Anaconda

How to Play

Anaconda is a wild ride of a draw game where you build your hand partly from cards your neighbors hand you. Each player is dealt seven cards, then passes three to the left, takes the three coming from the right, and discards down to five. The drama is in the finish: players “roll” their five cards face-up one at a time, with a $1 betting round before each card is exposed. Everyone antes $1; best five-card hand at the final roll wins the pot. Bets and raises are a flat $1, capped at three raises per round.

A hand, step by step

1. Ante. Each of the four players antes $1, so the pot starts at $4. The dealer calls “Anaconda — seven cards, pass three left.”
2. The deal. Seven cards face-down to every player. Nothing is showing yet.
3. The pass. Each player chooses three cards and passes them face-down to the player on their left, then picks up the three arriving from the right.
4. The trim. Each player discards two cards, keeping their best five. (Some tables run two passes — left then right — but the classic is one pass left.)
5. The rolls. Players reveal their five cards one at a time. Before each roll there is a $1 betting round (max three raises). High hand showing acts first.
6. Showdown. After the fifth card is rolled, the best five-card hand wins the pot.

Watch a Full Hand — step by step

A complete 4-player hand from the dealer’s view, with real $1 bets and raises. Use Next to advance turn-by-turn, or Auto-play to watch it deal out. Player 1 (Dana) is “you” — only you can see your own face-down cards until each card is rolled.

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