Preface

This rulebook codifies various poker games that may feature, or have been featured, at BARGE. It is a supplement for the host casino's rulebook and the TDA rules, not a replacement for them. We intend to capture the things that are unique to BARGE, but we also try to be a general (if sometimes informal) reference for poker games in general.

We hope that this is a useful reference for other folks. In particular, Tim started updating this rulebook because he can never remember the rules to Archie and wanted to make it easier to look them up.

Previous versions

This rulebook is an ongoing update of Christopher J. Mecklin's excellent rulebook from July 2021. By 2024, that rulebook had fallen a bit out of date since it was last updated for the 2021 BARGE tournaments; and BARGE being BARGE, and poker players being poker players, some newer games have been made up.

In 2024, this version was created from the PDF of the 2021 edition. Many formatting errors were introduced in this process. Some have even been fixed.

Web version and PDF Version

This rulebook is provided in both a web version and a PDF version.

The web version is continually updated at https://www.barge.org/rulebook/. It looks great on a phone or a computer, and we can provide hyperlinks to rules. Printed versions of the web site don't work well, though, and are hard to read as hard copy.

The PDF version is available at https://www.barge.org/rulebook.pdf. This prints to a proper book and should be printed double-sided. It has a table of contents and page numbers. It includes hyperlinks when viewed electronically, but it is not as easy to navigate as the web version. It is hard to use on a phone or tablet. (This version may also be slightly out of date compared to the web version, as updating it requires an extra trivial step, easily forgotten.)

Improving this Rulebook

Contact Tim Showalter.

The source code for the rulebook available on GitHub at https://github.com/ts4z/barge-rulebook. A pull request is the clearest way to suggest a change, but you can also make suggestions over email, or over beers. Substantive text changes are preferred over vague suggestions.

Having a little more historical context on each game would be welcome.

Because the rulebook is generated in multiple versions and the translation between the two is a little rickety, there are some technical limits as to what we can provide. I apologize in advance if I am unable to accommodate some suggestions.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Rich Bremer, Doug Grismore, Patrick Milligan, and Cliff Matthews for encouragement, and technical and editorial input.

Preface from the 2021 Edition

(This section has been slightly abridged from the 2021 edition.)

This document contains the rules of many forms of poker, some of which will be played in BARGE 2021 tournaments, others in tournaments in past years, and yet others only in BARGE cash games or home games.

I obtained these rules from a copy of the official rule book for the XXV 25-Game Mix poker tournament played at BARGE XXV in 2015. That rule book was originally written by Patrick Milligan and Rich Bremer and is reproduced here with their permission. Also, rules for some of the stranger games came from an archived version of the BARGE website, called the BARGE Poker Game Rule Archive. I have also referred to Bob Ciaffone’s Robert’s Rules of Poker. [This link has been updated, as RRP has moved with Bob Ciaffone's passing.]

Note that the rule book, unless otherwise noted, is written under the assumption that the games are being played in a limit format, with a small betting limit and a large betting limit. Please make appropriate adjustments when playing that game in the pot-limit or no-limit format.

This document also includes Appendices explaining the “Sevens Rule” (originally written by Michael Weisenberg) and various Lowball Scales (written by me [Chris Mecklin]).