Poker Skool | Poker Strategy | Tournaments Guide | Types of Poker Players | Glossary | Advanced Strategy |
The poker variation known as Follow The Queen, is very similar to Seven Card Stud poker, but with one big difference. Whenever the Queen card is dealt as an up card, then the card dealt after the Queen card is treated as a wild card. Once this happens, then all the other cards of that rank also become wild. For example, if the card dealt after the Queen is a Five, then all Fives become wild cards.
To start the game, all players will place a bet known as the ‘ante’. After the ante, each player will be dealt three cards. Two of these are face down and are known as ‘hole cards’ but one is face up and known as a ‘door card’. If any of these face-up door cards are Queens, then remember that the card dealt after it is then considered a wild card.
Whoever has the door card with the lowest rank (an ace is counted as high in this situation) is then required to start the betting. The betting then continues clockwise, as will all betting rounds from here onwards. Players can choose to call the bet, raise, or fold. This round of betting is known as ‘Third Street.’
When the round of betting is over, a fourth card is dealt to each player face up. If a second Queen appears, then the card dealt after her becomes the new wild card and the previous wild card ceases to be wild. The player who now has the highest combination of face up cards will begin the betting. He can check, bet, or fold. Once a bet has been placed by a player then the option to check is no longer available.
Players are then dealt another face up card each and another round of betting ensues. Again if a Queen appears, the same rules apply. This round is known as ‘Fifth Street’.
After the ‘Fifth Street’ round is over, players are dealt another card. Again, this card is dealt face up and another betting round known as ‘Sixth Street’ begins.
Any players still remaining in the game then receive their final card. This card is placed face down. Sometimes at this stage in the game there aren’t enough cards left in the deck to be able to deal each remaining player a card at this point. If this is the case, then a community card is dealt face up instead for all the players to be able to use.
The last round of betting then begins. This final round is known as ‘Seventh Street’ or more commonly the ‘River’. When the round of betting ends then any players who are still active in the game will reveal their hands. The player with the highest five card poker hand will then split the pot with the player who has the lowest hand. Your hand may be higher than it would have otherwise been if you are lucky to have a wildcard or two in your hand. As you can see, playing Follow The Queen adds that extra bit of excitement into the game – the uncertainty of players hands combined with the element of an ever changing hand dependent on the queen all goes towards creating a nail biting variation of poker!
