Pairs and triplets are the only combinations of any value, and of course three aces is the best hand; two aces and the club Jack being the next best. If none of the hands shown contains either a natural pair or a bragger, the highest card wins, the ace ranking above the King. In case of equal natural pairs, the highest card outside the pair wins. Should the pairs tied both be made with a bragger, the highest bragger wins. Two odd cards, seven high, with the club Jack, would beat two cards seven high with the diamond nine.
Three Stake Brag. In this variation each player puts up three equal amounts to form three equal pools. These amounts must be invariable, and should be agreed upon before play begins. The dealer then gives two cards to each player, one at a time, face down; and then a third card to each, face up. The highest card turned up in this manner wins one of the pools, the ace being the highest and the deuce the lowest. The diamond ace, being a bragger, outranks any other ace; the club Jack any other Jack; and the diamond nine any other nine. Ties are decided in favour of the eldest hand, or the player nearest him on the left.
The players then take up the other two cards, without showing them, and proceed to brag on their hands as in single stake Brag. The winner takes the second pool; but those who pass out do not abandon their hands until the third pool is decided. If no bet is made for the second pool, it is won by the dealer.
All hands are shown to decide the last pool. Each player counts up the pip value of his three cards, reckoning the aces for eleven, and court-cards as ten each. The player coming nearest to thirty-one takes the third pool. Ties are decided in favour of the eldest hand, as before.
In some places a further variation is introduced by allowing the players to draw cards for the third pool, in order to increase the pip value of their hands. Beginning with the eldest hand, each player in turn pays into the pool a counter for each card he draws. These cards are given by the dealer face up, and one player must be given all he needs before passing to the next. Should a player pass thirty-one, he is out of the pool. Some judgment is necessary in drawing in this manner, for all the hands are exposed, and each player knows exactly what he has to beat.
In American Brag, there are eight braggers; the Jacks and nines of each suit, and they are all of equal rank when used as braggers. Pairs or triplets formed with the aid of braggers outrank naturals, so that three Jacks is an invincible hand, beating three aces. Two braggers and an ace outrank two aces and a bragger; but the absurd part of the arrangement is that three Jacks and three nines are a tie.
The method of playing differs from English Brag. If the players simply equal the dealer’s ante, nothing unusual occurs, and all the hands are shown at once. But if any player raises, and another sees this raise, these two immediately exchange hands, without showing them to the other players, and the one who held the worse hand retires from that pool, returning the better hand to its original holder, who then awaits a call or raise from the next player in order, the entire amount staked still remaining in the pool. This lose-and-drop-out system is continued until only one player remains to dispute the pool with the dealer. If they come to a call, both hands are shown to the table. If the bragger is not called, he takes the pool without showing his hand.
COMMERCE.
This old English game is evidently the forerunner of Whiskey Poker. It is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, and the arrangements for the seats, counters, etc., are the same as at Draw Poker. Three to twelve players may form a table. There are two methods of playing Commerce; with and without a widow. We shall take the older form first.