Community Card Poker: Double-board Hold 'Em
Want to really test your mettle? Then play some Double-board Hold 'Em!
Double-board Hold 'Em is basically two games of Texas Hold 'Em poker played at once. Double-board Hold 'Em is sometimes referred to as “Double-flop Hold 'Em”. Despite that name, flops are not the only thing doubled. There are also two turns and two rivers as well. The name Double-board Hold 'Em was probably chosen because it’s easier to say than “Double-flop-turn-river Hold 'Em” (especially after enjoying the complimentary drinks at the table!)
Double-board Hold 'Em has the same rules as Texas Hold 'Em (Hold 'Em for short) but in this game we have two rows of community cards. The rows are referred to as the upper board and the lower board. The boards cannot have their cards mixed together to build up hands. This means if there are two aces in the upper board, and one ace in the lower, you cannot use all three aces in one hand (darn it!)
However, your hole cards are not doubled, even though the community cards are doubled. If you play Double-board Hold 'Em with Texas Hold 'Em variants then you’ll follow the rules for the number of hole cards. If you’re double-boarding Omaha, then you’ll get four cards as your hole cards just like you would in a normal game of Omaha. If Pineapple is your game, then you’ll get three hole cards like you normally would. It’s just the community cards that are doubled.
After the showdown, the player with the best high hand will win one board and the player with the high hand for the remaining board will win as well. This means two players will share the pot. It is possible for one player to win the entire pot if they have the high hands for both boards. We call people who win both pots “Lucky” (ok, we admit that we call them other things, too, but they aren’t suitable for print.)
Since it’s a community card game, don’t forget to look around the table at the cards in play. This will help you estimate what cards can be dealt. Remember, even though the community cards are doubled, only one deck of cards is being used. This means you won’t be seeing three kings in one board and two in the other since there are only a maximum number of four cards. Keep this in mind when thinking of the remaining cards.
Good luck, and we hope you get a double pot in your future!
