be much more equivalent to PGP at $10-20/hand which is the other table game I tend to play. It is very easy to bust at $200 in just a few minutes at $15 UTH.

Quote: jml24

I also find this surprising. I only gamble in Vegas and my home state of WA. I have not seen UTH in WA and in Vegas the casinos that do have it seem to have only one table. I enjoy the game a lot but don't play that much because I don't see it at low minimums. A $15 UTH table means I am risking over $60/hand on average even though I don't play the bonus. I would play frequently if I could find it for $5 because then it would be much more equivalent to PGP at $10-20/hand which is the other table game I tend to play. It is very easy to bust at $200 in just a few minutes at $15 UTH.

Not sure where in Washington you are but Crazy Moose in Mountlake Terrace has a $3 table. I haven't been there in a while but Angel of the Winds in Arlington use to have a $2 or $3 table.

To answer the two questions on UTH:

I created four Trips paytables for the game, ranging in house advantage from 0.9% to 6.2%. The most prevalent paytable has a 1.9% edge and can be identified by the payouts for straight (5 to 1) and flush (6 to 1). It's important to understand that casinos have sole discretion in selecting which paytable they will offer.

UTH is played at ~65% of the casinos in Washington and ~80% of the casinos in Las Vegas.


Roger

One of the things about poker "carnival" games is that there is usually ONE or two tables of a particular species in a casino.
You do NOT see a Crazy-4 Poker pit, or a Deuces Wild Hold 'em Fold 'em pit, etc. - like you see a Blackjack pit or a Crap table pit.
You will see multiple Pai Gow Poker tables, and at various places, a lot of Baccarat tables (> 2).

Some of the things about UTH:
- great game, brilliant; LOTS of installs, - and it is popular, deservedly so.
- expensive to play: 4 or 5 units to play. Same with Crazy 4 poker, generally you have to play 4 units.

Expense is a issue, - and a lot of Roger's games are serious "multi-unit games" to play. [Edit: in his defense, gambling does not come cheap. Is it supposed to? Well, maybe it can have a lower threshold. Pai Gow poker does have a generous give-and-take session longevity about it.]
Player Expense was also an issue with (now Galaxy's) Deuces Wild, since fixed very well, except for the reputation rebound.

Three Card poker is very good on player expense: just ANTE and PLAY, with an optional Pair Plus.
Two units to play, really, three with the bonus.

UTH is the next Three Card Poker! I bet over time, the game will be a bigger success than TCP based on total number of months of table installation over its first 12 years of existence (Roger will have to do that math when we get to year 12 on UTH, but I bet his UTH beats out Webb's TCP).

Why is it so good? Dan & others have some good insights, here is what I see:

1) Player gets paid on their big raise wager when they have a premium hand and Dealer doesn't qualify or beat you. You start with KK in the hole make your 4 unit raise and get paid on your 4 units even if the dealer ends up with squadush! Think back to Carribean Stud....that was such a negative in that game, but here you get paid big on a big hand whenever it wins.

2) Large payout possibilities even without a bonus bet (OK the Blind bet is another unit that rarely gets paid, but as a player you feel like that unit relates more to the house edge on the main game than a bonus bet for the big payout). If you have players that don't want to make the Trips bet, they still get 500-1 on their Blind if the Royal Flush hits for them. No need to bet the bonus in order to generate a large win....I love that about UTH!

3) Good Player Journey during the hand without requiring additional bets to stay in. Three decision points (hole card, flop & River) and you only need to put up more money after you have seen all the cards. Great perception of player control/suspense is delivered along the way.

4) More Volatility in main game with a good hit rate (like 49% I believe) - Multi-units to play is an issue, but players seem to want more volatility in their main games and in UTH that comes with more units in play. Getting larger volatility with such a large hit rate is a great player experience.

The problem with multi unit games is the casino's seem to rarely factor that in when setting table limits. Once they decide that table limits are going from $5 to $10 they tend to apply those limits equally to the BJ & PGP tables as well as the multi-unit carnival games. That is when the multi units are going to create problems. A $10 UTH table is the equivalent of a $20 BJ table when you factor in 4.15 average units in play for UTH and half the hands per hour vs. BJ.

