Crazy Pineapple
A Texas Hold'em variant where each player gets three hole cards instead of two, discarding down to two right after the flop.
Coming soon — not yet playable
Rules
Crazy Pineapple is dealt like Texas Hold'em with one key difference: each player receives three hole cards face down instead of two. A betting round follows, exactly as in Hold'em preflop.
Flop: Three community cards are dealt face up in the center (shared by all players), followed by another betting round. Immediately after this betting round (this is the defining "Crazy" rule), each player must discard one of their three hole cards, keeping exactly two for the rest of the hand — same as standard Hold'em from this point forward.
Turn and River: One more community card is dealt face up after the flop discard (the turn), followed by a betting round, then a final community card (the river), followed by the last betting round.
Showdown: each player makes their best five-card hand using exactly two of their remaining hole cards combined with the five community cards (or fewer of their hole cards plus community cards, per standard Hold'em rules), and the best hand wins.
Strategy notes: Having three cards before the flop (instead of two) dramatically increases the number of possible strong starting combinations, so hand values run higher on average than in standard Hold'em; timing which card to discard after the flop is the single biggest decision point in the hand.
Common house rules
Hi-Lo Crazy Pineapple
A popular split-pot version splits the pot between the best high hand and the best qualifying low hand (usually 8-or-better), following Omaha Hi-Lo-style qualification rules.
Discard timing
Standard rule discards the third card right after the flop betting round; some casual home tables instead have players discard before the flop is even revealed, which changes the game meaningfully and should be agreed in advance.
Must use exactly two
As in Omaha, remind new players at the table that (in the standard version) exactly two hole cards must be used at showdown — using only one hole card and four community cards is not legal, unlike in Hold'em.
Related games
Based on shared category, origin, and rules that reference each other.
Omaha
Community-card poker like Hold'em, but with four hole cards instead of two — high hand only, no low split, and exactly two hole cards must be used at showdown.
Learn the rules →Pineapple
The straightforward cousin of Crazy Pineapple: three hole cards dealt before the flop, with the discard down to two happening immediately, before any betting.
Learn the rules →Texas Hold'em
The world's most popular poker variant: two private hole cards combined with five shared community cards, playable heads-up or with a full ring of players.
Learn the rules →Omaha Hi-Lo
A community-card game related to hold'em: four hole cards, five community cards, and the pot splits between the best high hand and the best qualifying low hand.
Learn the rules →