Indian Poker Drinking Card Game

This quick high card poker drinking game will get your group buzzed faster than you can say, “Fold!”

This is a fast-paced drinking game that’s great for starting or ending a night of social consumption. It probably won’t get you wasted, but it will definitely get a buzz going, or keep it going when you’re not ready to call it a night. It’s quick, super easy to play and doesn’t require much mental fortitude, so no matter how drunk your friends are, they should be able to keep up. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 deck of cards
• 4+ friends
• Drinks of choice

Note:I strongly recommend beer for this game. It’s far too versatile for shots!

How to Play this Drinking Card Game

To start, gather everyone around a table. Shuffle the deck of cards and deal one face down to each player. Do not look at your own card! On the count of three, everyone will stick their card to their forehead (or hold it there) so that everyone else can see it.

Now, each player will examine the cards of everyone else and decide whether to Stay (play on), or Fold. Everyone gets a few seconds to think, then the player left of the dealer will go first. Going clockwise around the table, each player will fold (place their card face down on the table) or stay (keep their card on their forehead).

Once all decisions are made, everyone will place their card face up on the table for comparison. Here’s what happens next:

• The player with the highest card who did not fold wins. Good job! Take a celebratory drink (or not).
• Any player who stayed in, but did not win, must take the number of drinks equal to the difference between their card’s value and the winner’s card.
• Any player who folded, and has a lower card than the winner, takes 2 drinks.
• Any player who folded, and has a higher card than the winner, must chug their entire beer. Way to go loser!
• In the case of any tie, a good old fashion round of Rock-Paper-Scissors settles it!

Card values run the basic 1 to 14 points, as follows:

• 1 thru 10 = Numeric value
• Jack = 11
• Queen = 12
• King = 13
• Ace = 14

Indian Poker Drinking Game Strategy

There is a decent strategy for staying ahead of your opponents, but doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of a good drinking card game? Besides, inebriation and calculation don’t mix nearly so well as booze and beer nuts. But I digress…

Being among the last to decide stay-or-fold is the best advantage you’ll get in this game. Seeing who all has folded previously tells you what you’re up against. From there, it’s a simple matter of probabilities. There are 14 card values. What’s the highest value on the table, and what are the chances your card is better or worse? If high card is a 7 or below (the lower the better), you’re odds are pretty good. If it’s 8 or above (the higher the worse), they’re not. Cheers!

Want more? Check out our growing list of Fun Drinking Games.