UTH is going to dominate the Hold'em space for a very long time.....so if you are developing a hold'em variant, you better have a good answer to the question of what is it about your game that is compelling enough to have a player drop the known UTH game in favor of your new game.......good luck with that!

What you can take away is how do you design as many of items 1) - 4) into your game. If you can get them all in.......I think you have small chance of success whcih is better than the no chance of success.

And in WA, UTH is everywhere at least on the tribal side. Up and down the I-5 Corridor you have Emerald Queen & Clearwater as the only properties that don't have it. But you will find UTH from North to South at Silver Reef, Skagit, Angel of the Winds, Tulalip, Snoqualmie, Muckleshoot, Red Wind, Little Creek & Lucky Eagle. Even 7 Cedars has it and they are a 12 table property. And as Miplet says, I believe you can find it in most Commercial Card Rooms.

" It's important to understand that casinos have sole discretion in selecting which paytable they will offer."

It's the foundation of Action Blackjack. Actually can have 2 players betting the same amount amount per hand, seated next to each other, with the same rules, facing a different HE.

Easier said than done. But hopefully easier done than said. Since I occasionally suffer from bouts of verbal diarrhea, I intend to let the cards speak for themselves at the Focus group.

I stand corrected on WA availability of UTH. It sounds like UTH is taking off here as well. I must not have been looking very hard and to be honest it's been a year since I have gambled locally. The tribal casinos are very smoky so I tend to avoid. I do enjoy the game quite a bit. I would not be at all surprised if it beats 3CP in the long run. It is much more engaging to play. As mentioned it would be nice if casinos would offer a lower limit vs. BJ given the high number of units per play.

Quote: Paradigm

....The problem with multi unit games is the casino's seem to rarely factor that in when setting table limits. Once they decide that table limits are going from $5 to $10 they tend to apply those limits equally to the BJ & PGP tables as well as the multi-unit carnival games. That is when the multi units are going to create problems. A $10 UTH table is the equivalent of a $20 BJ table when you factor in 4.15 average units in play for UTH and half the hands per hour vs. BJ.

Joker's Wild on Boulder Highway made their Three-Card Poker table a $2 game ($6 for ANTE, PLAY and Pair Plus!), and most play $15 a hand. Smart local casinos can figure this out, good to see.

- Good player Journey is important. Texas Hold 'em games are great here.
- Volitility - maybe not. Pai Gow poker is hugely popular.

Quote: Paradigm

UTH is going to dominate the Hold'em space for a very long time.....so if you are developing a hold'em variant, you better have a good answer to the question of what is it about your game that is compelling enough to have a player drop the known UTH game in favor of your new game.......good luck with that! Maybe not, but it'll be huge.

Three Card Poker NEVER went away, always solid. TCP won't do a "let it Ride/Carribbean Stud" fade-away...
There may be some closer races ....

I have also played UTH at $3 min when all the other tables were $5 or more, again a locals casino in WA that gets it. You are right, it is good to see.

Agree with you Dan on PGP, it is very popular for the exact opposite reason of UTH. There are definitely players that like the lower volatility, but I think they are also the least likely players to try a new carnival game whether it be poker, BJ or a novel concept game.

To be honest, I think that is the one flaw with Lucier's Hi Lo PGP. You are adding in more decisions per hour & trying to minimize the 42% push hand result in PGP. The problem I see is those are the very things that PGP players like about the game. Hi Lo PGP fixes the push problem for the house, but it isn't really a problem for the players. Whereas the commission is a problem for both sides of the table and hence the beauty of EZPGP.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think TCP is going away, but it definitely is sliding in popularity. In properties in WA with single tables per carnival game (i.e. 20 total tables or less) you will come across properties that don't have TCP anymore and do have UTH. In properties with multiple tabes per carnival title (30+ tables), I am seeing more UTH tables than TCP tables. Granted that is only one regional/locals market survey and I doubt that in the bigger properties you will see very many houses pull TCP off the floor, it is still a staple. But it is interesting to see that when real estate is at a premium or there is a decision to put in one more table of TCP or UTH, I have recently seen several houses go with UTH over TCP.

