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Manila is an interesting variation on community card poker; Antipodean readers may well already be familiar with this particular game because it’s pretty popular in Australian casinos but players from other regions may feel free to read the following guide to this interesting game.
Community card poker involves the dealer laying a number of cards (usually five) in the centre of the table which are shared among all players.
Manila is played with just 32 cards – everything less than a seven is removed which means that a slightly different card ranking system is used. A flush will beat a full house and low straights with an Ace are not possible.
Blinds are generally uses in casino play so the two players to the left of the dealer will place the small and big blinds respectively.
Manila Rules
Once the blinds have been laid each player receives two hole cards face down; at this point the dealer places one community card on the table.
A round of betting now follows during which players may do the following:
- Fold – discard the card
- Check – opt not to bet but remain in the hand
- Call – match the biggest bet placed so far
- Raise – increase the bet
Second, third, fourth and fifth community cards are then dealt with a round of betting following each one. Assuming that there are at least two players remaining in the game, the showdown follows the final betting round and the hands are compared.
The hands must comprise both hole cards and exactly three from the community card set.
A Manila variant involves three hole cards dealt to each player with one discarded at a pre-agree point during the game.