There are a handful of poker games out there that use wilds to make games more interesting. A lot of them decide to go the other way with kill or death cards.
In Faces of Death, it is somewhat the opposite of the game, Follow the Queen. In this variation, you will notice that this seven-card stud game has some interesting opportunities at hand.
Quick Tips For Faces of Death
Before playing Faces of Death, it would help to understand seven-card stud, death or kill cards, and practice your overall strategy a few times. However, this guide will cover what each term means and how to play.
The best tips before playing are to know the rules, best hands to play, and to watch your money. You also want to look out for a handful of cards that will destroy your hand.
The Rules
Faces of Death starts out with up to seven players each putting an initial ante into the pot. Players will then be dealt two cards face down.
This will then lead to the first betting round. This is where players need to start watching out for the faces of death cards. Below you will see why.
Next, players are dealt one card face up. After each player is given one card face up, a betting round will follow.
This type of play continues until players that are left in the game are ready for their seventh and final card. This card will be dealt face down to each player.
The part that makes this game interesting is when a player receives a face card that is a spade, and it is dealt face up. So, the following spade face cards will instantly kill your hand, which is also known as Faces of Death:
- King of spades
- Queen of spades
- Jack of spades
However, if you are dealt any of those cards face down as your hole cards (the first two and the seventh cards), you are not out of the game. It is only when they are dealt to you face up.
Once players have their seventh card dealt to them and have made it to the final betting round, this leads into the showdown. The best five cards out of seven wins the pot.
Best Hands To Play
This game card hand strengths match the typical poker hand rankings. When trying to seek out the best hand, you need to keep in mind what you are looking for versus being afraid of the faces of death.
Out of 52 cards, three of them will end your hand instantly. However, it could actually save you if you tend to play bad hands for no reason.
There are no wilds in this game, so two pairs and three of a kind will be more difficult to make, but so are the other hands. If you can somehow make straights or flushes, then you have an excellent betting hand.
Watch Your Money
Since there are multiple betting rounds in this game, you want to pay special attention to each betting round and how much other players are betting. If not, this can drain your chip count without you blinking an eye.
If you have difficulty keeping your money under control, consider setting limits for yourself, and only bring what you can afford to lose. Make sure you stay conservative on your bets and not play too loosely.
Do not let other players bully you into making bad betting decisions. By controlling your bets, you can eventually control the table.