Quote: Paradigm

Hi Lo PGP fixes the push problem for the house, but it isn't really a problem for the players. Whereas the commission is a problem for both sides of the table and hence the beauty of EZPGP.

If a casino were to eliminate the commission, as well as the player's right to bank, PGP would still have a >1% house edge and would be faster/simpler for the dealers to pay winning bets, making more hands per hour and probably about the same net win per hour.

Turning Stone casino in New York doesn't allow players to bank, so that particular aspect has already been spreading for a few years at least.

JB, I have also seen many Tribal properties in WA that run the game with no commission that way as well. They plan on the lower HE on the main game and offer at least two side bets in attempts to increase the smaller HE.

Quote: JB

If a casino were to eliminate the commission, as well as the player's right to bank, PGP would still have a >1% house edge and would be faster/simpler for the dealers to pay winning bets, making more hands per hour and probably about the same net win per hour.

I've been wondering about the same thing. Wiz had mentioned that the probability of a player win is about 28.6% and that of the banker 29.9%, so you figure all wins are +1, then 28.6 - 29.9 = -1.3 right there, which is good for a table game. And my preference at the table anyway is to always let the dealer bank. So the commission on wins seems to merely widen the HA, not create it. And EZ Pai-Gow Poker with the dealer qualifying rule as an alternative only works with dealer banking, according to Wizard.

Quote: JB

Turning Stone casino in New York doesn't allow players to bank, so that particular aspect has already been spreading for a few years at least.

Good. Vigless Pai-Gow Poker. Sounds catchy.

Quote: Paradigm

So as not to hijack the SHFL Focus Group thread, I wanted to start this thread to ask:

At what point is the poker variant run over for new games? When are the needs of poker variant carnival game players satisfied with the game options currently available and installed around the country?

With the exception of Let It Ride/Carribean Stud (which are both long in the tooth and a new 5 Card Stud replacement is warranted....dare I say Miss Stud/Hi-Lo Stud Poker/Bad Beat Stud Poker?), we have Three Card Poker, Crazy Four/Four Card Poker & UTH/Texas Bonus. I guess there is room for an Omaha variant, but are players really craving for a new way to play poker whether its 3,4,5 or 7 card?

I have personally seen properties put in one variant only to see their players from a previously installed poker game all migrate to the new game...to the point where they took the old poker game off the floor due to lack of play! That doesn't seem like incremental table game pti revenue to me, but maybe I am missing something.

The beauty of Casino War (and other truly new game concepts) is that they can attract new players to the table game pit. And new table game pit players does sound like incremental revenue.

At some point I think there has got to be room for a game like Twist'em (dominos) or a 31 game like "Money$uit 31" precisely because it is something new to play. With the proliferation of regional gaming and more and more properties becoming local casino markets, aren't even regular table game players going to be looking for something new at some point? Not just another way to play poker?

Yes, I am biased as my new game concepts are in the novel/brand new game category and I am not saying Poker variants are done, but at what point do casino properties say "we already have four ways to play poker in our pit plus PGP...how is this new poker game going to incremental increase our revenue?"

I've thought the same thing with respect to the "over-saturation" of the poker variants. However, I also know that people usually are not attracted to "new" concepts. People have to be comfortable enough with a familiar game before they're willing to risk their own money on it. That's why nearly EVERY successful "new" table game is merely one that is a variant of an established game.

The evolution of Poker is straight forward. Draw poker than 5 card stud followed by seven card stud then Hold-em
Holdem exploded in the early 1980's. Funny things is that in the 1930's there was a game called Cincinnati.
Had the same flop turn and river. But each player was dealt 7 cards. Even James Bond played Hold'em in a recent movie.

In the movie Goldfinger a girl got killed early in the movie by being painted in gold. She was Goldfinger's accomplice in cheating at GIN
RUMMY, no less