Cincinnati or Criss-Cross Poker Variant

Criss Cross is a game for people who always want to be unique and choose something that is not common for everyone. Even playing poker they always want to play game which is not so known by the players. That is why Criss Cross is poker variation they choose, as it differs from all other game variants. However, it has some similarities to Texas Hold’em in the way community cards are played. If you are well versed with Texas Hold’em poker game therefore, Cincinnati or Criss-Cross Poker Variant is rather easy game to learn. To enjoy the game the player needs to understand the basic poker hands and the overall betting procedures.

How to Play

This game starts in a very simple way. The dealer places three cards at the beginning of a hand. The cards are usually aligned in a vertical line facing down. Thereafter a card is placed on either side of the middle card making the entire cards to form a cross. It is from this cross-formed that this game got its name. Community cards in Cincinnati or Criss-Cross Poker Variant are the cards on the cross. Each player is then dealt with four cards facing down.

The essence of this game is for the player who makes the best poker cards at the end of the game using the four dealt cards to be the winner.

Once each player has been issued with his or her four cards, the game is set to begin. The dealer therefore flips the top card forming the cross and the initial betting round is held. For the game to continue however, each player must fold or call the current bet in the hand. Once each player has successfully played at this initial stage, the dealer will flip the right card forming the cross for a second betting round. The procedures followed here are the same as those followed during the first betting round.

Once this round is completed successfully, the dealer will flip the card at the bottommost side of the cross and players will bet over the game again. Finally, the dealer will flip the card forming the left hand of the cross and the same procedure will take place. At last, the dealer unfolds the middle community card. This card forms part of both lines of the cross and here is where the final round on Cincinnati or Criss-Cross Poker Variant betting occurs.

Winning and Losing

If you have not folded your hand on Cincinnati or Criss-Cross Poker Variant betting at the end of the last round, you will have to flip your four-hole card. The winner of the pot is the player who has successfully made the highest ranking of poker hand out of the four cards on either the vertical or the horizontal lines. Note that a player must choose between the vertical or horizontal lines when determining the hand. This is because a player cannot use cards for both lines.

Occasionally, Cincinnati or Criss-Cross Poker Variant betting is played in a high and low split format. This means that the player with the highest and lowest rankings of the hand splits the pot just as it is the case in Omaha Hi-Lo.